Mandela portrait-painting exhibition to ‘teach’ young artists business skill

Five days ahead of the 94th birthday of Nelson Mandela, a portrait art exhibition for young eight artists aged 15 to 23 was shown on Friday in the ex-South African president’s hometown, Qunu. 

The show, which opened at Nelson Mandela Museum in the rural Eastern Cape Province, featured painting and drawing portraits of Mandela and his family.

According to the organisers, the show was a follow-up of “a project to teach business and artistic skills to young artists from the impoverished province.”

Inside The Mandela Museum

It was a juried show, which had over 100 entries.

The CEO of the museum, Khwezi Mpumlwana states: “As the Nelson Mandela Museum, we want to collect the history of Tata Nelson Mandela throughout South Africa and in Qunu... because of his role in changing the life of the people here." 

The Nelson Mandela Museum was opened in 2000 in the village where he grew up and returned to after retirement.

In 1990, Mandela was released from prison after spending 27 years in jail, He was elected South Africa's first black president four years later; won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993; served one term as president before stepping down in 1999.