Benevolence is the theme of the group exhibition that Artme has been staging since the beginning of April, on the premises of theIlot Cadres, framing workshop run since 2011 by Kenny Roussety, at Cap Malheureux. Artme, or “make me creative” as Savanna Ulcoq calls it, is at once a modular gallery, a living space with a café and children’s corner, a venue for conferences and art workshops, and a creative space with a residency studio and framing workshop. Dominique Bellier
Well-known as a curator at the Caudan Arts Centre and, in recent years, with Shay Hewett, Savana Ulcoq now works for herself and the artists she represents. The young woman speaks at 100 miles an hour, as if there were an urgency to share her passion and fulfill her profound desire to bring a different relationship to the visual arts in Mauritius: ” Moreopen and authentic”, she says.
To establish this different relationship with art, she has teamed up with artisan framer Kenny Roussety, who has a large room for his framing workshop and a vast lawn area around it… All in all, enough to create a living space.
On the evening of the vernissage, parents who had come with their families immediately understood the value of the play area next to the bar. The outdoor area was also used as a catering area for the evening, and a café will be open all day, Monday to Friday, until the end of May. The vast lawn will host open-air exhibitions, monumental sculptures and other installations, as well as workshops led by specialists such as Savana Ulcoq, who will welcome children on May 22, June 3, 10 and 17. As for adults, they will be able to learn linocut on the same dates, with artist Joëlle Rosalie Baya.
Two paintings in the inaugural exhibition stood out for their singular line and tone, and their existential questioning. Signed Gary Sasman, they foreshadow a first solo show due to arrive by the end of the year. In the meantime, Ki Lepok, an exhibition by Keivan Cadinouche, will soon replace the first, which was intended to open this new venue under the auspices of benevolence, love and gentleness. Twenty-two quality artists took part in this inaugural event, where sculpture and ceramics were well represented. For this exhibition, Savana Ulcoq certainly turned to the established names in Mauritian creation, but she also presented the work of new artists who deserve to be discovered. The range of prices is quite broad.
Savana Ulcoq aims to open up the gallery to a new audience. Many people never go through gallery doors, thinking that they’re not expected there because they don’t have the profile of a collector. “I want Artme to be a lively, warm place where people want to stay, because, buyers or not, they are welcomed and can connect with creation and artists…” she explains.
