25 Nov 2011

Open Studio - Thami Mnyele Foundation Award Winners: Hasan and Husain Essop

Saturday 26th November 2011, 17.00-20.00 hours

Open Studio
Thami Mnyele Foundation Award Winners

Hasan and Husain Essop

In 2010 during the Dakar Biennale, the twin brothers Hasan and Husain Essop from South Africa received the Thami Mnyele Foundation Award, in occasion of the twenty years anniversary of the Foundation. The prize consisted in taking part in the Thami Mnyele Foundation artist-in-residence program from September till 2nd December 2011.

During their stay in Amsterdam Hasan and Husain Essop were inspired by the urban landscapes: 'The night lights inspired us to experiment with outdoor panoramics, we researched socially loaded spaces to capture their atmosphere'.

Hasan and Husain make extraordinary images of the community in Cape Town where they grew up which reveal both their fascination with popular culture and their deep Islamic faith. Their work refers to the potential contradictions between modernity and tradition, Islam and the West, and the space that young Muslim men occupy and negotiate in a secular environment.
During their stay they travelled to London to present their design for the national South African Soccer team for Puma, now exhibited at the Design Museum in London. In the same period they took part in the Bamako Encounters 2011 in Mali and Paris.

The Thami Mnyele Foundation runs an artist-in-residence program in Amsterdam.
The main objective of the Foundation is to advance cultural exchange between artists from Africa, the Netherlands and Amsterdam in particular. Therefore African artists of all disciplines of contemporary visual art are engaged to work in the Thami Mnyele Foundation Studio.

For more information about Thami Mnyele Foundation contact:

Pauline Burmann
Chairperson Thami Mnyele Foundation
info@thami-mnyele.nl

Address Studio Thami Mnyele Foundation
Bellamystraat 21 (2nd floor)
1053 BE, Amsterdam