With just a few weeks to go before the festive season starts, artists are hard at work preparing beautiful art pieces as part of the V&A Waterfront’s annual Joy from Africa to The World décor installations.
On Wednesday 18 October, the media got a behind-the-scenes look at some of the hard work, meticulous attention to detail and long hours that go into creating these crafts during a tour at the Ashanti Designs Studio in Paarden Island.
According to Tinyiko Mageza, the V&A Waterfront’s Marketing Executive, the aim of the campaign, now in its fifth year, is to appreciate art and African designs.
“In every installation, there is a story of someone who has poured their hands and poured themselves into the art.”
She explained that this year’s theme, “Joy from Africa: between the Mountain and the Sea”, celebrates Cape Town.
More than 150 artists are taking part in this year’s project.
Since 2018, artists and crafters from various communities have accepted commissions to work with local, sustainable materials. (“Joy from Africa to the World hand-crafted art spectacle welcomes shoppers at V&A Waterfront”, People’s Post, 13 December 2022).
Mathapelo Ngaka-Mtati, the co-founder of Monkeybiz, an organisation that empowers women to do artwork and beadwork, said the group has been part of the Joy from Africa project for the past five years.
“This is huge for us. Each year we are making something different. It is amazing to do incredible things and we manage to meet other artists who make different things and we can collaborate. We really appreciate being part of Waterfront.”
She explained that their members will create about 24 different artworks this year.
“We started crafting two months ago. We are creating portraits with beads, making a giant porcupine and various other things.”
Vuyokazi Kohliso, a bead artist, said: “I feel honoured to be part of this project. Each item takes more than a week to complete. This is a big deal for me because it gives exposure to my craft.”
Lizanne Burger, Business Manager and Product Developer at Ashanti Design, explained this is their second year of involvement.
“I feel honoured to be part of this project. What we are doing is keeping the craft alive in a sustainable way and making sure that the people in the community that we work with can share the craft that they have. We are excited to see the work being showcased at the Waterfront again.”
Donald Kau, spokesperson for the V&A Waterfront, said: “We are excited with what the return of the season looks like. It looks as if the city will have a fantastic bumper festive season. “The country needs that sense of hope and positivity and this is our contribution in a small way to showcase South Africa and the city.”
Cathy O’Clery, Creative Director for Platform Creative Agency, which conceptualised all the installations for the Waterfront, said as part of the theme patrons can look forward to seeing a massive cable car, a big wheel and people at the beach.
She added that each item was made of craft and wood and sustainable fabrics.
“We’ve moved away from basket weaving. We are now weaving with recycled cotton and sewing things with recycled fabrics. We recycle previous installations – everything gets used for about three years.”
