The Poets Are Working

Southern Guild is pleased to present The Poets Are Working, a major group exhibition curated by Anna-Michelle Roux, and presented in in collaboration with Strauss & Co and the Kilbourn Collection. Bringing together historical works by Frederick Hutchison Page (1908–1984), Alexis Preller (1911–1975), Keith Alexander (1946–1998), and Penny Siopis alongside contemporary artists from Southern Africa, the exhibition places past and present in dynamic dialogue through key works from the Kilbourn Collection.

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About the Kilbourn Collection

Frank and Lizelle Kilbourn are private art collectors. In addition to various business interests, Frank is the executive chairperson of auction house Strauss & Co and was formerly deputy chair of the Irma Stern Museum Committee. Lizelle is an attorney and writer and has a special interest in promoting art appreciation. As philanthropists, they share a deep passion for and commitment to art. They started their collection of primarily South African art in 1988 and the collection has grown over time to include over 2,000 works from a very wide range of Southern African artists, spanning 120 years of visual art output in South Africa. In the process, an awareness developed that the privilege of owning a private art collection of this nature is counterbalanced by the responsibility of preserving and sharing the joy of it with other people. Part of Frank and Lizelle’s aim is to encourage other collectors to make more “private” art available for public viewing. They regularly lend their works for exhibition, and every year in August and September, they host Welgemeend Art Month, where they share works in their collection and those of fellow collectors with the public in a themed exhibition curated by Frank. They are also co-founders of the Bright Foundation, a PBO involved in education, nature conservation, and promotion of the arts and culture, amongst other things.