Teresa Lizamore - Director, Curator and Advisor

Over the past 25 years, Teresa Lizamore has developed a sound career in the industry, as an art consultant, curator and gallerist.

Lizamore's interest in the industry developed during her early years as a student at the then Rand Afrikaans University (now University of Johannesburg) studying history of art. She went on to obtain formal qualifications in Public Relations from The Public Relations Institute of South Africa and interior design from the Boston College in Rosebank. Her work as a public relations practitioner, art consultant and gallery director has merged her interests and experience with an entrepreneurial spirit. She served as the curator for the Sasol art collection between 1982 and 2009 and was responsible for building the collection to over 2000 pieces of contemporary South African Art. The collection is recognised as one of the premier collections of contemporary South African art and is displayed in Sasol's offices locally and internationally. Lizamore also currently serves as advisor and curator to Rand Merchant Bank, a position she has held for the past 15 years. This collection too hosts about 1500 art works. During her career, she started up, and then developed the Telkom art collection, has worked on the ATKV collection and has initiated several smaller private and corporate collections. Lizamore also acted as the art consultant for the formalisation of the first Brett Kebble Art Awards in 2003. For the past eight years Lizamore has also owned and managed Artspace gallery, a space for contemporary art and artists. The gallery recently relocated to the Art Strip, in Rosebank. A host of programmes are also run under the auspices of the gallery. The most significant programme Lizamore initiated following her relocation was the Mentorship Programme. This mentorship programme aims to expose new visual artists, who have previously had little or no exposure to the market. This is achieved by identifying established artists in the field and allowing them to collaborate with new talent through nurturing and guiding the previously unexposed artists. The end result is a commercial exhibition where the work of the mentees are showcased thereby exposing them to an audience. The established artist's endorsement of the newer talent is aimed at giving credibility to the new artist's work and gaining them access to an audience. On a lighter note, Lizamore cites the following quote by Einstein as her motto in life:

“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions. “

Ronel de Jager - Gallery Assistant

Currently completing her BA Fine Arts, Ronel de Jager joined the Artspace team in December 2007 as Gallery Assistant.

Her outgoing manner and organisational skills are an asset to the organisation. Patrons and clients will meet de Jager at the front desk of the new gallery where her duties will engage her in front office management and client liaison,  giving the new gallery a warm and welcoming face.

As a practising artist, De Jager aspires to a career in the visual arts, and arts management.