The Standard Bank, in collaboration with David Krut Publishing and the Mail and Guardian, are launching a national writing competition on the theme of 'Picasso and Africa'.

The competition coincides with the Picasso and Africa Exhibition at the Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg (Feb 10 - Mar 25) and at Iziko: South African National Gallery, Cape Town (Apr 13 - May 21).

The exhibition 'Picasso and Africa' sets in motion a series of questions about the extent and nature of the relationship between African art and Picasso.

Writers are invited to submit non-fiction essays that thoughtfully and provocatively take up some of these questions. What was the nature of the relationship between Picasso and African art? What was the version of Africa that Picasso explored in his work?

Do discussions of Picasso's use of African motifs in his work perpetuate the idea of an undifferentiated, mythological continent? How did African artists appropriate European art in the early part of the twentieth century and with what results?

What does the relationship between Picasso and Africa tell us about the nature of artistic influence and appropriation in the visual arts? What problems are raised by the very expression Picasso and Africa?

Writers are invited to submit a non-fiction essay that addresses some of the questions raised by the theme 'Picasso and Africa'. Writers may focus specifically on a topic of their choice or they may write a wide-ranging essay entitled Picasso and/in Africa.

Essays must be submitted as hard copies, double-spaced, in 12-point font to:
Picasso and Africa Writing Competition
David Krut Publishing
140 Jan Smuts Avenue
Parkwood 2193