ABSA L'Atelier Merit Award

The ABSA L’Atelier is South Africa’s most prestigious art competition and is held annually for artists between ages 21 to 35. This award not only ensures South Africa’s emerging artists of recognition, but also affords them the opportunity to develop their talents abroad. A look through the list of previous winners will testify to this.
 Four prizes will be made available: First prize, two merit award prizes and the Gerard Sekoto Award for the most promising artist. 
One of the merit awards is done in cooperation with the Sylt Foundation. The merit winner will sopend a two-month residency on the island of Sylt in Northern Germany.

Jaco van Schalkwyk (winner 2013), Donald Wasswa (winner of the Merit Award of the ABSA L'Atelier Award 2016) and Tumi Mokgope (Sylt Foundation)

Ugandan visual artist and sculptor Donald Wasswa won the Merit Award of the ABSA L'Atelier Award 2016 and will spend two months of a residency on Sylt next year. Jaco van Schalkwyk (winner 2013) and Tumi Mokgope (Sylt Foundation) have already celebrated with him.

© Donald Wasswa

© Donald Wasswa

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A Proprietor of @rtpunch studio, Wasswa Donald (aka WASWAD) is Uganda´s multidisciplinary, contemporary artist who has received his training from Kyambogo university and is now working with artists from different backgrounds and experiences. He believes that each art disciple greatly contributes to the others, and so he finds his inspiration to create by collaborating with other artists.

Waswad`s whimsical paintings and dreamscape work is an expression of the social, political and economic situations surrounding him, Ugandans and Africans at large. He experiments with various materials and artistic styles to express himself. In his works he blends semi-abstract and realism styles, looking for the hidden beauty that lies in the incorporation of a variety of materials when creating sculptures and installations.

Nature, music, and dreams are the main sources of inspiration for Waswad.

© Biography by afriart (http://afriartgallery.org/wasswa-donald/)