David Koloane

David Koloane was born on June 5th,1938, in the township of Alexandra, a suburb of Johannesburg in South Africa. His passion for arts began developing early during his high school years in Soweto, where he met an artist by the name of Louis Maqhubela. Louis gave Koloane his first art lessons, sparking his initial interest in the field. Around this time Koloane's father suffered from a stroke, and was left unable to work. As a direct result, Koloane dropped out of high school to support his family. From then on, Koloane spent his leisure time creating art, as a hobby. These events establish the beginning of David Koloane's visual arts career, which spanned over 60 years. Between the years 1974-1977, Koloane attended art classes at the Bill Ainslie Studios, which later became the Johannesburg Art Foundation. In 1977, Koloane was one of the founding members of the first black gallery in South Africa, located in Johannesburg. His ever-increasing dedication to art led him to start teaching part-time at a high school in a township, which eventually transitioned to full-time teaching. In the following years, Koloane remained active and committed to his craft. In 1982, he co-curated the Culture and Resistance Arts Festival in Botswana. Koloane studied at the University of London from 1984 to 1985 and earned a diploma in museology. From 1986 through 1988, he served as the first curator for the Federated Union of Black Artists (FUBA) Art Gallery in Johannesburg. In 1998, the government of The Netherlands honored David with The Prince Claus Fund Award for his devotion to aiding the development of South African visual arts. Shortly after these events, he co-ordinated and co-curated the Zabalaza Festivals in London, England in 1990. Koloane also created an artist residency called Bag Factory with collector Robert Loder in an area not strictly black or white during Apartheid segregation in 1991. Artists Sam Nhlengethwa and Kagiso Patrick Mautloa were the first resident artists and it went on to host William Kentridge, Helen Sebidi, Penny Siopis, Wayne Barker, Benon Lutaaya and Deborah Bell among many. He participated in the 1989 Pachipamwe II Workshop held at Cyrene Mission outside Bulawayo, Zimbabwe alongside prominent artists including Joram Mariga, Bernard Matemera, Bill Ainslie, Voti Thebe, Sokari Douglas Camp and Adam Madebe. David Koloane's works are part of many collections worldwide, including the collections of the Johannesburg Art Gallery, The Contemporary African Art Collection (CAAC) of Jean Pigozzi, the South African National Gallery in Cape Town and the Botswana National Museum. The David Koloane Award was established in 2010 to celebrate the life and career of Dr. David Koloane as the respected artist, curator, writer, and founding member of the Bag Factory Artists' Studios. The award honors Dr. Koloane's contributions to the arts industry and supports emerging artists who share his passion and dedication. Recipients of the award are offered a three-month residency at the Bag Factory Artists' Studios, which includes a studio space, a materials stipend, mentorship from the Bag Factory and established artists, and culminates in a solo exhibition of a new body of work in the Bag Factory gallery. This award has provided valuable opportunities for artists to develop their skills and showcase their work, and has paved the way for numerous artists over the last few years.

1977 Nedbank Gallery Killarney, Johannesburg, South Africa 1977 The Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa 1978 Black Expo ‘78, Johannesburg, South Africa 1979 Gallery 101, Johannesburg, South Africa 1979 Bill Ainslie Studios, Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa 1982 Art towards social development, National Gallery and Museum, Gaborone, Botswana 1984 Stockwell Studio exhibition, London, UK 1985 Gallery 198, London, UK 1985 Fuba Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa 1986 Historical perspective of Black South African artists French Alliance, Pretoria, South Africa 1987 Portraits: UNISA Art Gallery, Pretoria, South Africa 1987 Contemporary Black artists Academy Art Gallery, Paris, France 1988 Pachipamwe international artists workshop Zimbabwe National Gallery Harare, Zimbabwe 1989 The Neglected Tradition Exhibition, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa 1989 African encounter, Dome Gallery, New York City 1990 Art from South Africa Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, UK 1990 South African Mural Exhibition, I.C.A. Gallery London, UK 1990 Gallery on the Market, with Michael Zondi, Johannesburg, South Africa 1999/2000 Galerie Seippel, Cologne, Germany, Global Art - South African Contemporary Art (group) 2000 Liberated Voices Exhibition, Museum of African Art, New York City 2001 Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa 2002 Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa 2002 Kunstraum Sylt-Quelle, Rantum/Sylt, Germany, Tracing the Rainbow (group) 2002 Galerie Seippel, Cologne, Germany, Johannesburg Blues 2003 Galerie Seippel, Cologne, Germany, Tracing the Rainbow (group) 2003 Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa 2004 "The ID of South African Artists", Amsterdam, Netherlands 2004 Museum Bochum Deutschland, New Identities (group) 2008 Museum Goch, Goch, Germany, Works on Paper, hommage to David Kolane's 70th birthday