About Us |
Our History |
The National Art Gallery of Namibia formally came into being with the promulgation of the National Art Gallery of Namibia Act 14 of 2000. Hitherto from 1947, the administration of visual art and crafts at a national level was done by the Arts Association of Namibia (AAN) operating under a Constitution that considered it as a branch of the South African Arts Association. From the time of independence in 1990, efforts were underway to have a National Art Gallery of Namibia. The process began on 25 April 1990 when the Deputy Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, convened a meeting of interested people to discuss various proposals regarding a national Art Gallery of Namibia (NAGN). The Committee set up to push the process forward submitted its Report, “The Foundation and Operation of national Art Gallery of Namibia” on 17 October 1990 to the mentioned Ministry. Among its recommendations was the sitting of the NAGN premise “so that it was readily identifiable, in easy reach of the public, in a central location accessible to all ... including access for handicapped visitors should not be neglected”. The Permanent Collection was to reflect the NAG character of “the highest, impartial excellence representing the spectrum of Namibian artistic endevours” with collection policy guided by “art and cultural appreciation”; “non-formal art education” “historical understanding” and “documentation and research”. Guiding principles for collection included “character and quality” “incentive for artists of the country, to encourage rising talents; to inspire the public'. The collections were to comprise: Namibian art (past and present); “neglected Namibian art” African, especially Southern African art; traditional crafts with artistic merit and works for study collection. Based in Windhoek, “NAGN will endvour at all times to make its services, programmes, exhibition etc available to communities living outside Windhoek”.
