Elfriede Dreyer > Curating > Art > Publications
Through galleries and museums as a curator I source, conceptualise and install artworks for corporates, embassies, private homes and art festivals. I provide advice and inspection reports, as well as art brokering and acquisition advice to art collectors. Having more than 30 years of curating experience in the South African and international art industry, my conceptual interests are contemporary art; African Modernism; African Modernism; Gothic expression; and Romanticism.
I received the following awards:
National Research Foundation, SA: Rating as researcher since 2012
University of Pretoria research awards for the following curated exhibitions:
Me.ek, 2013 | Terra, 2012 | Designs, 2011 | Dystopia, 2010 | Bodies in transition, 2010 | Little Deaths, 2007 | Reconciliation, 2005 | Solo exhibition: delta, 2006 | I received more than 35 funding awards and grants.
Archive of Curatorial and Exhibition Projects
 Installation view, Elfriede Dreyer, Loeritha Saayman, Elsa van der Klashorst | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Elsa van der Klashorst, Nellien Brewer |  Elsa van der Klashorst, Nellien Brewer |  Mieke Machiels |  Elfriede Dreyer, Zelda Cloete. Elsa van der Klashorst |  Elfriede Dreyer, Loeritha Saayman |  Loeritha Saayman, Thelma van Rensburg |  Nellien Brewer, Loeritha Saayman |
Corporate curation & collaboration
Art in the Embassy programme (AIEP), art work curated for American Embassy Pretoria, 2019
Collaboration with Marianne Fenton, curator at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, on the internationally touring exhibition, Don't ask me where I'm from, 2019 >
Absa Bank funding. Tribute /Huldeblyk, KKNK (Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees) >, Oudtshoorn, Western Cape. 21 - 27 2019. Curated artists: Ariana van Heerden (Dr) (exTUT, UP); Avitha Sooful (exVUT, UP); Carl Jeppe (exTUT); David Paton (UJ); Dominic Thorburn (Prof) (Rhodes); Elfriede Dreyer (Prof) (Unisa, ); Diane Victor (UP); Elizabeth Gunter (Prof) (US); Emma Willemse (tutor Unisa); Gordon Froud (UJ); Gregory Kerr (Dr) (exUP, exUS); Guy du Toit (UP); Gwenneth Miller (Dr) (Unisa); Ian Redelinghuys (exTUT); Ingrid Stevens (Prof) (exTUT); Jan van der Merwe (Dr) (TUT); Jeremy Wafer (Prof) (Wits); Keith Dietrich (Prof) (exUS); Kim Berman (Prof) (UJ); Margaret Gradwell (Prof)(ex UP); Ricky Burnett (private).
Belgian consulate funded. Pascual Tarazona, selected work, 2018.
National Arts Festival, Home 2018 >. With Nellien Brewer, Loeritha Saayman, Elfriede Dreyer, Thelma van Rensburg, Elsa van der Klashorst, Zelda Cloete, Mieke Machiels.
Absa Bank funding. Vuurdans/Fire dance, KKNK (Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees) >, Oudtshoorn, Western Cape. 29 March - 4 April 2018. Curated artists: Alta Botha, Caro Fine, Carol Sachs, Denise Woodgate , Donne Rundle, Elfriede Dreyer, Ingrid Coerlin, Janet Holding, Mariétta van Rooyen, Mary-Jane Morris, Mieke Machiels, Rosa Snyman Wessels, Terry Zoeller
(Co-curated) Cool Capital Biennial, Pretoria. The city: a form of life >, Open Window Institute, Centurion, 29 Aug – 15 Nov 2014. Participation in the Venice Architecture Biennial 2016
University of Johannesburg funding. Curated solo exhibition of Titus Matiyane: BRICS Capitals: Titus Matiyane’s panoramas. > UJ Art Gallery (University of Johannesburg). 7 Oct – 11 Nov 2015. 5 large-scale panoramas
Absa Bank funded. National curator of Klein Karoo Kunstefees. Solo and group exhibitions. Title: My land, my land, 3 – 10 April 2015. > Oudtshoorn, Western Cape. More info
Andrew W Mellon, Royal Academy of Arts Antwerp and University of Pretoria funding and collaboration. Nomad bodies. > Wintertuin gallery, Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Artesis University College, Antwerp. 30 January – 7 February 2014. 25 artworks, 12 artists
New Zealand Embassy, Pretoria. Curating and installation of artworks, 2014
Korean Embassy, Pretoria. Talks on South African arts and culture 2013.
Andrew W Mellon and University of Pretoria funding. UP Fine Arts staff exhibition. Part of the Faculty of Humanities Metromusings research project of Visual technologies. > Rautenbach Hall, University of Pretoria. 15 – 29 July 2013. Curator's essay
Absa Bank funding. Me.Ek. > 17 artists, 56 artworks, Published catalogue. Klein Karoo National Arts Festival. 29 March – 6 April 2013
Oliewenhuis Art Museum funding. Terra, including Terra firma, Terra incognita, Terra nullius, Terra. pericolosa. > Oliewenhuis Art Museum, Bloemfontein. 28 May – 5 July 2015. 22 artists. Four exhibitions in one
Absa Bank funding. Designs/Ontwerpe. 16 artists, 58 artworks >. KKNK, National Arts Festival. 31 March – 7 April 2012
Development Bank of Southern Africa funding. Curatorial project with students and community artists: Prosperity murals, 2009 - 2010 >. Included educational workshops. 5 murals executed in Attridgeville, Tshwane, and the Durban Library, Kwazulu Natal. More info >
Unisa and Oliewenhuis Art Museum funding. Dystopia curated exhibition. > Curated by Elfriede Dreyer and Jacob Lebeko. 35 artists, 56 artworks Printed catalogue written and produced. UNISA Art Gallery, Pretoria, South Africa: 23 May – 30 June 2009; Museum Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa: 8 October 8 – 15 November 2009; Oliewenhuis Art Museum, Bloemfontein: 10 June – 8 August 2010
Development Bank of Southern Africa funded. Curating and provision of sculpture garden for new building in Midrand, 2009
Department of Arts and Culture funded. Curating and provision of artworks fort the New Library of South Africa (NLSA) in Pretoria, 2008
University of Pretoria funding. Centenary: A century in the service of knowledge: Visuality/Commentary. > 85 artists. Contributed a chapter on the exhibition in printed catalogue. 12 to 21 May 2008
University of Pretoria funding. Reconciliation. Art exhibitions as part of the Art and Reconciliation Festival. > 11 artists’ installations + 2 additional exhibitions. Printed catalogue written and produced: ISBN 0-620-33947-0. Visual Arts Gallery, Architecture Gallery, Conference Centre, Rautenbach Hall, Technical Building of University of Pretoria. 15 – 30 March 2005
Unisa funding. Digital art exhibition >. 13 local and international artists. Full Feature on Kunskafee on national TV. The Spacing, UNISA. September 2002
Unisa funding. Retrospective of UNISA students of all the undergraduate years. ± 50 Works on paper. Traveling exhibition of student works. Museum Rust Ten Vreugd, Cape Town; Universities of Durban-Westville and Orange Free State. 1995
Exhibitions curated at galleries
Majak Bredell, The New York Years 1981 - 2003. Pretoria Art Museum and Association for Visual Arts, Pretoria. >. March - June 2020.
Non-place. Moor Gallery, Franschhoek, Western Cape >. 24 September - 16 October 2016. Curated artists: Diane Victor, Eric Duplan, Titus Matiyane, Lothar Böttcher, Loeritha Saayman, Frikkie Eksteen, Pascual Tarazona
Contemporary Investment Art. Knysna Art Festival, Western Cape. 1 - 9 October 2016
iMPAC international short-film festival. 5 artists, 7 installations. Open Window, Pretoria. August 12 – 14 2011
CURATED AT Fried Contemporary Art Gallery & Studio, Pretoria. 2005 - 2014 >
2 0 1 4
Diane Victor, Georgie Papageorge, Bloodlines >
Rising stars >
2 0 1 3
Sculptors@Fried
Alex Hamilton, Almost everyone in Pretoria >
Sungmee Bae, Water reflection and me >
Rozan Cochrane, Reflections
Iris Dawn Parker, Quotidian life: the importance of small things >
Christiaan Diedericks, Counterpoint >
Fried Autumn Art Fair
Carla Crafford, Figuration & Negation >
Derek Zietsman, Performing man >
2 0 1 2
Me 1 (with Jayne Crawshay-Hall as guest curator) >
Amita Makan at Me 3 >
Terra >
Terra pericolosa >
Terra incognita >
Terra nullius >
Terra firma >
2 0 1 1
Dimension >
Aperture >
Designs of self >
Designs of nature >
Designs of living >
Designs of time >
UP Visual Arts staff exhibition
2 0 1 0
Passage
Paula Louw, In part
Estelle van den Heever, Private Logic
2 0 0 9
Eric Duplan, Elfriede Dreyer, Marlise Keith, From above and beyond >
Diane Victor, Johann Moolman, Rossouw van der Walt, Recent work
Adele Oldfield, Nathani Luneburg, Maria van Rooyen, Just visiting >
Fried Affordable Art Fair
Marina Aucamp, Jacqueline Schoombie, Anna Gous, Esme Kruger, Ruhan Janse van Rensburg, Four women and a man
Tshepo Setshedi, Lianna Loubser, Sybrand Wiechers, Marili de Weerdt, Heart
Eric Duplan, Gordon Froud, Frieda Sonnekus, Suburb
2 0 0 8
Pascual Tarazona, Paper ++
Janina Pechova, Imprinting the cradle
Titus Matiyane, Diek Grobler, Pieter Swanepoel, On the globe >
Chris Diedericks, [small]Poison
Kay Potts, Hush
Karin Preller, Aperture and Toni-Ann Ballenden, Tracings
Diane Victor, Francois van Reenen, Johan Conradie, Angels & Demons >
Cheryl Gage & Mandy Conidaris, Parallel Universes
Karen Lasserre, Face Value
Lance Friedlande
Daandrey Steyn, Hanje Whitehead, Rebecca Emery, Thelma Marais, Us + I
2 0 0 7
Keith Dietrich, Fourteen Stations of the cross >
Mark Cloet, Johan Thom, Jacki McInnes, Bliss >
Estie Serfontein, Seeing Red
André Naudé, Sandra Hanekom, Location >
Irene Naudé, Phantom limb
Carine Zaayman, The Secret Adventures of Lady Ann Barnard >
Willem Boshoff, Jan van der Merwe, Johan Conradie, Lost >
Majak Bredell, 2 Decades + >
Erna Bodenstein, Portraits from beyond >
Carla Crafford, Momentarily endless >
Little deaths >. Trio exhibition with Wilma Cruise, Guy du Toit, Elfriede Dreyer. 2 video productions and manipulated video stills. Printed catalogue written and produced: ISBN 978-0-620-38104-8. Fried Contemporary Art Gallery & Studio, Pretoria, 13 February – 10 March; Bell-Roberts Gallery at Lourensford Wine Estate, Western Cape, 21 April – 31 July 2007.
Talita Swarts, Between Two Silences >
2 0 0 6
Ulricke Lourens, Reconstructed restriction >
Marili de Weerdt, Rossouw van der Walt, Shelf Life
Lize Muller, Through the Looking Glass >
Pascual Tarazona, Fragmentations >
Nathani Luneburg, Altered World
Pluto Panoussis, Poster: One decade
Adele Oldfield, Eye of the beholder >
Ester Simonis, Diggings I & II
Andre Naude, untitledongetiteld
2 0 0 5
Philip Badenhorst, The Missing Year
The Maswanganyi Family
Guy du Toit, More (than) histories
