This year the call for entries slogan is Expressions Unbound, with Sasol New Signatures’ Chairperson, Pfunzo Sidogi saying that it "champions the unrestricted artistic narration of personal and collective stories that are relevant to our times".
The competition encourages artists to take risks and push boundaries both in practice and conceptually, and the work by the finalists often surprises as it breaks from expectations. The final exhibition is one of our favourite art events of the year.
The winner of the Sasol New Signatures Art Competition will be announced on Wednesday, September 6 2023. The prize is R100 000 and a solo exhibition. The runner-up will receive R25 000 and the five merit award winners will each walk away with R10 000.
Mondli Mbhele, the 2022 Sasol New Signatures winner, will hold his first solo exhibition alongside the official Sasol New Signatures 2023 exhibition. Titled, Ingoma Yothando (Song of Love), Mbhele explores the idea of rituals which accompany important events in life and the songs that accompany these occasions.
The Sasol New Signatures exhibition will take place at the Pretoria Art Museum from 7 September to 31 October 2023.
HOW TO ENTER WORKS INTO SASOL NEW SIGNATURES 2023
The competition is open to all South African artists aged 18 and above who have not yet hosted their own solo exhibition (artists who have had a solo exhibition as part of a degree are still eligible). Artists can submit up to two artworks for consideration in any artistic medium.Artists are invited to submit their artworks at one of several dropoff points in Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Gqeberha and Pretoria on Tuesday, June 6 and Wednesday, June 7 from 10:00 to 16:00. A completed entry form and supporting documentation must be submitted along with the artworks.
Sasol New Signatures have put together extensive information with tips and advice to consider when submitting works for this year's competition. The blog on the Sasol New Signatures website is also incredibly informative with plenty of details on how to present your works and prepare them for submission, as well as some dos and don'ts outlining the reasons why many artworks do not make it past the regional judging rounds. In addition, Chairperson Sidogi, and Cate Terblanche, Sasol’s Art Curator, will be hosting informative online how-to tutorials with accompanying downloadable fact sheets to assist entrants in submitting their artworks. The info session videos will be aired twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays commencing on Monday, May 8 2023 on Sasol and the Association of Arts Pretoria’s Facebook pages:
The videos will then be available for ongoing viewing on the Sasol New Signatures YouTube channel which can be located at www.sasolsignatures.co.za.
