EDITED BY THE EDITORIAL TEAM :: PHOTOS: SUPPLIED
Clout/SA collaborates with Keiskamma Art Project to showcase their extraordinary embroidered artwork at the Decorex show in Joburg from 3 to 6 August.
The multi-award-winning Keiskamma Art Project (KAP), founded in 2000 by Dr Carol Hofmeyer, will be unveiling some of their beautiful designs on wallpaper, a bench, chairs, scatter cushions and bolster cushions at 100% Design South Africa.
Over the years, the project has produced major embroidered textile artworks, made by the women and men of the village of Hamburg, sharing their stories and experiences, as well as bringing to visual life the oral history tradition of the Eastern Cape.
For the first time since the founding of the project, three of its artists, Anelisa Nyongo, Nozibele Nxadi and project director Cebo Mvubu, have lent their skills and their particular aesthetic to a design collection enabled by Clout/SA, a purpose-driven creative agency and business-to-business market maker that facilitates opportunities for collaboration between designer-makers and corporate clients.
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- Analisa Nyongo
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- Nozibele Nxadi
Prints all over
With curatorial guidance from Clout/SA’s creative director, Tracy Lynch, the artists were invited to create an embroidered piece that referenced what a scenic and quintessentially South African wallpaper might look like. The intention of this approach was to allow the embroidery style of the KAP artists to be expressed as a printed scenic wallpaper, as well as a collection of compatible printed textiles.
The wallpaper will be printed by Cara Saven Wall Design, and the collection will be available for retail from their studio. For the fabric prints, Clout/SA collaborated with designer David Krynauw, who will be launching a collection and showcasing it at Clout/SA’s stand at 100% Design South Africa. The collection will include chairs, a bench and a four-poster bed.
Every design has a story
Although the artists have been working on the project since early 2023, the seed was initially planted in Lynch’s mind when she first visited Hamburg some three years ago. “I was introduced to a group of mostly women, young and old, who gather daily in a rondavel to stitch together stories that reveal aspects of their geographical, spiritual and communal experience. It’s hard to put into words why this creative community is so significant, but one thing that comes to the surface in conversation with all who are lucky enough to visit, is that this place and the people who gently piece together beautiful imagery help us to learn and grow,” says Lynch.
The learning and growth that came from the collaboration went both ways, according to KAP directors Cebo Mvubu and Michaela Howse. “What really got me excited was that this process forced us out of our comfort zone. It showed us that we could effectively use messaging apps and create work remotely even with international collaborators. Going forward, we can now challenge ourselves to not be limited by our location in the rural Eastern Cape; we can work with anyone anywhere in the world,” says Mvubu.
Keiskamma Art Project wallpaper, crochet vase in green is by Moonbasket
Commercial opportunities
Additionally, the collaboration gives the project a commercial opportunity that contributes to the livelihoods of the artists. While Clout/SA in its role as an intermediary between the creative sector and corporate businesses has mainly facilitated opportunities for designer-makers in the past, the lessons the agency has learnt and the infrastructure the team has built can also be very beneficial for artist collectives such as the Keiskamma Art Project, explains Lynch.
“We’ve learnt so much from previous successful collaborations about the licensing opportunities that exist for creators, and we’ve established ways for projects such as this to be able to support designers and artists by putting them in a position to make additional income,” says Lynch.
