“I visited China for an exhibition earlier in June through an invitation by the Department of Economic Development and Tourism.”
NORTHERN Cape creative artist, Tshepo Phillip Matlhoko, returned home with the best painting award from the 4th Maritime Silk Road International Arts Festival which was held in China.
He received the award for his painting of a Himba woman breastfeeding her baby.
The exhibition, called the “Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition”, was held in the Quanzhou Fujian Province last month.
He further received a certificate for taking part in the exhibition and also donated the painting to the Quanzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum.
He said he left the painting at the museum in order to allow fellow citizens to have a feeling of belonging whenever they see it during their visit to the museum.
Matlhoko was proud of achieving his goal of putting the Northern Cape on the map through his art.
According to him this was his second visit to China to exhibit his work.
“I visited China for an exhibition earlier in June through an invitation by the Department of Economic Development and Tourism.
“This resulted in an invitation to showcase my work in November.”
The MEC for Economic Development and Tourism, Maruping Lekwene, said that Matlhoko was an inspiration to young and upcoming artists in the Province.
“As we observe the 16 Days of Activism Campaign and also promote the seasonal experiences in the Northern Cape, this is a true inspiration, bringing hope to the youth,” Lekwene said.
