I flew back to Cape Town after my whirlwind trip to Jozi on Thursday 7th September, and no sooner had I landed than I headed off to play an accoustic show with Nelson at an art exhibition opening evening.
The evening was sponsored by Educor and was held to showcase two incredible artists - painter Elzette Welgemoed and a sculptor from Outshoorn who goes simply by Owen. Hennie Louw – the CEO of Educor has spotted these two artists as having incredible potential and had the exhibition put together to give their careers a boost in the right direction. As an Educor sponsored musician I was invited along to add some music to the evening.
Elzette's work is rich, vibrant and textured. I loved how she focussed on the female form and often brought musical instruments into her pictures. Her work literally shone with energy on the walls and every piece was sold by the end of the evening. It is awesome to see a powerful woman creating powerful and inspiring work.
The most amazing part of it all is 
the 
story of Owen.
Hennie spotted one of his scrap metal sculptures at the KKK Festival and loved it. He then spent months trying to track down the artist who everyone only knew as 'Owen' but didn't know where in the area he lived. They eventually found him on a farm where he worked and told him Educor wanted to help get his work seen. At the exhibition it was Owen's first visit ever to Cape Town and he was blown away to find himself surrounded by art lovers who snapped up his work. He had 16 commissions at the end of the 
evening – all in the region for R2000 each – a long way from the R140 sculpture that Hennie bought a few months back.
This is how big corporates like Educor can really make a difference in someone's life. Owen has been catapulted into the art world and now has prospects he never dreamed of. Because he took a leap of faith and was using his talent to get by, he had no way of knowing that someone like Hennie would spot him and then give him the boost needed to really Live His Dream!
Hennie & I got to ham it up after the show....
He is one of the most inspiring men in South African business & his passion for the arts and making a difference is awesome!
