ARTAFRICAFEATURE / ARTS WRITING IN AFRICAWIELDING THE PEN / HOUGHTON KINSMAN 6/10 ARTAFRICA
- KHEHLA MAKGATO
Khehla Makgato is an independent writer in South Africa. His
writing has appeared in exhibition catalogues and most recently
ART AFRICA.HK: In light of your background as an educator and
in teaching the fundamental skill of reading, do you
feel that your work as an arts writer is educational?
Why and how?Khehla Chepape Makgato: I suppose that I have the obligation to express my opinions on
art with the opportunity to stir debate on arts-related topics. I think, like any other form
of creative work, my writing is educational. This is because my opinions and perspectives
add to public discourse concerning art, politics and culture. Many people read my art
writing and comment that, while they’re not into politics in general, my reviews have made
them interested in the politics of our country. It is necessary to write about artworks,
not only for documentation and archival purposes, but also to help people learn how to
approach a work of art, to better understand and appreciate it.- ARTWOLFE ZINE
Artwolfe Zine is a Namibian online and print publication initiated
in September 2014 by Helen Harris, Kathryn Muller and Nicola
van Straaten. Artwolfe Zine was created out of a desire to build
a platform for discussion about art and performance in the region.HK: Your open submissions policy allows you
to work with writers of various competencies.
Throughout this process, how do you ensure
Artwolfe Zine’s criticality, whilst allowing writers
to develop their craft?Artwolfe: One of our main objectives is for our readers and contributing writers to
feel a sense of ownership over Artwolfe Zine. We want a broad range of readers to feel
comfortable reading the publication or submitting articles to us. However, there is very
little writing about Namibian art in print, so we work in relatively uncharted territory
and are learning as we go – along with our writers and readers. We do our best to
work with the writers on their submissions, developing material through a collaborative
editing process that considers their ideas and use of language. We’ve found that an open