Black Artists’ Colonies in South Africa Pre-1994: Introductory Notes

In this article, I contend with the theoretical possibilities and pitfalls of rereading communal spaces where black artists in South Africa congregated, studied and created art throughout the 20th century as black artists’ colonies. Race-based spatial segregation propagated by white bureaucrats denied black artists, especially those based in the large cities of the country, access to the educational, exhibition, and market opportunities available to white artists. Black artists navigated these systems of exclusion through art colonies, many of them established by white individuals, which became creative oases where they could share, learn, produce, and showcase their art. In making a case for the black artists’ colony category, I briefly discuss the case of Funda Arts Centre, a multipurpose art colony established in 1984 in Soweto, Johannesburg. In the main, I philosophize Funda and other spaces like it as black artists’ colonies to find alternative conceptual topographies of appreciating the artistic and historical influence of these institutions on South African art.