NIROX Foundation presents Good Neighbours, an exhibition that re-enjoins local universities, public, and private institutions across South Africa, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Mozambique, Namibia, Angola, and Botswana to co-develop and present an evolving programme of exhibitions, residencies, workshops, talks, and a concert.
Following the successful inaugural OPEN LABORATORY Winter Sculpture Exhibition in 2014, NIROX has invited universities across the country to each appoint a curator to develop their own take on Good Neighbours, as well as private and public institutions in neighbouring states to submit contributions that examine the subject from their perspective. The result envisaged is a diverse conversation made cohesive by the guidance of NIROX’s curatorial team.
Held across NIROX Sculpture Park in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, Good Neighbours provides a timely reflection on the relations amongst South Africans and our neighbours. The exhibition and its supporting programmes interrogate and encourage relations amongst South Africans and our neighbours to foster peace and commonwealth in the face of growing global instability.
One question posed by the exhibition has to do with the word ‘good’: What makes for a ‘good’ neighbour? And does neighbourliness not in itself suppose some kind of communal responsibility, some sense of shared space? Or is neighbourliness today more closely aligned to the view outlined in Robert Frost’s poem that ‘good fences make good neighbours’?
Daniel Bruce Gray, Vibrationology, 2019. Still of sound performance on mild steel pipes and spring steel wire, 2hours 30mins. Service tunnels under Wits School of Arts, Johannesburg. Photo: Riley Grant. Courtesy of the artist.
The three dictionary definitions suggest that a neighbour is someone who lives next door to, or in immediate proximity of, another. This is the most common definition, but it can also extend beyond the individual to encapsulate the relationship between communities or places — say, a neighbouring town or country. Neither suppose collegiality or compassion, yet the third definition—‘any person in need of one’s help or kindness’—speaks more directly to an underlying ethics that seems apposite within the context of this exhibition.
Leon Witthuhn, Correlations, 2022. Concrete, steel; 200 (h) x 80 (w) x 450 (l) cm. Courtesy of the artist.
Another productive avenue when considering the meaning of neighbourliness can be found in the word’s etymology. Broken down into its constituent parts — nigh (meaning ‘nearby, close together, adjacent’) and *bheue- (‘to be, exist, grow’) — the idea of neighbourliness seems to imply a certain relation that enables others the space and means to flourish. This understanding is also echoed in the isiZulu word for neighbour, umakhelwane, where -akha means ‘build,’ but the question posed by this exhibition remains: what is it that we want to build, and how can the various and divergent aspirations of a people best serve each other?
The exhibition supports the work of more than 30 artists, 24 of whom have received production grants from The Claire and Edoardo Villa Will Trust to produce new work that reflects on the given theme. Collaborating institutions include the University of Cape Town, University of Johannesburg, University of the Witwatersrand, University of Pretoria, University of the Free State, Tshwane University of Technology, ELA-Espaço Luanda Arte, the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, and the National Gallery of Namibia. The exhibition is also supported by the Portuguese Embassy to South Africa.
The opening weekend of the exhibition is the 7 – 8 May 2022. It will include a series of curator-led walkabouts, performances, and screenings, with other satellite exhibitions, workshops, and talks programmes scheduled throughout the course of the exhibition, which runs until 31 August 2022.
Contact the NIROX foundation via the website.