Clout/SA and The Keiskamma Art Project Homeware Collection

WORDS Gina Dionisio PHOTOS Justin Patrick

Clout/SA and The Keiskamma Art Project have collaborated on their first homeware collection, set to launch at the AAfrica store in V&A Waterfront on 22 August.

AAfrica store, the contemporary African design emporium in the V&A Waterfront, is launching “Stitched, a Story of our Home” – a new homeware collection facilitated by Clout/SA in collaboration with The Keiskamma Art Project.

Over the last 20 years, the Keiskamma Art Project has produced major embroidered textile artworks made by the mainly rural women and men of Hamburg, sharing their stories and experiences, as well as bringing to visual life the oral history tradition of the Eastern Cape.

Three artists from the project, namely Anelisa Nyongo, Nozibele Nxadi, and lead artist and production manager Cebo Mvubu, have lent their skills and their particular aesthetic to the design of the collection.

“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 Cebu Mvubu, lead artist and production manager of Keiskamma Art Project.

The homeware collection features a quintessentially African scene and depicts a rich landscape of trees, lush vegetation and birds such as Grey Herons and Little Egrets who feature prominently in the Keiskamma River Estuary in Hamburg, rendered in the inimitable embroidery style of the Keiskamma Art Project artisans. Included in the in-store backdrop to launch the collection is the Papa San sofa by Haldane Martin and the wallpaper designed by Clout/SA executive Tracy Lynch, which was launched at 100% Design Africa in 2023 and printed by Cara Saven Wall Design.

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