Liza Essers is the owner and director of Goodman Gallery in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, established in 1966.

Career

After receiving her Bachelor of Commerce in Economics, Essers worked as a strategic consultant for the leading global professional services company

Accenture Accenture plc is an Irish-American professional services company based in Dublin, specializing in information technology (IT) services and consulting. A ''Fortune'' Global 500 company, it reported revenues of $61.6 billion in 2022. Accentur ...

as well as in

private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a ty ...

where she rose to prominence in the commercial and financial sector of South Africa. Prior to purchasing

Goodman Gallery Goodman Gallery is an art gallery founded in Johannesburg, South Africa by Linda Givon (previously Goodman) in 1966. The gallery operates spaces in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and London. It represents both established and emerging artists who are re ...

in 2008, Essers was an independent art advisor and

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

specializing in the conceptualization, development and production of visual art and

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

projects. She was also the

co-executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

of the South African film, ''Tsotsi'' (2005), the first African film to win an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

(Best Foreign Language Picture, 2006). She also produced a documentary film along with

Catherine Meyburgh Catherine Meyburgh is a South African film editor, filmmaker, artist and project designer. Career She started her career as a film editor in 1983 mainly focusing documentaries. She has served as an editor in over 30 documentaries which have ...

titled ''

Kentridge and Dumas in Conversation ''Kentridge and Dumas in Conversation'' is a 2009 South African documentary biographical film written and directed by Catherine Meyburgh. It was jointly produced by Liza Essers and Jason Hoff. The film centers on the real life stories of So ...

,'' which talks about the real life stories of contemporary artists

William Kentridge William Kentridge (born 28 April 1955) is a South African artist best known for his prints, drawings, and animated films, especially noted for a sequence of hand-drawn animated films he produced during the 1990s. The latter are constructed by ...

and

Marlene Dumas Marlene Dumas (born 3 August 1953) is a South African artist and painter currently based in the Netherlands. Life and work Dumas was born in 1953 in Cape Town, South Africa and grew up in Kuils River in the Western Cape, where her father had ...

Goodman Gallery

In her early 30s, Essers worked as an independent curator and film producer. Her interest in

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

making came from its closeness to

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...

. Her passion for contemporary art stemmed from its ability to effect social change. In an interview, Essers has credited her experiences as the inspiration for her desire "to work in the contemporary art world with artists who make work that can force shifts in thinking." Essers took over

in 2008. Since acquiring the gallery, Essers shifted from showing artists primarily from South Africa to working with artists from the rest of the continent, bringing in artists who actualize social change. Her ambition is to "embrace the shared histories and narratives of South Africa with other parts of the continent and the world." Under her directorship, 26 new artists, both established and emerging, from various parts of the Africa and beyond have joined Goodman Gallery. These include Ghada Amer,

Candice Breitz Candice Breitz (born 1972) is a South African white artist who works primarily in video and photography.Kudzanai Chiurai Kudzanai Chiurai (born 1981) is a Zimbabwean artist and activist. His repertoire of art combines the use of mixed media which involves the use of paintings, drawings, videos and photographs to address and tackle social, political and cultural is ...

Mounir Fatmi ; Mounir Fatmi (born 1970 in Tangier, Morocco) is an artist of Moroccan heritage. Born in the city of Tangiers, he spent a majority of his time the neighborhood of Casabarata. This neighborhood was known as one of the poorest in the city. He wo ...

Alfredo Jaar Alfredo Jaar (; ; born 1956) is a Chilean-born artist, architect, photographer and filmmaker who lives in New York City. He is mostly known as an installation artist, often incorporating photography and covering socio-political issues and war—t ...

Liza Lou Liza Lou (born 1969) is an American visual artist. She is best known for producing large scale sculpture using glass beads. Lou ran a studio in Durban, South Africa from 2005 to 2014. She currently has a nomadic practice, working mostly outdoors ...

Hank Willis Thomas Hank Willis Thomas (born 1976 in Plainfield, New Jersey; lives and works in Brooklyn, NY) is an American conceptual artist working primarily with themes related to identity, history, and popular culture. Early life and education Hank Willis Th ...

Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin Adam Broomberg (born 1970) and Oliver Chanarin (born 1971) are artists living and working in London. Together they have had numerous international exhibitions. Their work is represented in major public and private collections. They were awarded th ...

. The most recent additions to the gallery's stable are Shirin Neshat, Kiluanji Kia Henda and revolutionary South African performance collective

The Brother Moves On The Brother Moves On (TBMO) is a South African performance art ensemble based in Johannesburg, Gauteng. The group was founded somewhere between the years 2008 and 2010 by broad-based artist Nkululeko Mthembu and his brother Siyabonga Mthembu. B ...

. In 2022, a scandal broke out in the gallery over a painting with a naked president.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Essers, Liza Living people South African businesspeople South African women artists South African film producers Year of birth missing (living people)