About

The Absa L’Atelier is a leading Pan-African art competition. It has been running for 37 years, and is hosted annually by Absa in partnership with the South African National Association for the Visual Arts (SANAVA). The Absa L’Atelier is about affording the winning artist(s) with the relevant skillset to develop and thrive as an artist in a forever changing world.

Every year, emerging visual artists from across Africa are given the opportunity to showcase their talents through the Absa L’Atelier. Additionally, the competition offers them a platform to explore themes and contemporary issues, while setting the stage to bring their possibilities to life. One only has to look at the past winning artists who have become ambassadors, to see how winning the Absa L’Atelier has helped to launch their careers and ultimately to grow their craft on a global stage.   

Artists, aged 21 to 40, who are citizens, permanent residents and residing in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, the Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, are eligible to enter for the competition. 

If you consider yourself to be a dynamic and passionate artist who is ready to bring your artistic possibilities to life, then the Absa L’Atelier is the competition for you.

For more details, please contact the Absa L’Atelier team at gallery@absa.co.za. For further information on SANAVA, visit www.sanava.co.za

Entries

• Each artist is permitted a single entry.
• The entry submission needs to be a portfolio of works consisting of a minimum of four, and a maximum of five different artworks.
• Adjudication is done on the portfolio of work entered.
• All entries must be submitted via the Absa L’Atelier online competition portal.
• The Absa L’Atelier competition portal will open for uploading entries on 1 April 2023.
• Entries close on 31 May 2023 at 16:00 (CAT).
• No late submissions will be accepted.
• Adjudication of each submitted entry is done via the online portal.
• When registering online and uploading artwork, it is essential that all fields are completed. Failure to complete all fields will result in an entry being disqualified.
• Any artist aged 21 to 40 years may enter the competition.
• All previous entrants will be required to reregister on the portal.

Partners and sponsors

Primary partners

• Absa Group Limited
• South African National Association for the Visual Arts (SANAVA).

Sponsors of the Gerard Sekoto Award

• The French Embassy in South Africa
• Institut Français d’Afrique du Sud.

Format of the competition

• There are 12 countries that qualify to take part in the Absa L’Atelier.
• After receiving the entries, the 12 countries are randomly divided into three groups of four countries each.
• Artists within each group compete against each other.
• There is no competition among the three groups – artists compete within each group only.
• Artists are required to submit one entry that consists of a portfolio of work of a minimum of four and a maximum of five artworks.
• Submission of less than four and more than five artworks will result in the artist’s immediate disqualification.
• Each group of four countries will have a different group of adjudicators.
• A single winner will be selected from each of the three groups of four countries – one winner from Group A, one winner from Group B, and one winner from Group C.
• Absa will exhibit artwork from each of the group winners in the Absa Gallery in Johannesburg, South Africa, after the announcement of the winners.
• The abovementioned winning artworks will make up the final exhibition, along with the Absa L’Atelier Gerard Sekoto Award winner.
• The winner of each group will be referred to as an Absa L’Atelier Ambassador.

Competition

The prizes

There are four prizes for the competition: 

• The main prize for the winner of each Group; and
• The Absa Latelier Gerard Sekoto Award for a South African entrant that continues to demonstrate growth in their art production.

Competition terms and conditions

The Absa Latelier, through its prizes focuses on how best to support the artist in growing their brand and in equipping artists with the relevant skills needed to build their careers. The competition also gives artists opportunities to build their network and collaborate in their art practice, while providing them with a unique platform that would best position them within the visual arts industry.

Main prize

The winner from each of the three groups will receive the following:

1. The Ambassadors must take up their prizes concurrently.
2. Each Ambassador to be provided with a new laptop, which is loaded with the latest Windows and MS Office Package.
3. The first part of the prize will be divided into two parts.
4. For the first part of their prize, the Ambassadors will enjoy 10 intensive masterclasses from February to July 2024. Each masterclass is 120 minutes. Virtual platforms allow for the masterclasses to be held with leading experts from across the globe. It is compulsory for the Ambassadors to participate in the masterclasses. The masterclasses will cover the following topics:
   1. MC1: Mental wellness
   2. MC2: Financial wellness
   3. MC3: Legal wellbeing
   4. MC4: Developing your career as an artist and brand
   5. MC5: Media training and presence
   6. MC6: Building and managing an art portfolio
   7. MC7: Art of negotiating and conflict resolution
   8. MC8: Fundraising and proposal writing
   9. MC9: Art professionalism
   10. MC10: Artist residencies. 
5. For the second part of the prize, the Ambassadors are paired with a local leading authority from their respective country within the visual arts who will mentor them over a four-month period (June to September 2024).

1. It is compulsory for the Ambassadors to participate in the mentoring programme.
2. During these sessions, the Ambassador will work with their mentor towards a collaborative exhibition with their fellow Ambassadors that will take place in the Absa Gallery in downtown Johannesburg, South Africa, at the end of 2024. Thereafter, in 2025, they will travel to each of the Ambassadors' respective countries. The hosting gallery in the artist’s country will be identified by Absa and its partners.
3. If the Ambassador is a South African artist, the exhibition will not travel to another South African venue.
4. All materials required for the production of the collaborative exhibition, including the framing of the artworks, will be covered up to a maximum value of R70 000 by Absa.
5. The Ambassador will be required to be physically present for the opening of the exhibition at the respective venues, Absa will cover all travel expenses within reason.

1. Each Ambassador will have an option of taking up a solo exhibition in the Absa Gallery within a five-year period of winning the prize. All material required for the production of the solo exhibition, as well as the framing of the artworks, will be covered up to a maximum value of R100 000 by Absa. It will be at Absa’s discretion whether this exhibition will then travel to the artist’s host country after its showing in the Absa Gallery. The hosting gallery in the artist’s country will be identified by Absa and its partners. If the Ambassador is a South African artist, the exhibition will not travel to another South African venue. The Ambassador will be required to be physically present for the opening of their exhibition, Absa will cover all travel expenses within reason to get the Ambassador to the opening.
2. The masterclass, mentoring and collaborative exhibition to take place in 2024.
3. The prize and/or any part thereof may not be exchanged for cash, in-kind and/or otherwise and/or in lieu thereof.
4. Candidates accept all terms and conditions of entry and by entering, the artist acknowledges having read, understood and thus accepted such terms and conditions of submission of their entry to the competition.

Gerard Sekoto Award

The Absa Latelier Gerard Sekoto Award is open to any South African artist aged 25 to 35 years of age. The Absa Latelier Gerard Sekoto Award is made possible by the Institut Français d’Afrique du Sud and the French Embassy in South Africa, in partnership with Absa and SANAVA. To qualify, the entrant must be a permanent South African citizen and be permanently residing within South Africa. 

The Award includes:

1. A three-month residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, France. This will include a return airfare from South Africa to Paris, a daily stipend while in Paris, and return transport from the artist’s place of residence in South Africa to the airport. 
2. The Award recipient will be required to take up their residency from April to June in 2024.
3. A solo exhibition in the Absa Gallery in downtown Johannesburg in February 2025. Absa will cover the material and framing costs for this exhibition up to a maximum value of R100 000.
4. Three virtual masterclasses, namely (1) Mental wellness; (2) Financial wellness and (3) Legal wellbeing.
5. Winners are obliged to take up the residency in the year following receipt of the award during the period that it is offered and may not defer such prize to an alternate date.
6. The award recipient is required to be physically present for the opening of their exhibition, Absa will cover all travel expenses within reason to get the Award recipient to the opening.

1. If the winner elects not to accept the award and/or any part thereof and/or is unable to accept same for any reason whatsoever, such prize may at the discretion of the sponsors be offered to one of the other participants, with the result that the refusing winner will not receive the prize and/or any part thereof.
2. The prize and/or any part thereof may not be exchanged for cash, in-kind and/or otherwise and/or in lieu thereof.

Candidates accept all terms and conditions of entry and by entering, the artist acknowledges having read, understood and thus accepted such terms and conditions of submission of their entry to the competition.

The date of residency is April to June 2024.

Conditions of entry

Entries

• All entry details of the artist and artwork must be submitted on the Absa Latelier online competition portal.
• All fields must be completed when submitting an entry.
• Any field left blank will result in automatic disqualification of the entry.
• Artists will be able to upload up to 10 (ten) images for each entry showcasing the portfolio of artworks.
• Adjudication of each submitted entry is done via the online portal.

Online registration

• Online registration will open on the Absa Latelier website on 1 April 2023.
• The competition will close on 31 May 2023 at 16:00 (CAT).
• No late entries will be considered.

How the winners are selected

Adjudication process in the Absa Latelier art competition

The Absa Latelier art competition sets the stage for the four prize winners to promote their work by exhibiting at the Absa Gallery in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The Absa Latelier art competition is open to everyone aged 21 to 40 years old. All artists, those with formal training, as well as self-taught artists, are given an equal opportunity to participate in the competition. 

Adjudication of all submitted artworks is done by an independent panel of adjudicators appointed by the partners, namely the South African National Association for the Visual Arts (SANAVA) and Absa. 

The adjudicators for the Gerard Sekoto Award are appointed by the Institut Français d’Afrique du Sud and the French Embassy in South Africa.

Each adjudicator is chosen for their particular field of expertise within the visual arts, including sculpture, painting, digital, printmaking and so forth, and each contributes to the assessment of what is deemed to be quality. 

The criteria for the adjudication revolve around matters of technical execution, conceptual and thematic engagement, freshness of artistic vision within the context of African contemporary art, and finally – and probably the most difficult element – aesthetic appeal.

The adjudication for the Gerard Sekoto Award will be based on the body of artworks submitted and the artist's CV. Through their CV, the artist must have demonstrated a willingness to grow and develop themselves as an artist, using the opportunities provided to them (i.e. participation in group exhibitions, solo exhibitions, previously having entered the Absa Latelier and participation on other art platforms).

Who can enter? 

The competition is open to all artists who are not younger than 21 and not older than 40 in March 2023. In the case of art students, only students in their final year of study, who meet the age requirements, may participate.

All prize winners will be required to take up the prize as per the date mentioned in the entry details.

Only artists who are citizens or have been granted permanent residency and are permanently residing in South Africa, Kenya, Zambia, Ghana, Botswana, Uganda, Mozambique, Mauritius, the Seychelles, Tanzania, Nigeria or Namibia may enter the competition. The airfare to the Absa Gallery and the residency in France or South Africa forms part of the prize, and is only from the participating countries. 

If information is not captured accurately on the system and any information is missing from the online registration, the entrant will automatically be disqualified.

Personal information

Absa will only collect, store and use your personal information, such as your name, age, telephone number and email address for the purposes of entering you, as the entrant, into the competition and for administering the draw as set out in these rules. This will not affect any existing marketing preferences that you have registered with Absa.

By entering the Absa Latelier, your personal information may be transferred to our service providers and agents (including their subcontractors) to store and use as necessary to administer the competition. We will never pass your information on to any third party for them to use in their own direct marketing, without your consent.   

Your personal information will be held on record for a short period of time, as necessary to administer the competition, and will then then be securely destroyed.  

Which works may be entered? 

Only one entry is allowed.

Each entry consists of a body of artwork, with a minimum of four and a maximum of five artworks. 

All artwork must be uploaded via the Absa Latelier online platform.

The works of art must have been completed in the 12 months before the closing date of the competition.

Only original artworks may be entered.

Entries in any medium will be accepted, subject to the following requirements:

• A single artwork that needs to be hung, must not be larger than 2m x 2m and must not weigh more than 30kg, including the frame. It must also pass through a standard-sized single door.
• Sculptures, including the base, may not exceed a mass of 100kg. The size of the sculpture must not be larger than 2m x 2m and must pass through a standard-sized single door.
• Works of art that consist of several parts, including the frames, must not be larger than 2m x 2m and must not have a combined hanging weight of more than 50kg. The individual pieces making up the artwork must pass through a standard-sized single door. If a sculpture is included, it may not exceed a mass of 100kg, and must pass through a standard-sized single door.
• No installation artwork may be entered.
• Artworks must be of such a nature that they can easily be packed, transported and exhibited. The selection panel and/or organisers have the right to refuse to accept artworks that are difficult to hang, install, transport or handle.
• The selection panel and/or organisers have the right to refuse to accept or display artworks, which they are of the opinion, are dangerous or potentially dangerous, or of a nature that may cause injury or damage to persons or goods.
• No artwork will be accepted that incites hate speech and propaganda or violence against race, creed, gender or sexual orientation.
• No artwork compiled by more than one entrant will be accepted.
• Video entries must not exceed five minutes in length and must have a definite start and end point. The video should not form a continuous loop. Any digital work longer than five minutes (including the start and finish) will be disqualified.
• All artwork entered must be for sale. The selling price must remain the same as the selling price reflected on the online registration form. 
• No performance art will be accepted.
• All artworks must be exhibition-ready. If an entrant’s artworks are selected, they must immediately be ready for transport to the Absa Gallery.

Preparation of the works of art 

Entrants will ensure that the artworks are ready for exhibiting. To avoid damage to the artworks, it is advisable that the entrants use Perspex covering instead of glass. The artist is responsible for supplying hanging clips and protective tabs for artworks that are not framed, but needs to be hung. 

Artworks that are selected must be available for nine months from the closing date of entries. The competition organisers will not be under any obligation to return the artwork within this nine-month period. All efforts will be made to have the artworks returned as soon as possible after the final exhibition closes.

Dispatch, copyright and sales 

All artworks are to be available for sale. Absa reserves the right to first offer.

Absa and its partners reserve the right to reproduce artworks that are entered, without compensation to the entrants, for inclusion in a catalogue or for the advertising of the Absa Latelier. 

If any artworks are selected for the final exhibition, entrants will not be allowed to withdraw any of the artworks selected for any reason whatsoever. Withdrawal of any artwork will result in automatic disqualification of the entrant.

Damage and/or loss 

If any artworks are stolen, disappear or are damaged, the entrant will be entitled to compensation up to the insured amount only that must be agreed with Absa in writing before the artworks are shipped. 

A claim must be made by the entrant concerned within a month of the artworks being returned/lost, failing which, such claim will be forfeited by the entrant involved. If an entrant is compensated for damaged artworks as set out above, the entrant’s damaged artworks will not be exhibited or continue to be exhibited and the damaged artworks will not be included in any catalogue. 

If an artwork is damaged due to a faulty hanging system, it will not be covered by insurance.

Risk 

If any artworks are stolen, disappear or are damaged, the entrant will be entitled to compensation. The risk in respect of damage to and/or loss of the entrant’s artworks will pass to the organisers once the work is collected. The compensation should be limited to a maximum amount of R10 000 (ten thousand rand), as mentioned above. 

Selection 

Adjudication will be based on the online entry. The independent panel of adjudicators will be constituted under the partners, SANAVA and Absa. 

Works of art returned to a regional location after the final exhibition must be collected by the artist within seven days, failing which, Absa will, within its sole discretion, be entitled to sell the artwork on behalf of the artist, or otherwise dispose of it. All efforts will be made to return the artwork directly to the artist or to a location within close proximity of the artist’s residence.

General

The adjudicators’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. 

Absa and its partners are entitled to amend the terms and conditions thereof in so far as same is deemed necessary and such amendments may relate to any aspect of such competition, which may include the addition and/or deletion of any existing and/or proposed terms and conditions of the competition, which amendments may also affect the identified prize, including but not limited to the cash stipend of such competition. 

The proposed amendments may be effected before the start date of the competition and during the competition period, which amendments may result in the competition period being reduced and/or extended as deemed necessary and it is the participant’s responsibility to regularly check the website where the competition rules are made available for any amendments. 

No participant will have any recourse or claim against Absa or its partners as a result of any amendment to these terms and conditions or as a result of Absa’s cancellation, termination or suspension of the competition and/or amendment of the prize.

Artists failing to take up their residency prize as per the indicated dates will forfeit their prize and will have no recourse against Absa or any of its partners.

On being announced as an Absa Latelier Ambassador, the winning artists will be required to undergo due diligence screening similar to that of know your customer (KYC) and sign a contract with Absa and SANAVA, accepting the terms and conditions of the prize. If the results of the screening return major adverse media results, Absa and its partners reserves the right to withdraw the prize.

The prize can under no circumstances be exchanged or swopped in any manner or form.

All people entering this competition (the entrants) agree that the competition rules as set out in these terms and conditions are binding on them.

The organiser of this competition is Absa. For the purposes of this competition, “Absa” means Absa Group Limited (registration number 1986/004794/06), all subsidiaries and associates of Absa Bank Limited and the ultimate holding company Absa Group Limited, its subsidiaries and associates.

Entrants acknowledge that they have been given enough time to read these terms and conditions before entering into this competition. Entrants are aware of all the terms therein and by entering the competition, acknowledge as such.

Enquiries

Absa Latelier team

Email: gallery@absa.co.za