Young botany artists showcased at Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden

In its first student exhibition Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden (SUBG) is exhibiting 50 excellent artworks produced by unexhibited artists as young as 10 years old.

It showcases works in many mediums on subjects of nature, from a beautiful charcoal drawing by Andrea Slabber to a botanically-accurate crochet piece by Genevieve Broccardo.

SUBG opened a call for submissions late last year, and received an overwhelming response from novice artists interested in gaining experience in exhibiting.

The exhibition is currently on in the Garden Gallery until Friday 17 April.

It includes works of scholars, students and early-career artists who depict nature.

“Botanical art is an important medium that showcases both artistic ability and the science behind the plants,” explained Annerie Senekal, SUBG acting curator.

“At SUBG it has become increasingly important to highlight plants through art, and we are excited to see so much talent and creativity in early-career artists.”

Botanical-art curator Karen Stewart oversaw the curation process. “We are really impressed with the quality of many of the works we received. We got more than 100 artworks in the initial call and chose 50,” she pointed out.

This exhibition was made possible by the James & Shirley Sherwood Project at SUBG.

Thanks to its funding, the garden is currently developing the first public florilegium in South Africa while supporting the country’s top botanical artists in producing world-class artworks.

The funding also allows SUBG to support early-career artists by professionally showcasing their work and providing informal mentoring and advice.

The project also supports three art interns who are learning more about how exhibitions are run and looked after.

SUBG also acquired a work depicting Disa maculata by Bradley Wiehahn for permanent display.

Artworks are for sale and, to support early-career artists, SUBG waived its commission fee for all artworks.

As a result, artworks are very reasonably priced, offering younger collectors the opportunity to get into the market and make their first purchase. Prices for the works range from R100 to R6 000.

SUBG hopes the exhibition can continue providing inspiration, learning and growth for artists and garden visitors alike.

The James & Shirley Sherwood Project is special collaboration initiative by Stewart, chairperson of the Botanical Artists’ Association of Southern Africa’s Cape branch; Dr Donovan Kirkwood, the late curator of SUBG; Annerie Senekal, acting curator of SUBG; and academic partner Prof Léanne Dreyer, expert in the mega diverse Cape Oxalis.