ART BEAUTIES

My name is Sara Gaqa

I´m a visual artist from South Africa

Why did you become an artist?

If artist meaning art as an occupation (because I believe that every person is an artist), then I would say that I am finally doing what I always should have done. It is the one thing that I was always good at and always loved doing most. I am lucky enough to have turned my passion into an occupation.

How did you get into art? How did it all start?

Painting and drawing was something that I did from the time I could hold a pen. It was something I just always did, it is part of who I am. However it took quite a while and a friend who kept pushing me, to finally find the courage and turn a hobby into an occupation.

What was the highlight in your art career so far?

Painting and drawing was something that I did from the time I could hold a pen. It was something I just always did, it is part of who I am. However it took quite a while and a friend who kept pushing me, to finally find the courage and turn a hobby into an occupation.

If you were not an artist - what would be your profession, what was your childhood dream if not being an artist?

As a child I wanted to be a Ballerina and a Vet. As a teenager I wanted to be a fashion designer and it is still something that I love. I explored being a scientist which I did enjoy but not as much as being an artist. And if I could study one more time it would probably be psychology, just for fun.

Who or what has inspired you most in your life?

Beauty is what most inspires me. Beauty that can be found all around us, in the detail of a flower, the vast ocean, in the eyes of another human being or in between the lines written in a book.

Which person outside art do you admire? And for what?

That would be Nelson Mandela. I admire him most for the forgiveness he has practiced in his own life. I think most of us agree how difficult it can be to even forgive a small injustice that has been done to us.

Which 5 things would you take with you to a desert island?

I would take my husband and my daughter, my cat and my dog and probably my lip balm that I am addicted to.

Which three people you would like to have for an evening at your dinner table?

Nelson Mandela, the Dalai lama and Trevor Noah.

What would you regret at the end of your life not having done?

I love to travel and get to know different cultures and ways of life. One place my brother and I have promised each other to visit one day are the Galapagos Islands.

What is the best work of art ever in your opinion and why?

The piece of art created for the love of creating.

If you had the chance for a 1-year art residency which country would you choose and why?

That would probably be a country in East Asia. I have lived in Europe, in the Middle East and of course in Africa and I would love to explore another culture different to the ones I know. As the subject of my art is human emotions, getting to know different cultures is something that greatly inspires me.

How do you spend your time if you are not creating art – which other passions do you have?

I love to read, spend time in nature, sew and write.

My message to the world

Happiness is in the detail.

Get in touch with me