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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Funded by the government of Flanders, commissioned by WWF South Africa, and created by the Keiskamma Art Project, the magnificent Umlibo tapestry is a community climate change advocacy artwork

Umlibo is an exquisite artwork which tells the story of climate impacts on a small coastal community. Standing at an impressive 2m by 5m, the colourful embroidery is made up of intricate motifs and images which together form a larger picture of lives and landscapes.

It began its life in the tiny rural village of Hamburg in the Eastern Cape, and then received high praise at its unveiling in the centre of Cape Town before being displayed at the South African pavilion at the international climate meeting, COP28, in Dubai.

There, it was lauded by President Cyril Ramaphosa who said that “it contains everything a head of state needs to say about the climate change issue”. He added, “It is the most amazing piece of work and to know that it was done in the deep rural areas of our country makes me very proud.”

The artwork is the handiwork of 43 artists, mainly women, who are part of the Keiskamma Art Project and who live in the vicinity of the tiny town of Hamburg close to the mouth of the Keiskamma River.

It has been named Umlibo in reference to the sprawling pumpkin vine – a symbol of the need to unite and spread the word about the climate crisis. Though beautiful to look at, its work as an advocacy tool is clear to any viewer: it highlights the existential threat climate change poses to human life – particularly for rural people.

With funding from the government of Flanders, WWF South Africa commissioned the artwork as part of a community-based project, and what resulted is a powerful showcase of what happens when science and art come together. The artists who created it, infused it with imagery of their lived experiences: unseasonal rainfall, extreme heat, cold and wind, a decrease in fish stocks and other marine species, anxiety about the future, pollution and negative impacts on physical and mental well-being.

These, along with rural livelihoods ─ like fishing, raising livestock and growing basic crops ─ are brought to life in vivid colour through the meticulous design and execution of the embroidery, portraying hardship and hope in equal measure. If the viewer stands further away from the artwork, a large butterfly motif becomes visible with one wing portraying the challenges of climate change, and the other portraying sustainable livelihoods to build resilience.

This is not the first time that the Keiskamma Art Project and its artists have tackled a topic of global significance. Previous works have included the Keiskamma Altarpiece (2005) and the Keiskamma Guernica (2010), both of which were exhibited internationally and depicted the intergenerational devastation of HIV on communities.

They also made waves with their 120m tapestry that mimics the famous Bayeux Tapestry of Europe, but which tells the history of South Africa from the perspective of those subjugated at the hands of the Europeans.

Umlibo will continue its journey as an advocacy artwork and will then be auctioned off. The money resulting from that will flow back into the work of WWF South Africa, with a portion also flowing back towards sustainable livelihoods in Hamburg.

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A South Africa-inspired embroidered artwork by multi award-winning Keiskamma Art Project (KAP) has been digitised into wallpaper by Cara Saven Wall Design, plus an epic collection of printed textiles to be unveiled at Decorex Joburg and 100% Design Africa this August.

For over two decades the creative community of KAP, hailing from South Africa’s Hamburg, a stunning dot on the Sunshine Coast, has produced large-scale works that arrestingly depict the woes and wonders of their varied South African experiences. A group of mostly women, young and old, gather daily in a rondavel to stitch together stories that traverse geographical, spiritual and communal experiences. By sharing their stories and experiences through embroidery, they breathe visual life into the oral history tradition of the Eastern Cape.

Founded by Dr Carol Hofmeyer in 2000, this is the first project to see three KAP artists; namely, Anelisa Nyongo, Nozibele Nxadi and Project Director Ceboc Mvubu, collab with purpose-driven creative agency Clout/SA to realise a collection of digitised textiles. With curatorial guidance from Clout/SA’s Creative Director Tracy Lynch, the artists were challenged to revive the often tired concept of ‘the quintessentially South African natural scene’.

See their fresh take on the southern-most wilds and wildernesses revealed on wallpaper and a host of interior applications, including scatters, bolsters, a bench and chairs – revealed at the Clout/SA stand at Decorex Joburg. There’ll also be a Clout/SA X David Krynauw collection of chairs, a bench and a four-poster bed showcased.

Decorex Joburg and 100% Design Africa is happening 3 – 6 August at Sandton Convention Centre. For more information, visit 100percentdesign.co.za.

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The Eastern Cape weavers of the Keiskamma Art Project have come together to tell the story of the pandemic through the medium of another of their extraordinary works – the Resilience Tapestry.

The Keiskamma Art Project is part of the greater Keiskamma Trust, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to uplifting the communities that live in the area alongside the Keiskamma River in the Eastern Cape with design, craft skills, and technology training – and the project’s skilled weavers have again captured an unforgettable period in our history with their work.

The project’s extraordinary 7.5m-long Covid-19 Resilience Tapestry was recently unveiled as a work- in-progress installation at Union House in Cape Town as part of the “Right Here, Right Now” group exhibition. It weaves together memories of a year that many of us will never forget, capturing – over four seasons – what life was like in Keiskamma during the first year of the pandemic. The tapestry is dominated by a giant fig tree at its centre – “the tree of life” – with the Keiskamma River winding behind it. Scenes from the village’s experiences of the pandemic unfold in thread from left to right, like a calendar, illustrating the seasons and events that are being lived through.

Two “prophets” begin the narrative: the historic, near-mythical Xhosa prophet Nongqawuse, and South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa. They overlook the unfolding story as birds fly between branches over the heads of masked, socially distanced community members, and woven lines of poetry by Marguerite Poland that capture the unique cosmology of the Eastern Cape.

“It is an honour to be associated with a work that will empower and enable people to express their talent, and assist them in times of economic stress,” Marguerite says of her involvement. “The tapestry, which reflects on the history, language and culture of their community in response to the devastating effect of this worldwide pandemic, will be a legacy of great significance.”

It’s difficult to capture the scope of the work without seeing it, but while much of 2020 and 2021 threatened to tear livelihoods and communities apart, particularly in rural areas, the inspirational Resilience Tapestry pieces the story back together in the sensitive and moving way that only great art can.

Michaela Howse, manager of the Keiskamma Art Project, says this woven record is an important part of the work they do. “One of the goals of the Keiskamma Art Project is to capture memory and local knowledge through quite a beautiful consultative process with the community,” she says. “Through the stitch, we make visible some of the invisible knowledge that exists.”

Since first being exhibited, the tapestry has been acquired by entrepreneur Ravi Naidoo, the founder of Design Indaba, who intends to exhibit the piece in a public space to ensure its message is seen and understood. “The tapestry captures what we’ve all just been through, and also helps us figure out what this unprecedented time in our lives has done to us collectively,” says Ravi. “The people of Keiskamma need our support more than ever – I hope that bringing awareness to their work by finding a place to display it so that the public can partake in it, will ensure their voices continue to be heard.”

For more information, instagram.com/death_and_resurrection_

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The Keiskamma Art Project will be hosting an Intsikizi Tapestries exhibition at the Ilse Schermers (IS) Art Gallery in Franschhoek, during the Literary Festival.

The six tapestries are a collaborative project by six artists and 24 embroiderers under the guidance of Keiskamma Art Project production manager Cebo Mvubu, as well as master embroiderer, ceramicist and founder Carol Hofmeyr. “A group of over 100 women and a few men who are uniquely skilled in making art using textiles and especially embroidery shows that when people work together a miracle of transformation can occur,” says Carol.

The Intsikizi Tapestries collection gets its name from the endangered Southern Ground Hornbill, and the exhibition focuses on conservation and nature under a Xhosa theme. The exhibited works hope to encourage people to engage with the environment on a deeper level, with the focus being the role of nature in Xhosa culture.

The point of departure for the Intsikizi Tapestries was the European artwork, The Hunt for the Unicorn. The tapestries take on aspects of the work in terms of style, composition and content. Each of the pieces is approximately 1,4 m wide and 1,6 m high. They are embroidered and appliquêd on cotton fabric in mostly hand-dyed wool. The tapestries feature Eastern Cape plants and birds, and also make use of a technique called mille fleurs, meaning the background features thousands of flowers.

Restoration, the sixth tapestry, is one of 50 nominees for an Innibos Craft Award and will be exhibited in July 2017.

The exhibition runs from Saturday 20 May 2017 at 11am until the end of June 2017. The IS Art Gallery is located at 11 Huguenot Road, Franschhoek. For more information, visit keiskamma.com.

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