PIERRE MUKEBA

b. 1995, Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Lives and works in Adelaide

Pierre Mukeba was born in the shadows of civil war in Bukavu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. At an early age he, along with his family, was forced to flee to a refugee camp in Zambia where food was scarce. His mother discovered that her brother was doing well in Harare, the capital Zimbabwe and he invited them to come and stay. For a brief moment life was stable until the Zimbabwean president, Robert Mugabe, ordered that anybody who wasn’t a national of Zimbabwe was to be arrested. In desperation, Mukeba’s mother approached the Australian embassy for asylum. Finally, in 2006, the family were granted residency in Adelaide.

Mukeba’s passion for art grew from the period of living with his uncle. “I used to watch him build sculptures and draw”, he says. “He taught me how to draw farms, trees and people, the basics. He inherited his talent from my grandfather, who was a famous artist in Congo. My uncle inspired me to draw more until I found it had grown into a passion. With my art I have found my own technique of drawing. I learn mostly through experimenting as I go.”

Mukeba’s first exhibition was held in 2017 and since then he has won the Churchie Award in 2017 and the Lipman Karas Peoples Choice Award in the Ramsay Prize in 2019; he’s been collected by Wyndham Regional Gallery, Shepparton Art Museum, the NGV, and the Art Gallery of South Ausrtralia. He will next exhibit in the 2020 Adelaide Biennale of Australian Art.

- Ashley Crawford, 2017 (Art Collector, Issue 79, January - March, 2017)

ARTIST INFORMATION

BIOGRAPHY

1995	Born in Democratic Republic of Congo
2006	Arrived, Australia

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2019	Sydney Contemporary, GAGPROJECTS, Sydney Pierre Mukeba, Hamilton Gallery, Victoria
2018		Melbourne Art Fair, GAGPROJECTS, Melbourne
2017		Trauma, GAGPROJECTS, Adelaide

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2019	STOLEN WEALTH,Wyndham Regional Gallery The Ramsay Art Prize, The Art Gallery of South Australia
2018	WE,GAGPROJECTS, Adelaide Her Name, Adelaide Central Gallery, Adelaide
2017	SPRING 1883, GAGPROJECTS, Hotel Windsor, Melbourne The Churchie Emerging Arts Prize, Queensland HOME, Walker Street Gallery, Melbourne

AWARD AND GRANTS

2019	Winner of the 2019 Ramsay Art Prize People's Choice Award supported by Lipman Karas Carclew Quick Response Grant
2017	Carclew Quick Response Grant Winner of the Churchie Emerging Arts Prize

COLLECTIONS

QUT Gallery, Curator Kevin Wilson, 2017
National Gallery of Victoria, Curator/Director Tony Ellwood AM, 2018
Wyndham Regional Gallery, Curator Megan Evans, 2018
Shepparton Art Gallery, Curator Lara Merrington, 2019
Art Gallery of South Australia, Curator Rhana Devenport

REVIEWS / PUBLICATIONS

McDonald, P. (2019), Fabric of Life, SA Weekend, pp. 10, 11
Dow, S. (2018), Forecast Pierre Mukeba, VAULT Issue 24, pp. 114 - 117
Greenaway, P. (2017), Catalogue Essay, Trauma, GAGPROJECTS 2017
Sigglekow, Z. (2017), Pierre Mukeba wins the Churchie National Emerging Art Prize
Art Guide Australia
Crawford, A. (2017), 34. Pierre Mukeba, Art Collector, pp. 164, 165
Unknown, (2017), First Person: Artist Pierre Mukeba, The Advertiser
Dow, S. (2018), Forecast: Pierre Mukeba, VAULT Magazine, Issue 24. pp.
Fuss, E. (2018), Meet Pierre Mukeba, The Mix: Episode 30,Australian Broadcast Corporation
Yiu Nam Cheung, E. (2018), A Skype Chat with young artist Pierre Mukeba. The Saturday Paper. Edition No. 216
Mantelli, F. (2019), Pierre Mukeba, Artist Profile. Issue 46

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