Great Expectations: Selected Works from the Collection of the Art Bank of South Africa

Ahead of a momentous year in South African history the exhibition “Great Expectations” has been curated with a selection of artworks from the Art Bank of South Africa Contemporary Art Collection to take a moment to reflect on dreams and hopes held for a free South Africa almost three decades ago.

The selected artworks cut across issues of identity, society, the built environment and the spirit of the times. The exhibition continues the conversation on the overall curatorial theme around meaning making by way of visual art, exploring identity, heritage, the self and the collective contemporary South Africa plunged into a reckoning around uncomfortable historic truths and reflecting on the future implications of the decisions made now, before the day comes when all will have to face some unpleasant truths about the societal fractures that have gone unaddressed, with a special focus on the disconnect between expectations and reality.

The exhibition is curated by Nonto Msomi, Art Bank of South Africa’s Project Manager.

Art Bank of SA is a national programme of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture as part of the Mzansi Golden Economy (MGE) strategy implementation and is hosted by the National Museum Bloemfontein, an agency of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture. Its vision is to promote, foster and stimulate a vibrant market for the collection of South African contemporary visual art through the lease and sale of artworks to South African government departments, private companies, and private individuals.