Standard Bank Gallery Presents We Are Culture, Curated by BEE Diamondhead | A Celebration of Multidisciplinary Creative talent

The Standard Bank Gallery is proud to present the work of 13 dynamic young artists in a ground-breaking exhibition: WE ARE CULTURE. This kicks off the next chapter of Standard Bank’s arts calendar as the Standard Bank Gallery’s first in-person exhibition since the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, it is the gallery’s first ever multidisciplinary experience, featuring a select but comprehensive slate of exciting work from a new wave of young voices in fashion, music, sculpture, performance art and more.

The WE ARE CULTURE experience was curated by Bee Diamondhead, Creative Director, Stylist, and Editor, who is changing the way the world experiences African creatives and their work. She shares Standard Bank’s future-focused view that access to all mediums of art and creativity should be barrierless, both for the interested who experience it, and the enterprising and talented who create it.

“WE ARE CULTURE is not about tradition. It's not about the gatekeepers, or the highbrow discourse. This experience is about the artists, whose visions are so clear that giving them the resources and the platform helps us more than it helps them,” Bee Diamondhead says. “We are in unprecedented times, and it is our role to seek out these voices - voices that illuminate things we haven't fully realised about the world around us. Creativity fights the rigid ways of thinking that we adopt as a mechanism of survival.”

The clear, raw, fresh vision of the show’s selected artists — from headline-making fashion designer Fikile Sokhulu, to DJ, journalist & queer youth culture champion Lelo Meslani — creates a layered-yet-light-hearted experience. While the experience platforms the cultural interrogation of identity present in the work of many young artists today, it also highlights the insight, awareness and self-acceptance that these interrogations have already yielded. Gallery visitor should expect to see themselves reflected in a new and joyful light, one that acknowledges where we are and points to where we are going.

“Standard Bank is responsive to the evolution of the arts and continues to show our commitment to the arts, by continuing to be a platform of showcase for new artists and by offering support that has adapted to the landscape, vision and challenges of a new generation of creative talent. South Africa is home to an incredible, dynamic community of visual artists, fashion designers and contemporary musicians — talent who are, together, marking the creative world with their uniquely African sensibility. We are using this global cultural moment to tell our stories in real time, in whole truth, and in vibrant spirit. Says Dr Same Mdluli Standard Bank Gallery manager.

Standard Bank spent more than 40 years enabling the work of young, driven South African artists through its platforms, support, and development resources. This Heritage month, the bank invites the public to discover a progressive display of this initiative in an experience that epitomises its brand promise: “finding new ways to make dreams possible.

Exhibition credits & details
Curator: Bee Diamondhead
Featured Artists: Kgotlelelo Sekiti (Performance Art) / Lelo Meslani (Music) / Leon John (Music) / Muyeni (Music) / Natalie Paneng (Multidisciplinary Artist) / Philisa Zibi (Jewellery Design) / Setlamorago Mashilo (Sculpture) / Khumo Morojele (Fashion Designer) / Fikile Sokhulu (Fashion Designer) / Lorraine Kalassa (Visual Artist) / Muofhe Manavhela (Multidisciplinary Artist) / Rebecca Moolman (Artist) / Wezile Harmans (Artist)
Dates: 19 September – 08 October 2022; 08:00 -16:30 on weekdays, and 08:00 – 16:00 on weekends. Entrance to the gallery is free.
Location: Standard Bank Gallery, Cnr Simmonds & Frederick, JHB Central.

About Bee Diamondhead

Bee Diamondhead is a Creative Director, Stylist & Editor based in Johannesburg. Born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Bee began her career as a fashion assistant in South Africa and then the UK after earning qualifications in creative brand communications (art direction), fashion styling and marketing. 18 years in, she is a distinct creative leader with an unparalleled body of era-defining work as a stylist, creative strategist, fashion editor and brand consultant for some of the world’s biggest and best. A large focus of hers is using her work to elevate and develop new talent. Bee champions them in every room she enters and kicks down locked doors to centre their perspectives and amplify their voices in creative industry spaces.

About Standard Bank Arts & Culture Sponsorships

From a permanent gallery space in Johannesburg to a diverse set of arts-focused programmes and educational initiatives teaching the history and value of African creativity, there is no doubt that Standard Bank is a friend to the arts. For over 30 years, Standard Bank has supported the development of young, driven artists across the country, creating a sustainable legacy of nurturing and promoting young, artistic talent. Standard Bank strongly believes in South African talent and in the arts community, and we work to find innovative ways to continue sharing this talent with the world.

STANDARD BANK GALLERY

The Standard Bank Gallery is an inspirational exhibition space, situated in the vibrant heart of downtown Jozi. Since it opened in 1990, it has established itself as one of the city’s principal fine art venues, dedicated to preserving the finest South African art in all its forms. Our gallery is the only corporate gallery that hosts international arts and drives thought-leadership with a dynamic educational programme. It is home to the most comprehensive African Art collection in the country, widely acclaimed and recognised as a standout in the corporate art collection category. The gallery is run on a non-commercial basis, focusing on regularly hosting culturally significant exhibitions that feature both local and international artists and maintain our commitment to cultural development. We love to see young talent showcased and it is our honour to be a catalyst for some of the fastest rising visual art talents in Africa.

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Website: www.standardbank.com/sponsorship