MTN New Contemporaries Art Award 2010

Curator, Nontobeko and winner Kemang Wa Lehulere

Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture Paul Mashatile with the winner, Kemang Wa Lehulere, MTN SA Foundation Head Eunice
Maluleke and guest curator Nontobeko Ntombela.
Kemang Working
Kemang Detail
Mohau Modisakeng and Stuart Bird’s Work
Mohau and Stuart’s Work
Donna Kukama’s Work
Donna Kukama’s in front of her piece.
Donna’s performance
Donna’s performance
Guest curator Nontobeko Ntombela. Winner- Kemang Wa Lehulere , Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture Paul Mashatile , Donna
Kukama ( Runner up), Mohau Modisakeng (Runner up), MTN SA Foundation Head Eunice Maluleke and Stuart Bird (runner up).
Mohau’s piece at the opening
Mohau’s work
Kemang receiving his prize
Stuart Bird's performance
Stuart Bird working
Stuart ‘s piece
Stuart ‘s work
Stuart Bird's piece
Stuart Bird's piece
Stuart Bird's piece
 MTN New Contemporaries Art Award 2010

At a prestigious event held for the first time at the KZNSA Gallery on Wednesday
night (15 September 2010) , Kemang Wa Luhelere was the overall winner. Donna
Kukama, Stuart Bird and Mohau Modisakeng were the runners up.

Held every two years since 2001, this much celebrated art competition identifies four
emerging South African artists as the new stars of the South African art world, and
elects a winner among them.

The MTN New Contemporaries Award is distinctly different from conventional art
competitions in South Africa as it is entirely unsolicited by the artists it honours. The
competition also discards old stereotypes about art and foregrounds our artists as a
source of new ideas and media.

Says Nontobeko Ntombela, the 2010 New Contemporaries Award guest curator:
"This year's finalists were an exciting line-up. Their work consisted of diverse
exhibition that mixes traditional and new media within a contemporary context, and
that might variously be described as critical, socially-engaged or ironic".

One of the MTN SA Foundation's most renowned projects, the MTN New
Contemporaries Award is a competition designed to promote talented, cutting-edge
artists who have not yet received critical acclaim but who are positioned to be the
next leaders in the art field.

Eunice Maluleke; Head of MTN SA Foundation says: "MTN SA New Contemporaries

Award affirms our responsibility to encourage creative thinking outside the business
arena and allows the opportunity for young South Africans to be heard. These
awards are also aimed at promoting young artists who have not yet had the
opportunity for appropriate exposure."

"The concept of the MTN New Contemporaries Award contributes to the

development of South Africa's rich cultural and artistic practice. Held every two
years, this year is different in that it is the fifth year running meaning that we have
had ten years invested in the emerging contemporary art field."