Painting Our Humanity With Charles 'Chuck' Collins

11/08/23 • 63 min

In episode 7 of the Latitudes Podcast, host Refiloe Mpakanyane talks to San Francisco based Charles 'Chuck' Collins. Whether working in law or sitting on the board of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Collins’ career has always bent toward improving the lived experiences of communities. This theme is baked into the conversation which focuses not only on what art and design tell us about ourselves (and our condition) but why art is so pivotal to our shared growth and humanity. Collins zooms in from the macro perspective of historic legacies that encourage the devaluing of African art (and artists) and takes us into an almost step-by-step process of how an intentional, global community of collectors, can elevate African art using their influence, their reach and one of Collins’ favourite things: “a good plan”. Humanity is at the heart of Collins’ championing of the visual arts and it shines through profoundly in this interview.

Previous Episode

South African Modernism and Surprising Tales From a Life in the Auction World

In this episode, Alastair Meredith chats to Refiloe about his fascination with South African modernist art; where it all started and why the genre remains the gift that keeps on giving to the South African public and the world. Alastair lets us into the workings of the secondary art market and shares heartwarming anecdotes of unexpected encounters with forgotten art gems. His is a work of passion and a reminder of the wealth of talent, flair and history that South Africa's art industry embodies.

Next Episode

Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi: Making Art is a Way of Thinking and Releasing

In episode 8 of the Latitudes Podcast, host Refiloe Mpakanyane talks to the dynamic New York born, South African-based, multi-media artist Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi, who received the Tollman Award for the Visual Arts in 2019 and the Phillippe Wamba Prize in African Studies in 2004. Nkosi has collaborated, exhibited and studied globally and is popularly known for her pastel-hued paintings of triumphant Black gymnasts as well as her series of portraits of influential Black figures.

In this conversation, Nkosi unpacks the genesis and process behind some of her pieces; she sheds light on her studio practice, as well as her emphatic belief that love can be a force for meaningful change. Nkosi explains how her vibrant heritage (South African father and Greek-American mother) and being born “in exile” have influenced much of the direction of her work. Be it synthesising the “disparate” elements of one’s identity; or looking critically at the seemingly benign conventions of our lives: Nkosi's art is deeply considered and grounded in thorough research that lays bare the workings and consequences of our shared imperial and colonial history, while also imagining an alternative and fascinating present.

*A quick note that the poem alluded to in the conversation is called First Petition by Divya Victor