WORDS Jo Buitendach PHOTOS Drien Dirand/Dior; Elizabeth Carababas/Southern Guild; Hayden Phipps/Southern Guild; Thakatha Repro (Pillar IV)

Hylton Nel

Hylton Nel’s name has, without a doubt, been on every fashionista and art aficionado’s lips recently. Born in 1941, Hylton lives and works on the outskirts of Calitzdorp in the Klein Karoo. While he has long been a respected artist, it’s his most recent collaboration that has resulted in a new level of fame and “collectability”: six massive versions of the ceramicist’s iconic cats transformed the runway at the Dior Men Summer 2025 show in Paris last year. “Hylton Nel’s giant cats on the catwalk are based on ones from my collection and Hylton’s,” says Kim Jones, artistic director at Dior Men, of the collaboration. “These are the cats that spoke to me the most… they meowed to me!” Hylton is also well known for his quirky yet beautiful plates, bowls and vases. hyltonnel.co.za | stevenson.info

Zizipho Poswa

Mthatha-born, Cape Town-based Zizipho Poswa is best known for large-scale ceramic and bronze sculptures that are a bold declaration of African womanhood. Her practice reflects a personal journey that pays homage to her Xhosa culture and spiritual traditions. Her work can be found in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Art Institute of Chicago, and she has had solo shows in both New York and Los Angeles. Zizipho’s Lobi (2024) was on display at the public-art initiative Frieze Sculpture in London last year. The colossal ceramic and bronze sculpture is more than 2.5m tall, and is a reproduction of the ornate hairpin worn by the Lobi people of southwestern Burkina Faso. The clay body was made during a residency in California, where Zizipho had access to immense kilns that enabled her to scale up her work. southernguild.com | imisoceramics.co.za

Andile Dyalvane

Born in 1978 in Ngobozana, a small village in the Eastern Cape, Andile Dyalvane is indisputably one of South Africa’s leading ceramic artists. Guided by a deep spiritual connection to his Xhosa ancestors, he sees his large-scale ceramics as a metaphorical vessel through which to honour his traditions and share his journey of healing. In 2005, Andile co-founded Imiso Ceramics with Zizipho Poswa; their handmade collections of tableware and vessels have since garnered an international following. Andile latest solo show, “OoNomathotholo: Ancestral Whispers”, features a new body of work, and is his fourth exhibition with the Friedman Benda gallery in New York. southernguild.com | imisoceramics.co.za

Madoda Fani

Raised in Gugulethu township in Cape Town, Madoda Fani is known for his hand-coiled, burnished, smoke-fired pieces – a contemporary evolution of traditional Nguni ceramics. Madoda was a finalist in Loewe Foundation Craft Prize in 2022, and his work is part of the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Loewe Foundation. He has also participated in residency programmes in Argentina, France, Austria and Mexico. In August last year he took part in the 2nd Indian Ocean Craft Triennial in Western Australia, where he’s been the artist-in-residence at Denmark Arts. southernguild.com

Frances Goodman

Johannesburg-based artist Frances Goodman’s work includes installations, photography, sculptures and ceramics. She focuses primarily on women and on contemporary notions of beauty and desire, and is interested in female identity as well as the anxieties that manifest as a result of media and societal expectations. Danish gallery Specta presented two of Frances’s latest ceramic works at last year’s Frieze Sculpture in London’s Regent’s Park. Frances’s “Pillars” – Pillar IV (MF) and Pillar V (Come Undone) – are meticulously assembled and stacked ceramic structures of pills and tablets, grouped by shape, colour and size to form Jenga-like towers. According to Frances, they can “kill your pain, help you get high, calm you down, or stabilise your mind”… francesgoodman.com | frieze.com | specta.dk

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JANUARY

Barnard Gallery

17 January – 14 February 2023

Looking Out by Jo Hummel

UK-based artist Jo Hummel describes her chosen material (paper) as domestic and ephemeral. An everyday surface which is manipulated with urgency using household tools such as scissors and knives. Her paintings are built up in layers and with joinery, often revealing fault lines and scars. ⁣Her‎ solo‎ exhibition‎ Looking Out,‎ will be her first‎ on‎ the‎ African‎ continent.

For more information, visit barnardgallery.com.

99 Loop

Until 26 January 2023

A bad night’s sleep by Benjamin Stanwix

Containing undertones of socio-political commentary, Benjamin Stanwix’s work points to his interest in the labour economy and social history. This body of work in particular is inspired by the form and content of a heavily-redacted news clipping from 1978. Using a variety of mediums, Benjamin creates layers of meaning in his pieces, many of which are playful in their subject and execution.

For more information, visit 99loop.co.za.

Southern Guild

Until 2 February 2023

uBuhle boKhokho (Beauty of Our Ancestors): Zizipho Poswa

Zizipho Poswa‘s latest solo exhibition is a new series of ceramic and bronze sculptures inspired by and in homage to the elaborate art of hairstyling practised by Black women across the African continent and diaspora and, more specifically, its profoundly symbolic relationship to Blackness.

Almost a year in the making, uBuhle boKhokho a continued exploration of her own cultural story as a Xhosa woman: she created and wore 12 hairstyles over a period of five months, documenting each embodiment photographically as part of her process. Through this charged metaphoric lens, hair becomes a personal script for language, for the carrying of meaning and the celebration of self as an act of defiance.

For more information, visit southernguild.com.

FEBRUARY

Barnard Gallery

23 February until 4 April 2023

Strange Light by Alexia Vogel

This new collection of work sees Alexia Vogel continuing to refine a signature visual language which, while echoing the floral and tropical motifs of previous work, now appears in its most distilled form yet. In these bold, abstract new works brushstrokes hold their own significance, marks made become events in and of themselves.  Having always been directed first and foremost by process – the spontaneous flow of paint canvas, the instinctual thrust of gesture – Alexia now brings the physicality and movement of paint to centre stage.

For more information, visit barnardgallery.com.

Gallery Eleven at Spice Route Destination

Until 28 February 2023

Dawn to Dusk: Marie-Louise Koen

Artist and interior designer Marie-Louise Koen launches solo show Dawn to Dusk in conjunction with the opening of joint venture Gallery Eleven at Spice Route Destination in Cape Town. Dawn to Dusk is Marie-Louise’s largest single collection to date and an ode to the Cape featuring a collection of enigmatic oceanic and beach scenes that document the transient dance of sunlight throughout a summer’s day.

For more information, visit spiceroutedestination.co.za

WHATIFTHEWORLD X KRONE Gallery

Until March 2023

Seeds of the fig curated by RESERVOIR

Located in Tulbagh at the scenic Twee Jonge Gezellen farm, KRONE x WITW Gallery presents Seeds of the fig, a new exhibition curated by RESERVOIR. Showcasing work by 24 artists, the exhibition focuses on contemporary sculptural practice from the continent and includes the likes of Abdus Salaam, Ben Orkin, Cameron Platter, Ibrahim Mahama, Nicola Bailey, Richard Forbes, Serge Alain Nitegeka, Thamsanqa ‘Thami’ Kiti, Unathi Mkonto and Wim Botha.

For more information, visit whatiftheworld.com/krone.

HUB, Union House

7 February until 31 March 2023

Cunning Stunts by Frank Van Reenen

Gentle satire, human fallibility, nostalgia and cartoon culture inform the sculptures, paintings and prints of Frank Van Reenen. The artist is mounting a new solo show, playfully titled ‘Cunning Stunts’, which will run at HUB in Cape Town from February through March 2023.

For more information visit frank.co.za and follow @house_union_block on Instagram.

The Yard, Silo District

9 February until 9 March 2023

Plant Babies by Lauren Shantall

Plant Babies is a series of plant portraits in acrylics by head of award-winning communications agency Scout PR & Social Media Lauren Shantall. See them at The Yard in the Silo District, V&A Waterfront, from 9 February until 9 March 2023.

Lauren is fascinated by the pervasive plant movement on social media and beyond, its link to the rise of Organicism as a lifestyle philosophy and what it says about our society. “It makes me happy when I see the plant world taking pride of place in urban homes and spaces, and how the two seem to be moving closer together,” she says. “In this societal shift, we can read so many things: there’s reverence for nature, heightened awareness of greening and green issues, the place for plant therapy as an antidote to digital disconnection and the need to express care and nurture growth and positivity.”

Plant Babies will open to the public at 18h00 on Thursday 9 February 2023. There will be an artist’s
walkabout combined with a plant display and talk on plant care by Flourish Plant Studio from 11h00 to 12h00 on Saturday 11 February 2023. All free to attend. For more information, visit

For more information, visit laurenshantall.com, rkcontemporary.com or flourishplantstudio.com.

Everard Reed Gallery Johannesburg

Until 11 March 2023

Lion’s Breath by Ferdi B Dick

‘Lion’s Breath’ is Inspired by the lion’s breath yoga practice loved by yogis for its ability to inject some humor into their practice, release tension and dispel negative energy. This role-play Yoga practice serves to encourage emotional healing and rejuvenation by encouraging you to shirk off inhibitions and surrender to your inner child. Ferdi B Dick’s whimsical and brightly coloured artworks strive to foster feelings of excitement and invite audiences to step into his exhilarating imaginative world.

For more information, visit everard-read.co.za.

APRIL

The Barnard Gallery

18 April – 23 May 2023

Tributaries – Contemporary Zimbabwean Narratives

Tributaries – Contemporary Zimbabwean Narratives; a group exhibition of contemporary Zimbabwean visual artists including Richard Mudariki, Wilfred Timire, Franklyn Dzingai, Tega Tafadzwa and Dan Halter.

Represented in this exhibition are a generation of contemporary artists who speak most vocally and accurately about their country – its people, challenges, hopes and dreams. Collectively their works span diverse media including, but not limited to painting, printmaking, mixed media and sacking cloth tapestries. These artists possess a clear commitment to their practices and identify with the narrative that is Zimbabwe, exploring sociopolitical notions relating to identity, belonging, memory and geography in a post-colonial African context. With 18 April being Zimbabwe Day, Tributaries is an opportunity to celebrate their artistic prowess and commitment to their homeland.

The exhibition is co-curated by Alastair Whitton, Barnard’s Art Director and Richard Mudariki, founder of artHARARE, a pre-eminent platform to experience contemporary art from Zimbabwe. Established in 2020, artHARARE is engaged in contemporary dialogue and the promotion of the visual art and artists from Zimbabwe and its diaspora.

For more information, visit barnardgallery.com.

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Zizipho Poswa explores the art of hairstyling practised by Black women across the African continent and diaspora in a new series of ceramic and bronze sculptures now showing at Southern Guild.

Internationally acclaimed ceramic artist Zizipho Poswa‘s new exhibition titled uBuhle boKhokho (Beauty of Our Ancestors) is a continued exploration of her own cultural story as a Xhosa woman and an expansion on works in her earlier Magodi series.

Hair has a profound symbolic relationship to Blackness, and for Zizipho it was a major source of inspiration for uBuhle boKhokho, a series of photographs and sculptures, which took the artist almost a year to conceptualise and craft.

READ MORE: Southern Guild: Inkundla X Design Miami 2022

She created and wore 12 hairstyles over a period of five months, documenting each style photographically as part of her creative research. Having specialised in textile design at university, the artist was drawn to the process of constructing each hairstyle and the meditative aspect of crafting their patterns.

Through attentive documentation, hair becomes a personal script for language and a celebration of self as an act of defiance.

The sculptures which evolved from this process are monumental in scale (they measure up to two metres high), and while they are confrontational in their sheer size they retain an imposing sensuality. Their hand-coiled ceramic bases reflect Zizipho’s shift in focus from pattern and colour to shape and texture, culminating in elaborate adornments made from either bronze or clay.

There are many historic and contemporary hairstyles which she referenced for this series of 20 sculptures, including architectural constructions where the hair (both natural and artificial) is wrapped over armatures, the complex crested arrangement worn by Fulani women from West Africa and the fan-shaped headpiece of the Zande from Congo.

Some of the exhibition’s sculptures have been titled after specific women that have played a prominent role in the artist’s life, and their country of origin. She interweaves the personal and historic; situating herself in a vast and ever-expanding network of Black women who continue to self-define and affirm their own standards of beauty.

Zizipho will be travelling to Miami, Florida to attend Design Miami 2022, where she will be exhibiting two additional works from this series as part of the Southern Guild presentation, titled Inkundla. uBuhle boKhokho is showing at Southern Guild from 17 November 2022 to 3 February 2023. For more information, visit southernguild.co.za.

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Southern Guild presents Inkundla at Design Miami 2022 – a collection of 16 handcrafted objects existing in the material plane but born of the spiritual one, featuring the likes of ceramicists Zizipho Poswa, Andile Dyalvane, and Madoda Fani; artists Nandipha Mnthambo, Porky Hefer, and Rich Mnisi; sculptor Stanislaw Trzebinski and design duo Dokter and Misses.

Inkundla derives from the Xhosa word for the entrance to a homestead’s cattle enclosure; it is a place of community, the sacred and mundane, where ideas and gripes are exchanged. The handmade objects – distinct in their materiality and form, bound by their exploration of spiritual themes and the intent of hand – visually and functionally narrate the everyday lifeworlds of objects. That is, things imbued with symbolism that elevate the everyday towards the divine.

Highlights include:

Ceramic and bronze sculptures, uBuhle boKhokho, by Zizipho Poswa that are colossal in scale and intricacy and draw inspiration from the way African women express and celebrate themselves through hair.

Andile Dyalvane’s three ceramic forms pay homage to the grounding power of nature and, specifically, the large nests of sociable weaver birds the artist spent time studying on recent travels to the plains of the Karoo desert and the Northern Cape of South Africa.

Dokter and Misses’ new hand-painted LALA Limo server brings geometric planes into conversation with an arresting energy. It is a design commemoration of the birth of the duo’s first child and speaks of tension and potential, science and nature, trauma and joy.

Rich Mnisi’s Nyoka (Snake) console and Vutlhari (Wisdom) chandelier command a tense sensuality in the booth and drew on his family history, African mythology and the duality of fear and beauty.

• The complete list of artists include:
• Adam Birch
• Andile Dyalvane
• Charles Haupt
• Cheick Diallo
• Chuma Maweni
• Conrad Hicks
• Dokter and Misses
• Galia Gluckman
• Justine Mahoney
• Madoda Fani
• Nandipha Mntambo
• NØDE
• Porky Hefer
• Rich Mnisi
• Rodney Band
• Zizipho Poswa

Design Miami will be held from 30 November to 4 December 2022. For more information, visit designmiami.com.

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Southern Guild gallery will return to Design Miami this December with an exhibition of new ceramics commissioned specially for the fair. “Studio Visit” will feature more than 60 works by leading South African ceramic artists Zizipho Poswa, Andile Dyalvane, Chuma Maweni and Madoda Fani.

Southern Guild returns to Design Miami in December 2021 with Studio Visit, an exhibition of ceramics specifically commissioned for the fair, from four of South Africa’s most accomplished artists working in clay. Encompassing both monumental pieces and smaller studies, the gallery’s presentation will include several new series and individual works by Andile Dyalvane, Zizipho Poswa, Madoda Fani and Chuma Maweni. These artists explore aspects of traditional Xhosa culture and spirituality in their work while drawing on their personal experiences and deep belief systems. All four are encountering significant global interest with recent acquisitions by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and other important foundations and collectors.

Studio Visit will present a depiction of an artist’s working space focusing entirely on ceramics, a thriving contemporary art form in South Africa and one of the continent’s great indigenous craft practices. Rising interest from museums and the public at large indicates that the world is suddenly appreciating what humans have been making since at least 9400 BC (when the oldest piece of African pottery was found in Mali).

Historically, domestic pottery played utilitarian, social and spiritual roles in San, Xhosa and Zulu culture in particular, defying Western categorisations of “art” as distinct from “design”. The diversity and innovation we are witnessing now in contemporary South African ceramics – from the deeply symbolic sculptures of Andile Dyalvane to the large-scale ceramic furniture of Chuma Maweni – pivots on this tradition, which finds its most well-known form in the beer pot, or ukhamba, a communal drinking vessel passed from person to person at ceremonies and social occasions.

As a medium, clay offers these artists broad scope for creative expression and storytelling. Studio Visit takes us behind the scenes of their practice as they foreground new techniques and achieve some of their most technically ambitious work to date. The booth will recreate a ceramic studio with large atelier windows and the 65 new ceramic works displayed on banding wheels, pedestals and tables, including a large hand-carved timber table by Chuma Maweni with collectable furniture by two of Africa’s most accomplished and recognised designers, Cheick Diallo and Gregor Jenkin, adding to the atmosphere of the studio setting.

Looking for more on local art? Take a look at Jan-Ernst’s new Ocean Pop Collection.

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The first solo show by renowned South African ceramic artist Zizipho Poswa features a series of 12 breathtakingly large-scale works that explore the traditional African custom of lobola.

Ceramic artist Zizipho Poswa’s large-scale sculptural works – which have long attracted strong interest from collectors around the world – explore her personal experience and heritage, and her first solo exhibition, “iLobola”, continues this focus. The show pays homage to the spiritual offering at the heart of the ancient African custom of lobola or bride-wealth: the cow.

Whereas traditionally, the groom’s family would give a certain number of cows to the bride’s family after a negotiation between the two parties, more recently the animals are often replaced by a monetary payment. This has led the practice to be viewed as more commercial in nature, but this obscures the primary purpose of lobola, says Zizipho – that of ukwakhiwa kobuhlobo, the building of relations between the two families.

“During the negotiation process, the families really get to know one another,” she says. “They talk about what bonds the couple together and even identify potential pitfalls to the marriage. When the couple faces problems down the line, they have this safety net to turn to. I think it’s a really beautiful structure that brings stability.”

Lobola also raises questions that it disempowers and objectifies women, but Zizipho unapologetically overridest his perception, choosing to celebrate both strength and sensuality in her work. The 12 sculptures in “iLobola” reach up to two metres high – her biggest yet – and each sports a pair of massive bronze horns. Asked about the scale of these epic pieces, she says, “I really enjoy going big: the kiln size is usually the limit, but my team and I have discovered creative ways to beat that.”

She reveals that she works with a team of two production assistants, who are “highly skilled in all my production processes”, she says. “Production happens in stages: the ‘iLobola’ series forms are coiled from the base to the top.

After completing the forms, they dry for six weeks. Then they go through two firing processes; the first is bisque firing, then there is the glaze firing. It took four months to complete 12 pieces, including the production of their bronze horns.”

The groundbreaking series straddles figuration and abstraction, employing an intuitive vocabulary of shape, colour and texture. Zizipho’s artistic practice explores many aspects of black female identity in South Africa: she pays homage to mothers and the importance of sisterhood, and celebrates cultural spaces such as hair salons, where Western influence has remained at bay. “iLobola” is on at Southern Guild until 1 July 2021.

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When a New York couple opted to build a home in Cape Town, they honoured its location by furnishing it with pieces by some of South Africa’s most renowned artists.

It was 13 years ago in 2007, that New Yorkers Jim Brett and Ed Gray were first enchanted by Cape Town. At the time, Jim was Head of Home at leading US retailer Anthropologie and was on a buying trip to South Africa with local design promoter and exporter Trevyn McGowan of The Guild Group. The three of them embarked on a trip cross-country, visiting the studios of artisans and designers, and formed an immediate bond. “I had never met anyone who could match my passion for handicraft and design,” Jim says of Trevyn.

“As we travelled to South Africa more often, we fell in love with the country, specifically Cape Town and its environs,” Ed says. So, it came as no surprise to family and friends when he and Jim decided to build a home for themselves in Hout Bay, just 30 minutes from Cape Town’s city centre, in which they hope to eventually spend six months of the year. Enlisting the help of Trevyn and her husband and business partner Julian, it was only natural that they would continue their trajectory of working with local designers, furnishing the home with pieces by some of the country’s most prominent names.

For the new build, the couple briefed architect Francois Swart of PADIA, requesting barn-like structures that suited the expansive property, on which they also have a guesthouse. Pitched roofs, a silo structure, and a variety of window shapes brought this vision to the fore. “As a reference to the informal way sheds grow into existence, there is a certain charm in the creative use and placing of windows,” says Francois, explaining the forms that are stackable and hidden in places, lowered for framed views in other instances, or inserted flush against walls in corners in order to allow light to flood in unobstructed. “The ‘journey’, surrounded by nature, can be experienced open or closed, and doubles as a pause area that can be used as a sunroom or gateway to the pool garden,” says Francois of the thoroughfare that offers glimpses of the furnishings beyond.

“It’s really enjoyable creating a world for people you care about,” says Trevyn of the project that has dressed the home in pieces by the likes of Gregor Jenkin, Charles Haupt and Laurie Wiid van Heerden, designers represented by the McGowans’ collectible design gallery, Southern Guild. “It’s a beautiful homage for the work we all continue to do for South African design,” she says of the result.

The newness of the home and its interiors paint a fresh African story for the US couple. “It’s important to us that our home feels warm and welcoming, with a degree of humility,” says Jim. Their modus operandi in eliciting the desired warmth was a crafted use of colour. An abstract artwork by John Murray mounted above the dining room cabinet – where striking tones mix with neutral hues – informed the colour choices for sofas, walls and decorative objects.

As with the varying patterns in John Murray’s painting, a myriad forms exist in the home – from tapered pot plants and circular nesting tables to curvaceous dining chairs and elliptical sideboards. “There are very few hard corners on the furniture items,” Jim explains of their brief. “Ovals, circles, or rectangles with rounded corners… it’s very subtle details that add a softness to the experience.” Equally considered is the collection of ceramic vessels. “I’m a bit of a ceramics junkie – I just can’t seem to stop buying them,” says Jim. It’s a passion he and Trevyn have shared since the start of their friendship, which made it easy for her to suggest new pieces by Andile Dyalvane, Zizipho Poswa, Anthony Shapiro, John Bauer, Madoda Fani and Chuma Maweni for the home.

What began as a professional exploration between Jim and Trevyn over a decade ago has resulted in a very personal celebration of South African design. “We still manage to inspire each other,” Jim smiles, gesturing around the home that proves his point.

Looking for more architectural inspiration? Take a look at the colourful, bold contemporary Johannesburg home.

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Ceramic artist Zizipho Poswa’s latest range of vessels celebrates and honours the strength of women in Xhosa culture.

Widely recognised as co-founder, together with Andile Dyalvane, of celebrated ceramic design brand Imiso Ceramics, Zizipho’s latest pieces draw inspiration from tradition and daily rituals that she witnessed as a young girl growing up in the Eastern Cape.

Magodi – Noxolo

Her first full series, Umthwalo, with gallery Southern Guild draws from a practice of women carrying heavy stacks of wood, parcels or water on their heads. Magodi is her latest collection, a series of hand-coiled pieces that celebrate traditional African hairstyles. Each piece is named after a family member or close friend. Noxolo (named after her aunt), Nozibhedlele (named after her mother) and Amanda (named after her cousin) are Zizipho’s largest pieces to date and each took up to two months to complete.

See more at southernguild.co.za.

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The nominees for 2020’s Most Beautiful Object in South Africa have been announced.

Forming part of the Design Indaba Festival programme, Most Beautiful Object in South Africa is made up of 10 objects / projects, each nominated by a local industry leader and personality, from artists and performers to fashion designers and film directors.

The winner will be announced at the Design Indaba Festival, running from 26 – 28 February 2020, in Cape Town. Last year, the award went to Houtlander for the design duo’s Interdependence Bench II.

You can vote online for your favourite at designindaba.com. The objects will also be on view at Nightscape, a ticketed after-hours event that is open to the public and forms part of the Festival.

Below, in no particular order are the list of nominees and nominators:

• ‘Zenande’ from Zizipho Poswa’s Magodi series, a ceramic sculpture inspired by traditional African hairstyles (nominated by creative director and GQ’s Best Dressed Man 2018, Seth Shezi)

Image credit: Hayden Phipps

• The hanging Soroban installation at FYN restaurant, a design collaboration between Tristan du Plessis and Christof Karl, inspired by the Japanese abacus (nominated by urban strategist and founder and director of Our Future Cities, Rashiq Fataar)

• Thebe Magugu’s Dawning installation, launched at Somerset House during London Fashion Week, designed to represent South Africa and its Constitution (nominated by performer and creative director of ArteBOTANICA, Manthe Ribane)

• Rich Mnisi’s Nwa-Mulamula Chaise, a tribute to the designer’s late great-grandmother (nominated by fashion designer Lukhanyo Mdingi)

Image credit: Hayden Phipps

• Photographs from Tiaan Nagel’s 19/20 “Remember Who You Are” campaign, inspired by a piece of writing by Ntokozo Mbokazi (nominated by South African-born actress Jodi Balfour)

• A plaster version of William Kentridge’s bronze Open sculpture, which forms part of the current sculpture exhibition at the Norval Foundation (nominated by CEO of the Norval Foundation and former Director of Institutional Development and External Affairs at Zeitz MOCAA, Elana Brundyn)

• Robinson the raffia dog by local brand Chommies, designed to display Chommies’ hand-crafted designs (nominated by House and Leisure editor Charl Edwards)

• The “Delicate Bracelet” by Izandla Zethu African Jewellery. This hand-made design, made from recycled corrugated iron, aims to inspire young people to use their skills to combat unemployment amongst the youth (nominated by artist and activist Blessing Ngobeni)

• Self-portrait by Trevor Stuurman. “The image shows a creative king, someone who represents the progress African artists have made on the world stage,” says film director Sunu Gonera, who nominated the image.

• Githan Coopoo’s sculpted earrings, hand-made jewellery that crosses the boundaries between fashion and art (nominated by textile designer and ethical manufacturer Sindiso Khumalo)

Vote for your favourite at designindaba.com and find out more about Design Indaba 2020 at conference.designindaba.com.

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From a contemporary coffee shop in Kuwait designed by nendo and local artists representing in NYC to a 3D-printed printmaking press and a colourful customisable stool, these are the top VISI picks of the week series – week 282.

Arabica Coffee Shop by nendo

Japanese design studio nendo is behind the interior design of the Arabica coffee shop in Kuwait. The studio made use of brass and concrete to accentuate the crisp 190 m² space. “The division of the store into four vertical layers allows for multiple lines of sight for both the customers and staff,” says the team at nendo, who believe the design will encourage interaction between customers.

Image credit: Takumi Ota via nendo.jp

Zizipho Poswa and Justine Mahoney at NYCxDESIGN 2019

South African artists Zizipho Poswa and Justine Mahoney are two of 19 female artists whose innovative work is featured as part of the Deeper than Text exhibition at the 1stdibs Gallery. 1stdibs, a global marketplace for luxury design and the Female Design Council have teamed up on this exciting showcase, which is currently on show until the end of May at NYCxDESIGN 2019 in New York City.

Zizipho Poswa

Justine Mahoney

Image credits: Pernille Loof (NYCxDESIGN 2019) / Hayden Phipps (Zizipho Poswa), courtesy of Southern Guild

M/Matching Colorstool

Fashion design house Miu Miu has collaborated with creative agency M / M on a customisable limited-edition stool. Featuring large match sticks in 12 different colours, users can personalise the stool’s surface as they wish. Fun!

Images via designboom.com

Open Press Project’s 3D-printed Printmaking Press

Ever dreamed of making your own prints? This little 3D-printed printing press is a first of its kind, allowing you to explore the art of etching, engraving, drypoint and relief printing for yourself. Not only is it portable and lightweight, it fits into the palm of your hand. The press is the brainchild of the Open Press Project, which reached its Kickstarter goal to get creating with the help of 1 485 backers this month.

Images via Kickstarter

The BIBO Express

The BIBO Express is an energy-efficient wall-mounted appliance for boiling water. With a non-drip function (meaning you can place it anywhere), the Express only boils water when you need it to, ensuring you’re not wasting water or electricity. It’s available in three colours – black, blush and silver.

Images via bibo.co.za

Find more like VISI Picks of the week series – week 282 here.

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