Visionaries don’t complain – they get the work done: Remembering artist David Koloane

It was in David Koloane’s nature to get on with the work at hand. He travelled the world representing South Africa in his many areas of expertise, ranging from exhibiting, curating, facilitating and addressing conferences.

Koloane was born on 5 June 1938 in Alexandra, north of Johannesburg. His passion for art saw him undergo apprenticeships with a number of renowned artists, learning all he needed to know from them. The lack of art schools did not deter him from seeking assistance on improving himself. After doing several clerical jobs, he decided in 1974 to make art a full-time career. That decision not only changed his life but also influenced the art education of many black artists in South Africa and on the continent. He even left his mark in India and China.

Koloane, who had done practically everything that could be done to counter the lack of art education and art institutions catering for black people under apartheid, worked quietly. He did all this without confrontation or pomp, changing the standard of art education, production, writing and curating – only in conference halls did he stand up and speak truth to power.

In spite of his hard work opening doors for young artists in South Africa and around the globe, it took 42 years before he was honoured with a retrospective exhibition at the age of 81 (just a few months before his untimely death). Fortunately, he lived long enough to see his own work in perspective at the National Art Gallery in Cape Town, but not long enough to read the tributes in a catalogue that followed. 

The fact that the three top tertiary institutions in SA recognised him with honorary doctorates was a feat for a black artist in the 21st century.

It was also 42 years ago that David Koloane and Bill Ainslie teamed up and shared their experiences on art education and production in South Africa. One, a black person with little art education and experience, the other, white with a privileged education. Despite their different backgrounds, both had big visions.

Bill Ainslie used his studio to teach not only visual arts to mainly white privileged students, but also to teach them about socio-economic issues besieging the country. In the meantime, Koloane was searching for – and then found – a partner who was amenable to his vision.

Koloane needed to develop the expertise of running an art workshop to make the needed change in his community, which was deprived of art institutions and studio spaces. Although actors, playwrights and poets had to some extent ameliorated themselves from the yoke of white oppression, the same was not true of visual artists. White gallery owners dictated what visual artists should produce and what could be shown; a travesty against creativity.

Koloane’s first realisation of his vision was the establishment of the Federated United Black Artists (FUBA) in 1978. FUBA set about liberating black artists from the clutches of white control and markets. Black artists were, for the first time, able to make art and sell it on their own terms. But this was on a limited scale and they lacked funding and studio spaces.

Koloane believed in building bridges between the formal and informal teaching institutions to benefit both the teaching staff and researching students. The Bagfactory/Fordsburg Artists’ Studios continue to play a pivotal role for tertiary and art schools to send their students to meet and discuss their projects with the artists in residence.