Art competition showcases African talent

“The 2019 BIC Art Master Africa Competition provides a platform for African artists to showcase their work and demonstrate the continent’s rich culture, heritage and love of art to rest of the world,” said Hein Liebenberg, 2019 BIC Art Master Africa judge.

With the voting phase nearing a close on 30 November, the competition will be judged during the first week of December. One artist will be awarded €5,000 and the title of Art Master Africa. A second prize of €500 and a BIC Art Mastery Kit will be awarded to the People’s Choice Prize winner.

Liebenberg is one of five judges from the Africa and Europe continent who will be judging the competition. He is joined by Ghana-based ball pen artist, Enam Basokah, Dubai-based art collector, Geoffroy Bich, Dubai-based art collector, Valerie Manourvrier, Dubai-based ball pen artist and France-based art consultant, Hervé Mikaeloff.

An art teacher at South Africa’s Inscape Education Group, Liebenberg was first introduced to the competition in 2018 when BIC ran a promotion programme at the Inscape campus. In addition, he helped design this year’s marking rubric for the competition alongside BIC brand and digital manager for Middle East and Africa, Ahmed Gowda.

With many artists choosing to create portraits in previous competitions, Liebenberg hopes to see more work that interprets urban settings, birds, animals or landscapes using only a blue BIC ballpoint pen. He will also be looking at how textures and contrasts are rendered using the medium.

His advice to aspiring young artists is to trust and love their own styles. “When you put pen to paper or brush to a canvas without thinking about it too much, what comes out is you. Love and embrace it. If you believe in this intuitive style, others will too. Don’t be a copycat. Rather focus on what makes you different. If Picasso and Matiss had copied other artists, we wouldn’t be studying them or standing in queues to see their art.”

He says winning or placing high in the BIC Art Master Africa Competition is likely to open doors for artists. “The competition is a vehicle for them to demonstrate their work and passion to the world. It also presents an excellent opportunity for them to become entrepreneurs and inspire others to follow their passion of creating art.”