Artist using his imagination to create
• By RosalIa David
ARTIST Fillow Nghipandulwa recently donated a giant painting of the Namib Desert to the Namibia Tourism Board worth N$50 000.
In an interview with Confidente, the artist said with his love for mixed media artworks, he decided to give back to the community through donating something that promotes the country’s precious landscapes.
“I was driving past this building and I was wondering what is and when I learned that it was NTB, I thought of doing something nice for them and hand it over.
I was so afraid to go inside but I decided I will enter the building when I have something to offer and not with empty hands and so I did,” he said.
Asked on what inspires his paintings, Nghipandulwa said he uses his imagination to draw and has never copied any work done before.
With the NTB company mandate being the travel and hospitality governing body of the country Nghipandulwa said it was the right company to approach to promote his art.
“Since I am also passionate about promoting the Namibian culture and landscapes, I was like why not,” he added.
NTB chief executive officer Digu Naobeb described the painting as a ‘marvelous piece of art’ which promotes the natural landscape of Namibia.
“This will be adding a lot of mileage to our exposure as an organisation in terms of our visitors and atmosphere once it is placed here.
I am impressed to learn that he actually started painting at a tender age,” he further noted.
Naobeb said the art industry is limitedly celebrated and NTB will work with other stakeholders to organise a festival for arts and culture.
“We need to bring this art to the public and be aware of this heritage we have.
We have not done enough as a country for this particular industry,” he added.
Providing background on his creative journey, Nghipandulwa said he has always been passionate about art since from a young age but only fully pursued his talent after graduating from College of the Arts with a diploma in Visual Art in 2014.
From 2016 to 2018, Nghipandulwa trained the Sorris-Sorris community in Kunene region, teaching them how to make jewellery out of newspapers and many other products.
In 2019, he represented the country at the Beijing International Art Festival in China.
In the past, the artist has also donated two of his paintings to the Cancer Association of Namibia for them to sell and make additional funds for children suffering from cancer.