The Artisans: The Future of Craft in Africa
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Course overview
Craft, a cornerstone of African heritage, is evolving through both preservation and innovation. This session explores how traditional skills are reimagined for contemporary audiences, featuring voices from across artisan communities, hosted by Mirna Wessels with Michaela Howse, Ralph Borland, Justin van Breda, Tshego G Malatji, Nkosazana Veronica Betani, and Lesley Hudson.
Certification included
Validated by SAIAT as a Category 1 CPD talk. Attendees will earn 0.1 credits.
Meet the SPEAKERs
Mirna Wessels
CEO, Spier Arts Trust
Spier Arts Trust administers the Nando’s art collection - more than 27 000 original artworks from South African contemporary artists - displayed in restaurants around the world. This exemplar enterprise creates shared value through its art supply chain, providing career development opportunities for visual artists and artisans in South Africa. Mirna holds an MBA from UCT Graduate School of Business and serves as non-executive director on the board of the School of Explorative Architecture (SEA).
spierartstrust.co.za
Nkosazana Veronica Betani
Artist
An artist living with AIDS, Nkosazana Veronica Betani was born in East London (Eastern Cape) and grew up in a village known as Tyata. Due to financial difficulty, she had to drop out of high school. She is a mother of 3, a granny of 6, and a divorcee. Read more...
Ralph Borland
Director, African Robots & SPACECRAFT
Ralph Borland is a Southern African artist, researcher and curator with a focus on human-machine collaboration, and an interest in storytelling. His long-running projects African Robots & SPACECRAFT are collaborations with street wire artists to develop new applications for their handcraft in combination with machine processes. Ralph has a degree in Fine Art from the University of Cape Town. www.africanrobots.net
Tshego G Malatji
Urbanist & collaborator at We.Collaborate
Tshego G Malatji is an urbanist and collaborator at We.Collaborate, advancing creative circular design and community urban innovation. Specialising in spatial economics, she co- presented "Monopoly, the (In)finite Game" at Design Week SA 2024 where all attendees were encouraged to participate in exploring commoning approaches in socio-spatial design. She celebrates curiosity.
Lesley Hudson
Owner of handmadeAFRICA
I am the very proud owner of handmadeAFRICA, a retail platform which brings together the designers of beautiful ethically and sustainably produced life-style goods made on the African continent; with people who appreciate these. Read more...
Justin van Breda
Founder, Justin van Breda London, Cape Looms and Cape Craft School
Justin is a Capetonian, internationally recognised interior and furniture designer with a Design Time Higher Diploma. He launched on London’s Pimlico Road, showing “the very best South Africa was producing” In 2002. Read more...
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