Windhoek — Namibian artists John Sampson and Samuel Amunkete will leave in two weeks for Spain for a project arranged through the Department of Cooperation of the Embassy of Spain in Namibia.

The project will consist of a visual art exhibition on the campus of the University Jaume I, in Castellon situated on the east coast of Spain between Barcelona and Valencia. It will be the first exhibition on such a scale of contemporary Namibian art to Spain and is considered to be significant in the context of Spanish/Namibian bilateral relations in the cultural sector.

The exhibition will run from April 18 to 28 inclusive and both artists will return to Namibia end of April. Sampson will engage in lectures and workshops with the student body at the university and Amunkete will present a workshop at the venue. These activities will coincide with the exhibition programme. The two artists will also liaise and engage with the gallery and institutional structures in the region (Valencia & Catalunya). The purpose of such interaction is to create a network of interested partners in Spain with whom to work in order to facilitate the promotion and marketing of contemporary Namibian art in Spain.

It will also be an opportunity to engage with a wide range of professionals and academics in the other disciplines, besides visual art, in order to encourage a more inclusive and dynamic exchange between Spain and Namibia, which allows for explorations on an inter-disciplinary basis and to encourage synergy across all art forms.

Namibia is expected to host visiting Spanish artists in return to engage with their Namibian counterparts in the discipline(s) projected to be the focus of the return half of the program.