#AETHEPROJECTROOM

AE The Projectroom was a residency, studio, and exhibition space that invited a vast variety of artists. This space was developed out of a need for artists to engage in collaboration with others from all over the world. AE The Projectroom was a private space that allowed artists to work independently while also temporarily making Art Eye their home. They were invited to live on the premises so that they could work without interruption. The aim was to create a synchronicity between traditional workshop spaces and exhibition spaces.

The spaces were situated on the 5th floor of Ellis House, a building dedicated to the promotion of South African art and artists. Ellis House Art Studios was located on the cusp of Johannesburg’s inner city in New Doornfontein. The building housed artists, galleries, and art practitioners, creating multiple dialogues around the production and exhibition of contemporary art. Art Eye chose this space, drawn by its creative energy and close proximity to the inner city. The Art Eye inner city spaces were ventures dedicated to breaking down barriers and celebrating diversity through art. These spaces existed to create visibility, conjure discussions around humanity and diversity, and foster a sense of community between artists and art buyers.

The residency programme was a recent development that allowed artists the freedom to work within the gallery space and collaborate with several other artists working simultaneously. This programme was one in a series of developments that aimed to broaden the scope of creative practice and artistic development. Having moved premises to Johannesburg’s inner city, where the creative community was constantly expanding, we aimed to diversify our product offering by running multiple projects concurrently. Art Eye Gallery comprised several spaces, including AE The Launchpad, AE The Studio, AE The Projectroom, and AE The Studiobox(es), all diverse in functionality yet simultaneously contributing to the contemporary artistic narrative and challenging established notions of artistic production and art-making. We encouraged resident artists to challenge their own sensibilities and practices during their time in AE The Studio, often questioning materiality, modes of expression, as well as modes of collaboration and unconventional exhibition practices.

Art Eye Gallery and Studio, which was situated in New Doornfontein, was a collaborative space that perpetuated the idea of free expression and community. AE The Studio was born from the vision of Art Eye Gallery, which was founded in 2013 in The Design Quarter, Fourways. AE The Studio was an experimental project space that hosted numerous innovative and creative collaborations by artists from different scopes of the South African art scene.

The Art Eye Gallery spaces encouraged both collaborative and individual creation, asking artists to think and create work that contributed to the wider community. As the gallery was an open space, its open-ended accessibility meant resident artists seldom worked alone; artists from various disciplines came together, conversed, engaged, created, and shared work with one another. Our belief was that freedom of space and materiality allowed us to interact with others, ourselves, and our expression in a more authentic way, which subsequently gave light to new works and new ideas.