I am Gino Hart, and I am an artist. I grew up in the heart of the Freestate Province in the rural little towns Oranjeville and Villiers and I have seriously studied the TITANIC and her sister ships for more than two decades - I like to think of myself as an enthusiast. It was not uncommon for me to see a lone wondering cow out in the street or have long quiet afternoon walks and talks with myself at the riverside over my future - dreaming of a life outside the confines of the Freestate.
As a career choice after graduating from Villiers High School, I went into the advertising sector, working as a sales consultant for the business to business print medium ADvantage Magazine - selling advertising space to corporate clients as the Supplements Manager. When the magazine closed in 2013 due to the economic depression of the industry, I had a choice of either finding another job in print media or I could apply my sales ability to sell my dream to those same corporates. I remember the first conversations with STALCOR - the leading steel and aluminum supplier in South Africa... pitching the "TINTANIC" as a concept - it was the weirdest conversation but it led to a meeting with their CEOs. I arrived there with my bag of dreams and a scale model kit, and once I had explained my vision to them, they whispered behind closed doors and gave "TINTANIC" the green light.
During 2013, I had also worked on a publication titled ADReview - where I had closed on some big media deals with advertising budget, so I had some money coming in to carry me for a while. But the money wouldn't last forever - I had to be very creative with how it was spent.
As a career choice after graduating from Villiers High School, I went into the advertising sector, working as a sales consultant for the business to business print medium ADvantage Magazine - selling advertising space to corporate clients as the Supplements Manager. When the magazine closed in 2013 due to the economic depression of the industry, I had a choice of either finding another job in print media or I could apply my sales ability to sell my dream to those same corporates. I remember the first conversations with STALCOR - the leading steel and aluminum supplier in South Africa... pitching the "TINTANIC" as a concept - it was the weirdest conversation but it led to a meeting with their CEOs. I arrived there with my bag of dreams and a scale model kit, and once I had explained my vision to them, they whispered behind closed doors and gave "TINTANIC" the green light.
During 2013, I had also worked on a publication titled ADReview - where I had closed on some big media deals with advertising budget, so I had some money coming in to carry me for a while. But the money wouldn't last forever - I had to be very creative with how it was spent.
As construction got underway with the "TINTANIC" - it took up the better part of nearly three years and those were especially hard times. The construction consumed my daily life and I had initially set aside one year to get it all done as quickly as humanly possible without rushing the art. Good on paper and in theory but the reality was that construction took a lot more time than anticipated, and that was also okay. It takes as long as it takes.
Halfway through construction, the world-famous TITANIC ARTIFACT EXHIBITION was brought to South Africa in 2015/2016 by the companies EXPORSA and Premier Exhibitions. I was assigned the position as local historian and host for the show because of my vast knowledge of artifacts, the story and my ability to retell the story in tremendous detail. The extravagant EXHIBITION featured 144 real artifacts from the wreck of the real TITANIC, and I herded more than 25 000 visitors on hourly tours for 8 months. The event was exhausting with only a short break in-between the Johannesburg and Cape Town shows, but it further financed me to complete the "TINTANIC".
Halfway through construction, the world-famous TITANIC ARTIFACT EXHIBITION was brought to South Africa in 2015/2016 by the companies EXPORSA and Premier Exhibitions. I was assigned the position as local historian and host for the show because of my vast knowledge of artifacts, the story and my ability to retell the story in tremendous detail. The extravagant EXHIBITION featured 144 real artifacts from the wreck of the real TITANIC, and I herded more than 25 000 visitors on hourly tours for 8 months. The event was exhausting with only a short break in-between the Johannesburg and Cape Town shows, but it further financed me to complete the "TINTANIC".
At the end of 2016, I was nearing completion of the "TINTANIC" model. The house was a jumble of ship pieces everywhere and it was time to face the ragtime band. I realized then that I had built a ship and had nowhere to go - I never intended to commercialize the project but my heart and mind told me to keep running with ideas. Although my brain was tapped out of bright sparks, it just took a while for me to come up with just the right recipe. Just because it looks like nothing is going on doesn't mean it's not happening.
A few months later - "TINTANIC" was well on her way to becoming a fully operational EXHIBITION with a Gauteng 2018 Tour schedule fully booked out and a Coastal 2019 Tour schedule in the making. In 2021, when COVID19 struck - the "TINTANIC" partnered with Vinolia - the original advertiser for the real TITANIC in 1912.
In 2023, I founded STUDIO 401 (PTY) Ltd as an official exhibitions company.
FYI... I also built the "HINDENBURG!"
A few months later - "TINTANIC" was well on her way to becoming a fully operational EXHIBITION with a Gauteng 2018 Tour schedule fully booked out and a Coastal 2019 Tour schedule in the making. In 2021, when COVID19 struck - the "TINTANIC" partnered with Vinolia - the original advertiser for the real TITANIC in 1912.
In 2023, I founded STUDIO 401 (PTY) Ltd as an official exhibitions company.
FYI... I also built the "HINDENBURG!"