Tierney Fellowship Workshops Cape Town 2020

The biannual Tierney Fellowship workshops took place at Michaelis School of Fine Art on 6 and 7 February. The fellows, Thero Makepe (UCT), Manyatsa Monyamane (WITS) and Kebelo Mokoena from Market Photo Workshop (MPW) were joined by their mentors Svea Josephy and Dominique Edwards, UCT, Neo Ntsoma (WITS) and Andrew Tshabangu (MPW). In addition guests from the area of arts and culture were invited to give feedback into the projects. These included artists such as Pieter Hugo, George Mahashe, Jo Ractliffe, curator Ingrid Masondo and academics Annabelle Weiland and Patricia Hayes.

Part of the significance of the Tierney fellowship is that it grows every year, as part of the expectation is that previous fellows become mentors. The current fellows met with previous fellows, Akona Kenqu, now technical officer at WITS, Sitaara Stodel, now technical officer at UCT, Ashley Walters, lecturer at the University of Stellenbosch, Tandiwe Msebenzi who is completing her MA at UWC, Lauren Theunissen curator and educator at ORMS CTSP, Nobukho Nqaba, lecturer in photography at the Red and Yellow school, Garth Meyer and Monique Pelser who previously taught at WITS and Rhodes. What is significant about this list of past fellows who made input into the current  fellows project, is how many of them have gravitated towards the field of Higher Education, in addition to maintaining their profiles as artists and photographers. We are proud that the Tierney Fellowship has induced in them the spirit of the 1980’s photography slogan “Each one, Teach one”.

The projects received much useful feedback, critique and praise as they begin to edge towards completion in May.

Thank you to Matthew Tierney and the Tierney Fellowship Foundation and to all the artists and scholars who gave so generously of their time.