Ann Mary Gollifer (born 1960) is a British-Guyanese visual artist currently based in

Gaborone Gaborone ( , , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Botswana, largest city of Botswana, with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its metropolitan area is home to 534, ...

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

. Her work ''Mother Tongue'' can be seen on display in the Sainsbury African Galleries, a part of the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

's permanent collection.

Biography

Gollifer was born in

Mabaruma Mabaruma is the administrative centre and regional capital for Region One (Barima-Waini) of Guyana. It is located close to the Aruka River (the Venezuelan border) on a narrow plateau above the surrounding rainforest at an elevation of 13 metres. ...

, in the north-west of

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...

, now the

Barima-Waini Barima-Waini (Region 1) is a Regions of Guyana, region of Guyana and is located in the northwest of the country. Barima-Waini has three sub-regions: Mabaruma, Matakai, and Moruca. The region is located in the northwest of the country and has a p ...

district of

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

. Her mother is Warao-

Arawak The Arawak are a group of Indigenous peoples of northern South America and of the Caribbean. The term "Arawak" has been applied at various times to different Indigenous groups, from the Lokono of South America to the Taíno (Island Arawaks), w ...

Amerindian and her father is English. In 1962 her parents re-located to the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

and at the age of seven she was sent to boarding school at the Ursuline Convent in Brentwood,

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. She went on to study English Literature and Art History at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

from 1979, graduating with an honours degree in History of Art in 1983. She then worked in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...

Contemporary Art before moving to

, in 1985. Gollifer worked as a Senior Technical Officer under the directorship of its founder,

Alec Campbell Alexander William Campbell (26 February 1899 – 16 May 2002) was the final surviving Australian participant of the Gallipoli campaign during the First World War.Shaw, John"Alec Campbell, Last Anzac at Gallipoli, Dies at 103" ''The New York T ...

, at the

Botswana National Museum The Botswana National Museum, also known as the National Museum and Art Gallery, is located in the Botswana capital of Gaborone and is a multi-disciplinary institution that includes the National Art Gallery and Octagon Gallery, as well as—si ...

. During this period, she also worked part-time at the

Phuthadikobo Museum The Phuthadikobo Museum is a historic building of architectural interest and the museum has a range of displays, a craft shop and a silkscreen printing workshop which are unique to Africa. It is a museum, cultural centre and silkscreen workshop ...

Mochudi Mochudi is one of the larger villages in Botswana with a population of 50,321 people in 2022. It is situated in the Bakgatla tribal region, in Kgatleng District, about northeast of Gaborone. The village lies several kilometres from the main ...

with Sandy Grant, the museum's founder and director. From 1991 to 2001 she was part of the committee involved with the administration and facilitation of the Thapong international artists workshops in Botswana. Initiated by Veryan Edwards in 1988, Thapong was an off shoot of the

Triangle Arts Trust The Triangle Network, formally known as the Triangle Arts Trust, is an international arts organisation that brings together artists from different countries to explore new ideas and expand the boundaries of their practice. History The Triangle N ...

started by

Robert Loder Robert Beauclerk Loder, (24 April 1934 – 22 July 2017) was an English businessman and art collector. He was particularly concerned in developing contemporary African art. Biography Loder was the son of John Loder, 2nd Baron Wakehurst and his ...

and

Anthony Caro Sir Anthony Alfred Caro (8 March 192423 October 2013) was an English abstract sculptor whose work is characterised by assemblages of metal using ' found' and industrial objects. He began as a member of the modernist school, having worked with ...

in 1982. An artist member of the Thapong committee, Gollifer helped organize international workshops as well as smaller local workshops annually and was part of the executive committee responsible for the building of the Thapong Visual Art Centre in Gaborone. Through the Thapong initiative, international artists would gather to share their material practice, which provided Gollifer with networks between artists, art historians and curators, such as Chris Spring, former curator of the Sainsbury African Galleries,

, Polly Savage,

SOAS University of London The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...

Goddy Leye Goddy Leye (24 November 1965 in Mbouda, Cameroon – 19 February 2011 in Bonendale, Cameroon) was a Cameroonian artist and intellectual. His work is focused on videos, installations, conceptual art and theoretical contributions. He is the ...

, Lutanda Mwamba, Baba Jaak, Vanessa Jackson, Diana Hyslop, Kagiso Patrick Mautloa and

David Koloane David Nthubu Koloane (5 June 1938 – 30 June 2019) was a South African artist. In his drawings, paintings and collages he explored questions about political injustice and human rights. Koloane is considered to have been "an influential artist ...

. Steve Jobson described Gollifer's works in his catalogue statement for the 2009 Artists in Botswana Exhibition, National Museum and Art Gallery,

: "Ann Gollifer is an artist who, through her personal search, has cut a path of innovation, technical and aesthetic excellence and ambitiousness which has made many of us explore our own limitations with more skepticism. Unsurprisingly, we are again subjected to a sensuous treat of the delicate and powerful."What am I doing here? Ke dirang ha?
galleries.co.uk June 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2023

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

* ''Omang? – "Who are you?"'', Sophie Lalonde Art, Gaborone, Botswana, 2015 * ''Branded'', The Frame Gallery, Gaborone, Botswana, 2012 * ''Living on an Horizon – A tribute to Bessie Head'', Circa on Jellicoe, The Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2011 * ''What Am I Doing Here? Ke Dirang Ha?'', Bicha Gallery, Gabriel's Wharf, South Bank, London, UK, 2010 * ''Linhas de Sangue, Territories of the Heart'', Museu Nacional de Arte, Maputo, Mozambique, 2006

Collaborative or group exhibitions

* ''Love Is …,'' The BKhz Gallery, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2019 * FIAC, represented by Guns & Rain, Paris, France, 2018 * Investec Art Fair, represented by Guns & Rain, Cape Town, South Africa, 2018 * ''Omang'' (with Shepherd Ndudzo), The AVA Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa, 2017 * ''Goddesses and Super Heroes'', Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa 2009 * ''Word'' (with Sedireng Mothibatsela, Steve Jobson and Monica Mosarwa), the Grahamstown festival, The Monument, 2008 * ''Monomotapa,'' Fordsburg Studios, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2002 * ''Hoche Koche'' (with Steve Dyer and the Tumbuka Dance Company), premiered in Harare at HIFA, then toured Gaborone, The Grahamstown festival and the Dance Festival in Avignon, France, 2001, France and at the Dance Umbrella, Wits Theatre, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2002 * ''Three Women Three Perspectives'' (with Dada Coex'ae Qgam and Neo Matome), Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Windhoek and Gaborone; funded and hosted by the Alliance Francaise, Botswana, 2000

Public collections

* The Unisa Art Gallery Collection, Pretoria, South Africa * The Sainsbury African Galleries, The British Museum, London, UK * The Triangle International Art Workshops, New York, USA * The Alliance Francaise, Johannesburg, South Africa * The National Museum, Gaborone, Botswana * The Thapong International Art Workshop, Gaborone, Botswana * The Mbile Art Collection, Lusaka, Zambia * Botswana Life Insurance Ltd., Gaborone, Botswana *

Bank of Botswana The Bank of Botswana (BoB; ) is the central bank of Botswana. When Botswana gained independence from Britain in 1966, the country was part of the Common Monetary Area, Rand Monetary Area (RMA). In 1974 Botswana withdrew from the RMA, and the Ban ...

Art Collection, Gaborone, Botswana

Bibliography

* 2015: ''Men with Tales'' (Eggsson Books) * 2015: ''A frog in her throat'' (Snow Moon Editions). * 2011: ''I don't know why I was created. DADA, Coex'Ae Qgam'' (with Jenny Egner, Eggsson Books). * 2004: ''The Nata Baobab'' (Botsalano Press).

Commissions

* Carter's suit, personalised suit for Carter Foster, the curator of the

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is a Modern art, modern and Contemporary art, contemporary American art museum located in the Meatpacking District, Manhattan, Meatpacking District and West Village neighbor ...

, to wear to the

Burning Man Burning Man is a week-long large-scale desert event focused on "community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance" held annually in the Western United States. The event's name comes from its ceremony on the penultimate night of the event: the ...

festival 2009, New York, USA * "The Maitisong Dancers", mild steel and aluminium wall sculpture, 12 metres in length x 4 metres in height, Maitisong Theatre entrance, Gaborone, Botswana * The Donor windows, entrance,

Princess Marina Hospital Princess Marina Hospital (PMH) is a provincial, government-funded district general hospital in Botswana. , PMH is the largest referral hospital in Botswana, with 530 in-patient beds. It is named after Princess Marina. Location Princess Marina ...

, Gaborone, Botswana

Residencies

IASPIS IASPIS, ''The International Artists Studio Program in Stockholm'', is a cultural exchange program financed by the Swedish Government. IASPIS facilitates a creative dialogue between visual artist The visual arts are art forms such as painting, ...

Residency, Stockholm, Sweden, 2018 * The Fordsburg Artist Studios, The Bag Factory, Johannesburg, 2002

Workshops

* ''Triangle'', New York, USA, 2008 * ''Thupelo'', South Africa, 2000 * ''Mbile'', Zambia, 1998 * ''Thapong'', Botswana 1991, 1993, 2001

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gollifer, Ann 20th-century British women artists Guyanese artists Guyanese women artists 1960 births Living people Alumni of the University of Edinburgh People from Barima-Waini 21st-century British women artists Guyanese expatriates in Botswana British expatriates in Botswana