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Seven world acclaimed sculptors to attend Kisii soap stone workshop

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Published on Tuesday, 24 May 2011 19:59

SEVEN international sculptors have been selected to participate in the inaugural International Stone Sculpture Symposium 2011 to be held at Tabaka, Kisii County.

The renowned sculptors were selected by the symposium jury chaired by Elkana Ong’esa at Kisii University College on Friday. The symposium is dubbed ‘Africa Stones Talk’.

The selected artists were among 26 who had applied to participate in the symposium to be held in Tabaka as from August 4-31. UNESCO, through the International Fund for Diversity, will fund the workshop.

Those selected were Li Dongliang from China, Hany Faisal from Egypt, Renatde Verbrugge from New Zealand, Yahushi Hori from Japan, George Kockott from South Africa, Tzetuka Koykova from Bulgaria and John Barlow from USA. Tapfrima Gupusta from Zimbabwe and Rumen Nlihov were named as reserves.

Ten artists from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi will be selected in the local sculptors category, said Ong’esa who was accompanied by the symposium coordinator Gerard Motondi and committee member Esther Giombaire. “The process was very competitive and coming up with the seven names was very difficult. We would have invited all the 26 applications, but the sponsorship is limited,” Ong’esa said.

Renowned scholars were also selected to participate in the pre-symposium conference to be held at Kisii University College as from August 1-3, Ongesa said. He has just returned from Hong Kong where he exhibited stone and wood sculptures and as an artist- in- residence at Lingnan University

Among the selected scholars are Elisabeth Cort who will talk on the efficacy in the formation of practicing artists in Kenya while Prof Ratemo Michieka will present a paper on environmental effects of stone mining in Tabaka.

Prof Justus Barongo of the University of Nairobi will to talk on the geology of the rocks to be used for the symposium while Prof John Akama, the principal of Kisii University, will discuss cultural tourism.