Exhibition: Deep South Community Art 2020
With 49 artists and over 180 pieces of art…
From paintings, to photography, drawings, sculpture,
jewellery and more!
Deep South Community Art Exhibition
Scarborough Community Centre
11 - 16 December 2020
“Congratulations on a very inspiring exhibition. I am really
excited that you are using these spaces to re-establish the
importance of creativity and art in today’s society. What a
magnificent contribution to arts and culture.”
“A very high standard of artwork, well done!”
Well 2020 sure kept us at the edge of our seat as to whether it would even be possible to host the Deep South Community Art Exhibition 2020! And even though the timeline for me to prepare was a lot shorter, it all started falling into place really quickly…
We have grown from 29 artists in 2019 to 49 artists in 2020! The Deep South Community Art Exhibition is now established as an annual event and due to popular demand, the timeline of the event increased from a 2 day event in 2019 to a 6 day event in 2020.
“The talent that has been hidden in our local artists, finally
being showed and celebrated in a space like this is beyond
words. What a beautiful experience.”
We were very lucky to have been able to host the exhibition during level 1 of lockdown – which allowed us to proceed with the event in the usual format, albeit while wearing masks and with lots of sanitizing stations. Our beautiful venue thankfully also has very high ceilings and excellent airflow with lots of outdoor space to enjoy as an extension of the main exhibition space.
“Such creativity and imagination.
Thank you for the opportunity to experience it.”
“Wonderful to see so much talent and original
expression on display!”
While the hope of generating lots of artwork sales is an obvious reason to host an exhibition, it is not the only benefit. One message that came through over and over again this year was that it was not only about the sales, but about how much this exhibition was needed on a much deeper and emotional level. Something positive and exciting for the community to focus on! A means to connect with other like-minded artists and art lovers. Also more importantly, for artists to reconnect with their own work – to once again be inspired to create and feel worthy to share their artwork.
Sit back and enjoy this virtual tour of the
2020 Deep South Community Art artworks...
The Deep South Community Art Exhibition 2020 kicked off with an opening reception on the Friday evening that was a truly magical. The weather cleared perfectly, allowing us to also enjoy the outdoor patio and garden spaces with a gorgeous sunset. The opening was incredibly well attended by returning and first time guests from near and far, fellow artists, young and old, and even a few four-legged furry friends. We had excellent refreshments on offer from our amazing and very generous sponsors.
We were also treated to absolutely excellent live musical performances by our friends, Deep South Community Art artists and musicians, Gaëllou and her band as well as David Barkham!
Gaëllou's performance also included a very special sneak performance of their latest single "Language of Kindness". I am super excited to share that the official video for "Language of Kindness" features quite a bit of footage taken of their performance at our opening reception, so it is extra special and we are so honoured to have had our awesome night included...
You can purchase the single here: Gaëllou
Gaëllou (guitar and vocals), Grant Jackson (bass), Kathleen Eggers (strings), Derek Craig (Percussion, backing vocals), Cheslyn John Brandt and Meg Rose Lawrence (videography), Robin Auld (production, additional guitars and video editing), Shoreline Songs and Tom Ro Haven Horses. Includes footage recorded at the Deep South Community Art Exhibition 2020.
The “Support-an-Artist” Initiative I introduced this year went very well! We were able to support a few artists who would otherwise not have been able to participate in the exhibition. For some, it was their first formal exhibition opportunity. The Initiative covered their submission fees and provided some guidance with creating artist biographies and requirements. We were also able to include two homeless artists that have been creating artwork through The heART Project, which is a local NGO operating in the South Peninsula.
"Artists-in-Action"
Click on any of the photographs to enlarge and scroll through.
The "Artists-in-Action" sessions, which were also a new feature, were a great hit! We hosted a few sessions where exhibiting artists created artworks live in the exhibition space during the exhibition. Guests were able to observe the creation process in person and interact with the artists directly.
“Incredible talent showcased here = some amazing
hidden 'gems'. Loved the live art taking place.
Really hope this keeps going year after year.”
On the Sunday we had artists Osnat de Villiers working on some commissioned paintings and Karin Davel demonstrated her fascinating technique of using a sewing machine to add effect to her watercolour paintings. On the public holiday Wednesday, jeweller Erin Francis brought along her tools and was working on a pair of earrings. Artist Cheslyn Brandt was working on a painting, explaining his use and inspiration around his signature mixed media effect he adds to his paintings. Gaëllou popped in with her guitar and treated us to an impromptu unplugged performance while artist Sunita Hansen captured Gaëllou on canvas by creating a quick oil painting while she performed. We also had sculptor Joseph Chitambire doing some stone carving on a small sculpture inspired by Kataza.
See our video of Gaëllou performing her beautiful song “Robin” and take a tour around the action…
The Deep South Community Art Exhibition offers an opportunity for both seasoned and first time artists to exhibit their work. I am so excited to share that following on this exhibition, a number of artists have reported gaining sufficient exposure, experience, guidance and encouragement through Deep South Community Art to now take their art further. One artist has signed a formal gallery representation through a prestigious gallery and few others have reported further exhibitions and activities as a result of participating in Deep South Community Art Exhibition.
This year we also introduced a yoga session held within the exhibition space – a beautiful Yin Yoga practice surrounded by beautiful art. Special thank you to Chandre de Jager from The Yoga Lounge for sponsoring her time to host the practice for us...
A reminder that all proceeds from submission fees and commission from the Deep South Community Art Exhibition is in support of TEARS Animal Rescue. A massive thank you to our sponsors who make this possible…
Firstly a big thank you to the City of Cape Town for our beautiful exhibition venue, the Scarborough Community Centre. Also thank you to the Scarborough Village Association for their support, not only as a charity event, but also as a community event for the Scarborough community and our neighbouring communities. Especially thanks to Andre Greyling and Dalene van Rensburg who are always ready to help provide important information and logistics.
A MASSIVE thank you to The Pole Yard who once again supplied the materials to build our awesome hanging system. Their sturdy and well-made trellises allowed us to create a beautiful and effective space that was super easy to handle and put together, take down and transport. The natural wood products showed off the beautiful artworks perfectly! To Jason and the whole of The Pole Yard Noordehoek team, thank you for taking a chance with my crazy idea and slightly unorthodox use of your trellises. You guys ROCK! And watch out, I see my hanging system idea is catching on 😆🤣
Another MASSIVE thank you to the Cape Town Wine Co. whose very generous donation of such excellent quality wines for our opening reception, once again helped make the event a great community gathering of friends new and old! It has not been an easy year for those in the wine industry and I am even more deeply touched by their support.
One of our new sponsors this year was our very own Scarborough favourite, the Hub Café. They seriously classed up our cheese and cracker offering for our opening reception by supplying an array of yummy treats from mini sandwich rolls to delicious pizza squares. A MASSIVE thank you for their fantastic support in helping to make our opening reception so special.
Our awesome hanging system is held together with a mountain of cable ties and so a big BIG thank you to one of my favourite shops in the valley, Central Mica in Valyland Fish Hoek! They also supplied a batch of batteries so that we could add some additional lighting. Central Mica are another one of our new sponsors this year and we are very grateful for their support.
“What an amazing high standard of beautiful art… 10 out 10 ⭐”
Creating and hosting this exhibition took many, many hours of work and dedication over the last few months. I could not have done this alone and so there are many personal thank you's as well...
Firstly, a very special mention to my friend Stefanie Rijnvis for starting me on this crazy journey of creating Deep South Community Art in 2019. Also thank you for the support and a few home cooked meals in the last few weeks when things got crazy busy! Stefanie was also on our selection committee for artwork submissions. Thank you Chicka 💜
A massive thank you to my awesome assistant, Ajeks! I would never have dreamed up Deep South Community Art without knowing I could count on him as I simply could not have put this exhibition together without his help! This is the 4th exhibition he has helped me install (our 2nd Deep South Community Art Exhibition). He was my muscle, did any job big or small, from pulling out weeds, washing windows, to painstakingly and patiently straightening each artwork, ready to help me come up with solutions when we ran into snags, worked overtime when needed and was our barman at the opening reception. Always ready with a smile and a laugh and some calm, happy vibes!
Thank you also to the lovely Juliet who ensured that the venue was beautifully cleaned before and after the exhibition. She was also a massive help in the kitchen, doing food prep, ensuring a steady flow of clean glasses at the opening reception and was an expert at bubblewrapping artwork.
Much love and the biggest thank you to my beautiful mamma, Lucia Introna, who did so much for me and put up with me during the last few weeks! From running a million errands for me, to ensuring myself and my team were well fed and hydrated during installation, running the kitchen and preparing the food for the opening reception, supporting me and keeping me company during artwork collection days, installation and during and after the exhibition. She also ran the raffle, managed the mountains of bubblewrap (a thankless and massive job) and did so much behind the scenes. Love you mom 💜💜
A special thank you to my dear friend Natascha van Niekerk, who is my trusted sounding board. She supplied much behind the scenes support, such as proof reading and was also on our selection committee for artwork submissions. Thank you as always friendy 💜
A big BIG thank you to my good friend Mike Currin who once again supplied much behind the scenes technical support in the weeks leading up to the event. He also managed all the sales at the opening reception, was the official event photographer and ensured that my team got home safely after the opening reception. I have absolutely no words to thank you for what you did for me!
A special thank you to my bestest bestie Yunus Davids, who did a bunch of last minute errands for me. Yunus also taught me how to make time lapse videos and supplied the video camera equipment for the event. Thank you dude!!
A big shout out and thank you once again to Racine Edwardes from the People’s Post for her amazing interest in the Deep South Community Art and the awesome articles published about the event. Thank you!
And of course, a BIG thank YOU to all our guests that came out and supported and attended the exhibition. Also, to all those near and far that shared posts and helped to spread the word about the event. To our amazing 49 Deep South Community Art 2020 artists, I am honoured that you have entrusted your beautiful and precious artwork to me. Thank you!
It has been once again been such an honour to create and host Deep South Community Art. This event has become the highlight of my year – even more so after this crazy year! Hosting Deep South Community Art is a completely non-commercial venture for me. I make 0% as all proceeds from the submission fees and the 25% commission on sold work is donated to TEARS Animal Rescue. I only make 75% of any of my own artwork that is sold at the exhibition (just like any of the other artists). In fact it actually costs me a lot of personal expense and of course countless hours of work. However, what it gives me in return is priceless. The friendships and connections I have made through this experience are very dear to me. Artist supporting artists is something I am passionate about and creating this exhibition and community is a manifestation of that passion, all while supporting a local Deep South charity that is close to my heart. Thank you for being here and for supporting my passion project 💜💜
You can read all about the 2019 event here: Deep South Community Art 2019
If you have any questions, or would like to know more about any of the artworks available through the Deep South Community Art Exhibition, then please contact me either through the contact page on my website, or email me directly on info@margheritaintrona.com. Alternatively, you can contact me through the Deep South Community Art email: deepsouthcommunityart@gmail.com
"Thank you for a beautiful and varied exhibition.
Well done to all the artists and organizers!
Looking forward to next year again,
bigger and better!!"
Gallery of photographs from the opening reception
held on 11 December 2020...
📷 by Mike Currin
Click on any of the photographs to enlarge and scroll through.
Artist Biographies for our
2020 Deep South Artists...
A fun time-lapse video of the main exhibition space at the opening reception...
Gallery of photographs of the exhibition space and closeup details of the artworks...
Click on any of the photographs to enlarge and scroll through.
Thank you to all our guests and artists that contributed to our collection basket of dog/cat food that we collected on behalf of TEARS for the Redhill Animal Rescue 😻🐶
A big BIG thank you to all our amazing artists and guests that supported the raffle! The proceeds of which were also all donated to TEARS Animal Rescue 😻🐶
A fun time-lapse video of us building
part of our hanging system...
