Farewell and goodbye, fair Citizens!

It is with some sadness that we announce the imminent closure of our beloved village art space.  Directors Kate and Vince are changing professional trajectory: Kate is narrowing her creative focus and concentrating on her personal fine art practice, which also means she will be doing more tattoo and less curating of other artists' work; Vince is committing to work in the Solar Energy field. 

This means we won't be occupying the shop at Atalaia in Chintsa anymore. 

But what an incredible experience we've had with you all! From our humble beginnings as an artist and electrical engineer putting their heads together and calling in a way to pool the creative talent of our area (and save it from export to bigger, more 'exciting' and established creative hubs in the cities), to laying the foundations for a new creative scene in Chintsa, making this a proper art pin on the Eastern Cape map, we are super happy with what we've done to reignite pride within in our creative community and inject some faith into not only the artists we've met, but also the wider mindset of East London, when it comes to the value and power of art.

Thank you to everyone who was involved in some way. Thank you Tersia Vermaak for the initial match-making... Thank you Mike and Sean for letting us occupy your building and gradually  turning your car park into a garden and events venue; thank you Sal for coming on board and starting to paint again; thank you Pam for bringing us news from the outside art world; thank you Emerald Vale Breweries, Crawfords Beach Lodge, C Club, Buccaneers-on-the-Beach, What's On East London, Country Life Magazine, What's Up East Coast, Jikeleza Art Route, Salza Media and Purple Haze Eco Lodge for all your generous contributions to our cause, and of course Lynne Crawford for letting us use your chairs, opening your bar at night when we had overflow, and for all those other wild occasions when we ran out of 'stuff' (also, for all the coffee); and to all the special people who visited and added their energy into what we were doing in our dear, darling Chintsa! Thank you

Works that pass through

 L IS FOR LAUGHTER by Kate Teesdale

Works that pass through

BEYOND - acrylic on woodblock by Kate Teesdale

detail

 

Works that pass through

Ink and pencil works by Kate Teesdale

 

Works that pass through

 Kate Teesdale: 

A New Year for The Hearth of Chintsa

Hello friends and family, supporters of our lovely local art scene! The Hearth is so grateful for all that transpired over the last 300 days. Wow. Somehow we managed to walk through and out of that and we're still here. It is a testament to the spirit of art and humans that a venture like ours can survive and even thrive through an insane time like 20-20. 

We have come through with nothing but love and a growing sense of humour.  Art has not died. Art has not suffered. If anything, Art is one of the strongest elements of our culture and has stood the test of time, once again.

We are a Project Space. We are a platform for local artists. We are a hub of creativity and gatherings. We are fearless, and look on current events as an opportunity for learning and novelty.

This is an art studio, a tattoo studio, a gallery of inspiring ideas and a safe space to gather, dance, make music and share ideas to activate our imaginations and show us how to write the future. We are storytellers, and we intend to take on the task of guiding hearts and minds, now and always, to places beyond all the half-baked, fear-inducing mass mediated realities we are being sold; we accept the challenge.

A selection of new works in the gallery. For these and other works visit the Current Works page: