commentary

Pippa Hetherington is a South African photographer, curator, and art practitioner with a rich, multifaceted approach to visual storytelling. With a longstanding relationship with the Keiskamma Art Project, she has collaborated closely with various artists, contributing to documentary storytelling and collaborative art-making. She has a deep appreciation for the significance of the Keiskamma Art Project within South African art history and this esteem for their work motivates her efforts to raise its visibility.

Over the past two decades, Hetherington has honed her expertise in photography, curating, video documentary, and communications. In 2013, she co-founded Behind the Faces, a pan-African women’s storytelling initiative launched at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg. Her work has garnered attention in both national and international publications, and she has established an online photographic archive available through Africa Media Online.

As a co-curator of Umaf’evuka, nje ngenyanga / Dying and rising, as the moon does, Hetherington played a key role in conceptualising the Retrospective, contributing to its foundational ideas and overall vision.

Her solo and group exhibitions span multiple cities, including Cape Town, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, Durban, Gqeberha, London, Dublin, New York City, Paris and Washington, D.C. Hetherington graduated with an MFA with distinction from ICP-Bard in May 2019 and was shortlisted for the Contemporary African Photography Prize in 2021 and 2022. www.pippahetherington.co.za

Zukiswa Pakama was born in Mdantsane in the former Ciskei, now part of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. When South Africa’s first democratic government came to power in 1994, apartheid legislation was abolished and Ciskei and other nominally independent ‘homelands’ were reincorporated into South Africa. Hamburg is now in the Ngqushwa Local Municipality, within the Amathole District Municipality of Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Before starting school, Pakama moved to her father’s homestead in the coastal village of Hamburg. She went to Hamburg Primary School and later to Ndabazandile High School in a nearby village. After working briefly as an embroiderer at Keiskamma Art Project, she went on to study journalism at Walter Sisulu University (WSU) East London campus, on a scholarship from Keiskamma Trust. She graduated in 2005. She has also competed courses in creative writing at Nelson Mandela University (NMU).

A multi-award-winning author who writes youth and children’s novels in both her mother tongue isiXhosa and in English, Pakama has published six books in isiXhosa, of which four won literature awards between 2013 and 2018.

Some of her other books include: Home along the Keiskamma River, a non-fiction children’s book still in production, Saphela isizungu kuZingi and Idabi likaSithembele. Both of the latter titles won the Maskew Miller Longman/Pearson Literature award.

Her teenage book entitled Akulahlwa Mbeleko Ngakufelwa was selected for the IBBY List Honour in 2018.

Two of her novels, Ubublobo bukaZazi noLili and Akulahlwa Mbeleko Ngakufelwa have CAPS (Curriculum Assessment Policy Statements) approval and are used by some of the high schools in the Western Cape. She is a freelance writer and some of her short stories can be found on the FunDza Literacy Trust website.

She also writes drama series in isiXhosa, broadcast by Umhlobo Wenene FM (SABC). She has to date published four radio series (Amabali), consisting of 30 episodes each.

Pakama has worked as a researcher, language adviser and translator for various documentary films across the country.

She has also started a reading and writing project for primary school children in her community of Khayelitsha, to encourage children from previously disadvantaged areas to find joy in reading and writing.

Veliswa Mangcangaza was born in 1961 in the coastal village of Hamburg in the former Ciskei, now part of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. In the same year Mangcangaza was born, the South African apartheid government declared Ciskei a distinct administrative territory, in line with its racist policy of ‘separate development.’ This legislation exacerbated poverty and unemployment in the region as Xhosa-speaking people were forcibly removed into Ciskei and neighbouring Transkei from land in South Africa reserved for whites.

Mangcangaza grew up in Hamburg, attending primary school locally but moving to another village for secondary school. However, the family’s financial circumstances meant that she was forced to leave school before she could write matric. She was 33 years old when she was able to vote for the first time in South Africa’s first democratic elections. When the new democratic government came to power in 1994, Nelson Mandela introduced a ‘Back to School’ campaign. Mangcangaza’s aunt, recognising her abilities, encouraged her to return to school to further her studies.

She was introduced to the Keiskamma Trust by a neighbour in Hamburg and between 2009 and 2016 headed up the Keiskamma Education Programme aftercare facility, where she was passionate about telling the children Xhosa folktales and legends.

She also has a longstanding association with Keiskamma Art Project (KAP). Soon after founding KAP, Carol (Baker) Hofmeyr invited Mangcangaza to attend an art workshop at the KAP studio and this experience left a lasting impression:

‘I will never forget meeting those giants of art with glittering fingers embroidering colourful threads, like a weaver weaving its nest. Art is life. It is like breathing. We feed our eyes, express our feelings, and revive our spirit and soul through art. Unification is the language of art. It brings comfort; it brings us together.’

Mangcangaza’s passion for environmental justice led to her words (on the need for a fundamental change in the relationship between humans and nature) being quoted at the Printing Girls’ group exhibition For(Sea)Change at the Association for Visual Arts (AVA) in Cape Town in October 2024. The exhibition was opened by lawyer and environmental activist Cormac Cullinan and Liz McDaid, winner of the 2018 Goldman Environmental Award, Africa.

Mangcangaza has one child—a daughter who lives close to Cape Town.

Thobela Anelisa Nyongo was born in 1985 in the town of Peddie in the former Ciskei, now part of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Four years before Nyongo’s birth, the South African apartheid government had unilaterally declared the Ciskei region an independent state, in line with its racist policy of ‘separate development.’ This so-called independence was recognised only by the apartheid regime and the governments of the other nominally independent homelands.

Many forced removals took place from South Africa at this time as the government sought to concentrate Xhosa-speaking people in Ciskei and Transkei. The area of Ciskei was inadequate to support its population, work opportunities were scarce and poverty was widespread. Nyongo was eight years old when her family moved to Johannesburg, where there were better employment prospects. The following year, on 27 April 1994, South Africa held its first democratic elections and abolished apartheid legislation. Ciskei was then reincorporated into South Africa and the broader Peddie area became part of the Ngqushwa Local Municipality, part of the broader Amathole District Municipality of Eastern Cape.

Nyongo attended primary school in Johannesburg but came back to Eastern Cape for her high school years, attending St Charles Sojola High School in Hamburg. She was exposed to some art teaching at school and was strongly drawn to it. She joined Keiskamma Art Project (KAP) in Hamburg in 2013 and has developed outstanding embroidery skills. She has worked on many of the collective’s independent and commissioned works since then, including the monumental Covid Resilience Tapestry (2021), which was included as one of the iconic KAP works in the Keiskamma Art Project retrospective at Constitution Hill, Johannesburg: Umaf’ evuka, nje ngenyana / Dying and rising, as the moon does (24 September 2022 to 24 March 2023). This historic piece was purchased by the Judith Neilson Foundation in Sydney, Australia in 2024. She has also helped to create the monumental installation, Diamond Structure (2024) commissioned by Mercedes Benz South Africa and a recent collaboration Between Keiskamma Art Project and Clout/SA, ‘Stitched, A Story of Our Home.’

Thembeka Makubalo was born in 1967 in the coastal village of Hamburg in the former Ciskei, now part of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Six years before her birth, the South African apartheid government declared Ciskei a distinct administrative territory, in line with its racist policy of ‘separate development.’ This legislation exacerbated poverty and unemployment in the region as Xhosa-speaking people were forcibly removed into Ciskei and neighbouring Transkei from land in South Africa reserved for whites.

Makubalo grew up in Hamburg and attended primary school there but was not able to complete her schooling owing to financial constraints. When she was fourteen years old, Ciskei was formally declared an independent ‘homeland’ or ‘bantustan’ by the Nationalist government, exacerbating conditions of poverty and hardship. Its independence was recognised only by the apartheid regime and the other so-called homeland governments.

After the country’s first democratic elections on 27 April 1994, Ciskei was reincorporated into South Africa and Makubalo became a South African citizen with entitlement to protection under South African law for the first time. However, the legacy of apartheid and years of under-investment in the region meant that it remained very difficult to find work in the Eastern Cape. Creative and resourceful, Makubalo sewed clothes for herself and her three children, one of whom sadly has since passed away. She acknowledges the enormous influence of her grandmother, an excellent seamstress who taught Makubalo and her sister Nomfundo how to sew at any early age.

Gifted with a natural creative ability, Makubalo joined Keiskamma Art Project in 2008 and is now recognised as one of the leading embroiderers on the Project. She has contributed significantly to many of the iconic early KAP artworks as well as to the creation of the monumental and historic Covid Resilience Tapestry (2021), which was exhibited at the Association for Visual Arts in Cape Town during the 2024 Investec Cape Town Art Fair and bought by the Judith Neilson Foundation, Sydney, Australia. She has also helped to create the large-scale tapestry Umlibo (2023), which addresses the impact of climate change on the Hamburg community, and which made a powerful impact at Cop28 in Dubai the same year.

Siyabonga (Siya) Maswana was born at Livingstone Hospital in Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha) in South Africa in 1983. At this time, the South African apartheid government was ruthlessly enforcing its racist policy of ‘separate development,’ forcibly removing Xhosa-speaking people to the nominally independent so-called homelands of Ciskei and neighbouring Transkei from land in South Africa reserved for whites. Maswana’s family had to move from Port Elizabeth to Mdantsane, 15 kilometres outside East London, and he grew up and went to school there. He was eleven years old when South Africa held its first democratic elections on 27 April 1994, and Ciskei was reincorporated into South Africa. Mdantsane is now in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality of Eastern Cape, South Africa.

At the age of twenty-one, he attended Mdantsane Art Centre in East London, studying drama, film and art. However, he found the teaching insufficiently challenging, and saved up to study art at a newly established college called African Culture in East London. The college closed without warning after he had been there for two months and students were left stranded, having paid fees upfront.

Cebo Mvubu, a longstanding family friend who was Production Manager at Keiskamma Art Project (KAP) and who recognised Maswana’s exceptional artistic talent, encouraged him to apply for a position there and in 2014 he joined the collective. After working across media, in felting, wire work, pottery, screen printing, linocut and embroidery too, he is now KAP’s lead designer. He has designed, drawn and supervised many independent and commissioned KAP artworks, including the historic Covid Resilience Tapestry which was included as one of the iconic KAP works in the Keiskamma Art Project retrospective at Constitution Hill, Johannesburg: Umaf’ evuka, nje ngenyana / Dying and rising, as the moon does (24 September 2022 to 24 March 2023). Maswana was key to the successful installation of this and other pieces in the exhibition, along with his colleague Cebo Mvubu. This monumental piece was recently purchased by the Judith Neilson Foundation in Sydney, Australia. Maswana has also led the creation of recent major commissions for Mercedes Benz South Africa and the Amazon Headquarters in Cape Town. When not making art, he enjoys music and reading.

Sanela Maxengana was born in 1984 in Feni, a village close to the town of Peddie in the former Ciskei, now part of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Three years before her birth, Ciskei had been designated an independent ‘homeland’ or ‘bantustan’ by the South African apartheid government as part of its racist policy of ‘separate development.’ Its independence was recognised only by the apartheid regime and the governments of other nominally independent homelands within South Africa’s borders. Maxengana was nine when South Africa held its first democratic elections on 27 April 1994, and Ciskei was reincorporated into South Africa. Feni is now in the Ngqushwa Local Municipality, within the Amathole District Municipality of Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Maxengana went to school at Nathaniel Pamla High School in Feni and displayed artistic talent from an early age. After matriculating in 2006, she studied fine art at Buffalo City College in East London. She joined Keiskamma Art Project in the coastal village of Hamburg, Eastern Cape, in 2016 and has worked across a variety of media, excelling in embroidery, pottery, printmaking and drawing. She has worked on many of the monumental tapestries produced by the collective, including the Covid Resilience Tapestry (2021), recently displayed at the Association for Visual Arts in Cape Town during the 2024 Investec Cape Town Art Fair, and purchased by the Judith Neilson Foundation, Sydney, Australia; Umlibo (2023), which travelled to COP28 in Dubai as a powerful expression of the Hamburg community’s experience of climate change impacts; and a large-scale piece commissioned by Amazon in 2024 for their new Africa Headquarters in Cape Town. She is currently working with the collective on a monumental tapestry for Hazendal Wine Estate, Stellenbosch, depicting the impact of colonialism on the indigenous Khoesan peoples of South Africa.

Maxengana lives in Hamburg with her parents, her daughter, and her three sisters.

Qhama Ngwendu was born in 1990 in the village of Bodiam in the former Ciskei, now part of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. This was shortly before South Africa’s first democratic elections on 27 April 1994 brought the African National Congress into power and discriminatory apartheid legislation was abolished, resulting in the reincorporation of the nominally independent ‘homelands’ such as Xhosa-speaking Ciskei and Transkei into South Africa. Bodiam is now in the Ngqushwa Local Municipality, within the Amathole District Municipality of Eastern Cape, South Africa.

The advent of democracy brought significant change in some respects but unemployment and poverty still presented major challenges for communities in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province and Ngwendu grew up in financially constrained circumstances.

She attended primary school at Bodiam Primary School in Bodiam and went on to St Charles Sojola High School in the nearby village of Hamburg. Owing to family problems, she was not able to matriculate. She left school in 2011, after Grade 10, to look for work in Port Elizabeth (now called Gqueberha) but returned to Hamburg in 2014 after becoming pregnant. It was during this challenging time that she joined Keiskamma Art Project as an embroiderer. This was her first experience of embroidery but she quickly excelled and is a valued member of the collective. She enjoys her financial independence. She has played an important part in the creation of many Keiskamma artworks, including the recent monumental installation Diamond Structure (2024) commissioned by Mercedes Benz South Africa.

Pumza Magoswana was born in 1986 in the coastal village of Hamburg, in the former Ciskei, now part of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Five years before she was born, the Ciskei region had been declared an independent ‘homeland’ or ‘bantustan’ by the South African apartheid government as it ruthlessly enforced its racist policy of ‘separate development.’ Ciskei’s independence was recognised only by the apartheid regime and the governments of the other nominally independent homelands within South Africa’s borders.

Many forced removals took place from South Africa at this time as the government sought to concentrate Xhosa-speaking people in Ciskei and neighbouring Transkei. The area of Ciskei was inadequate to support its population, work opportunities were scarce and poverty was widespread.

Magoswana was eight years old when South Africa held its first democratic elections on 27 April 1994 and abolished apartheid legislation. Ciskei was then reincorporated into South Africa. Her home village of Hamburg is now in the Ngqushwa Local Municipality, within the Amathole District Municipality of Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Growing up, Magoswana attended Bodiam Primary School in nearby Bodiam village and secondary school at St Charles Sojola High School in Hamburg. She began tertiary education but was unable to complete her course owing to financial difficulties. As she is a single parent of four children and her parents have passed away, she and her children live with her older sister and her nephew. For many years, she had difficulty finding regular work in the Hamburg area and did piece work outside the village when she could find it. She joined Keiskamma Art Project as an embroiderer in 2008 and takes pride in her financial independence and in being able to support her family. She has contributed to the making of many Keiskamma artworks, including the recent monumental installation commissioned by Mercedes Benz South Africa, Diamond Structure (2024) and a large-scale tapestry commissioned by Amazon for the new Africa Headquarters in Cape Town.

Nozolile Gedze was born in 1965 in the village of Tsholomnqa in the former Ciskei, now part of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Four years previously, the South African apartheid government had declared this Xhosa-speaking region a distinct administrative territory. This legislation exacerbated poverty in the area as Xhosa-speaking people were forcibly removed into densely populated Ciskei and neighbouring Transkei from land in South Africa reserved for whites only.

Gedze attended school in the village but suffered poor health as a child and had to leave school in Standard 3 (Grade 5). By the time she had reached the age of twenty-one, Ciskei had been declared a nominally autonomous ‘homeland’ by the apartheid government, exacerbating poverty and hardship among its largely Xhosa-speaking population. Its spurious independence was recognised only by the apartheid regime and the governments of the other so-called homelands or bantustans. After the country’s first democratic elections on 27 April 1994, apartheid legislation was abolished and Ciskei was reincorporated into South Africa. Gedze was able to vote for the first time when she was close to thirty years old. Tsholomnqa is now in the Ngqushwa Local Municipality, within the Amathole District Municipality of Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Gifted with creative ability, Gedze joined Keiskamma Art Project (KAP) as an embroiderer in 2000, in the year the Project was founded. She has played a significant role in the creation of many of the iconic KAP artworks, including the Keiskamma Tapestry (2004) owned by Standard Bank South Africa; the Creation Altarpiece (2007); and the Keiskamma Altarpiece (2005). More recently, she has worked on the WWF-commissioned work Umlibo (2023), which addresses the impact of climate change on the Hamburg community, and Our Sacred Ocean (2021). Umlibo was exhibited at Cop28 in Dubai, while Sacred Ocean was exhibited at the Glasgow School of Art’s exhibition ‘Undercurrents: Art and Ocean in Africa and the Pacific,’ which ran from 15 to 29 April 2023.

Nozeti Makhubalo is a leading artist and public relations officer at the Keiskamma Art Project (KAP), Hamburg, South Africa. She joined the Project in 2000, at its inception.

Makhubalo was born in 1965 in King William’s Town (now Qonce) in the former Ciskei, which is now part of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Four years before she was born, the South African apartheid government had declared this Xhosa-speaking region a distinct administrative territory. This legislation exacerbated poverty in the area as Xhosa-speaking people were forcibly removed into densely populated Ciskei and neighbouring Transkei from land in South Africa reserved for whites only.

Employment opportunities were scarce and Makhubalo’s mother had to move to Queenstown (now Komani) for work. Makhubalo was raised by her grandmother in rural Hamburg. She had just begun primary school there when the apartheid regime in 1972 declared Ciskei a self-governing territory. Further forced removals of Xhosa speaking peoples into Ciskei exacerbated unemployment and poverty in a densely populated region.

After three years of high school education in a neighbouring village, Makhubalo moved to Queenstown to attend Nkwanca High School and lived with her mother. One of the reasons was that Makhubalo could receive a better education in Queenstown. Ciskei had been formally declared an independent ‘homeland’ or ‘bantustan’ by the apartheid government in 1981, entrenching racial inequality. Its independent status was recognised only by the apartheid regime and governments of other nominally independent homelands.

Makubalo returned to Hamburg after matriculating and worked at Hamburg Cash Store. In 1988, six years before the advent of democracy and reincorporation of Ciskei into South Africa, she married Hamilton Makhubalo, also a resident of Hamburg, She and her husband had six daughters together, one of whom sadly passed away in 2018.

Makhubalo displayed artistic talent from an early age, in both sewing and drawing. However, it was only once she had joined Keiskamma Art Project that she came to see herself as an artist. She has worked on many of the iconic KAP tapestries, including the Keiskamma Tapestry (2003), owned by Standard Bank South Africa; the Keiskamma Altarpiece (2005) which goes on display at Norval Foundation, Cape Town, in December 2024; the Keiskamma Guernica (2010), bought by Red Location Museum, Gqeberha; the Democracy Tapestry (2004), purchased by Wits Art Museum; South African Trees in Time (2009), commissioned by Murray & Roberts for their Headquarters in Bedfordview, Johannesburg); the Covid Resilience Tapestry (2021), exhibited at the Association for Visual Arts in Cape Town during the 2024 Investec Cape Town Art Fair and bought by the Judith Neilson Foundation, Sydney, Australia; Umlibo (sponsored by WWF and exhibited at COP28 in Dubai in 2023), and Diamond Structure (2024), sponsored by Mecedes Benz South Africa.

Makhubalo has travelled and exhibited as part of KAP nationally and internationally.

Nontando Madlingozi was born in June 1970 in the village of Bodiam, in the former Ciskei, now part of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Two years after Madlongozi was born, South Africa’s apartheid government unilaterally declared this region a self-governing territory, in line with its racist policy of ‘separate development.’ Poverty and unemployment in the area were exacerbated as Xhosa-speaking people were forcibly relocated there under the government’s ruthless policy of forced removals. Madlingozi was twenty three years old when she was able to vote for the first time in South Africa’s first democratic elections on 27 April 1994.

Madlingozi grew up and attended school in the village of Bodiam. She attended Bodiam Primary School and Matomela High School. In 2017, she joined Keiskamma Art Project (KAP) and was taught how to embroider by more experienced embroiderers on the Project. Gifted with artistic ability, she quickly progressed and has become an important member of the collective. She has contributed to the making of major recent artworks, including Diamond Structure (2024), a monumental installation commissioned by Mercedes Benz; a large-scale tapestry commissioned for the new Amazon Africa Headquarters in Cape Town in 2024; and Umlibo (2023), a work of similar scale, which addresses the tangible impact of climate change on the Hamburg community. This artwork made a powerful impression at Cop28 in Dubai in 2023.

Nomfundo Makubalo was born in 1961 in the coastal village of Hamburg in the former Ciskei, now part of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. In the same year Mangcangaza was born, the South African apartheid government declared Ciskei a distinct administrative territory, in line with its racist policy of ‘separate development.’ This legislation exacerbated poverty and unemployment in the region as Xhosa-speaking people were forcibly removed into Ciskei and neighbouring Transkei from land in South Africa reserved for whites.

Makubalo grew up in Hamburg and attended primary school there but was not able to complete her schooling owing to financial constraints. By the time she had reached the age of twenty, Ciskei had been formally declared an independent ‘homeland’ or ‘bantustan’ by the Nationalist government, exacerbating conditions of poverty and hardship. Its independence was recognised only by the apartheid regime and the other so-called homeland governments.

After the country’s first democratic elections on 27 April 1994, when Makubalo was 33 years old, Ciskei was reincorporated into South Africa. However, the legacy of apartheid and years of under-investment in the region meant that employment opportunities in Eastern Cape remained scarce. Extremely creative and resourceful, Makubalo helped to make ends meet by making clothes for herself and her three children, Nobantu, Bonisile and Noluthando, and for others in the community. She acknowledges the enormous influence of her grandmother, an excellent seamstress who taught Makubalo how to sew at any early age.

Makubalo joined Keiskamma Art Project in 2008 and is now recognised as one of the leading embroiderers on the Project, along with her sister Thembeka Makubalo. She has made a significant contribution to many of the iconic KAP artworks, as well as, more recently, to the creation of Diamond Structure (2024), a monumental installation commissioned by Mercedes Benz; a large-scale tapestry commissioned for the new Amazon headquarters in Cape Town in 2024; and Umlibo (2023), a work of similar scale, which addresses the tangible impact of climate change on the Hamburg community. This artwork made a powerful impression at Cop28 in Dubai in 2023.

Nombulelo Jack was born in 1982 in the coastal village of Hamburg in the former Ciskei, now part of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The year before Jack was born, in line with its racist policy of ‘separate development,’ South Africa’s apartheid government had designated Ciskei an independent ‘homeland’ or ‘bantustan.’ Its independence was recognised only by the apartheid regime and other nominally independent homelands within South Africa’s borders. Jack was twelve years old when South Africa held its first democratic elections on 27 April 1994, and Ciskei was reincorporated into South Africa.

Growing up in Hamburg, Jack attended Bodiam Primary School in nearby Bodiam village and in Standard 6 (Grade 8) moved to St Charles Sojola High School, Hamburg, where she matriculated. Although she had hoped to be able to further her studies at a tertiary college, financial constraints meant that she had to look for a job. She had always displayed creative talent and, while living with her parents in Hamburg, she came to hear about Keiskamma Art Project (KAP). In 2014 she joined the artists’ collective.

Skilled at embroidery, felting and wirework, she has created numerous individual artworks such as standing felt aloes and irises. She has also played an important part in the creation of many monumental collective works such as the Covid Resilience Tapestry (2021) ), which was exhibited at the Association for Visual Arts in Cape Town during the 2024 Investec Cape Town Art Fair and bought by the Judith Neilson Foundation, Australia; Diamond Structure, a vast 3-D installation commissioned by Mercedes Benz South Africa in 2024; and a large-scale tapestry commissioned by Amazon in 2024 for their new Africa Headquarters in Cape Town. She also worked on Umlibo, a large-scale tapestry commissioned by WWF in 2023, depicting the tangible effects of climate change on the rural community of Hamburg. The artwork made a powerful statement at COP28 in Dubai the same year.

Nombulelo Eunice Mangwane was born in Fort Beaufort, South Africa, on 10 December 1948, the same year the Afrikaner Nationalist government came to power and began to enforce its racist policies.

At the age of six, Mangwane moved with her parents to Cape Town and the family settled in Kensington, which, prior to enforcement of the apartheid-era Group Areas Act, was a multi-ethnic, multicultural suburb. In 1960, when the second Group Areas Act of 1957 was enforced, Mangwane and her parents were moved to the township of Nyanga. Shortly thereafter they moved to Gugulethu, where she completed her schooling.

Eunice worked as a teaching assistant at Aquarius Playschool in Cape Town for many years and in her spare time as a community volunteer in HIV/AIDS and TB education. In 2001 she joined Keiskamma Health Programme to assist Dr Carol Baker as an interpreter and in HIV/AIDS outreach work at 43 clinics serving 119 villages in the Peddie area. She opened her own home as a hospice for severely ill AIDS patients at the height of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. She later travelled nationally and internationally with the Keiskamma Art Project’s Keiskamma Altarpiece, to give testimony about the impact of the South African government’s deeply flawed policies on HIV/AIDS treatment and to celebrate the results achieved by Keiskamma Health Programme, through independent sourcing and administering of antiretroviral (ARV) medication in the broader Hamburg area.

While Canadian PEPFAR funding was available, Eunice continued to work with HIV/AIDS patients at the Hamburg Health Centre but when this funding dried up in 2015, she retired to focus on other work in the Hamburg community, particularly through the Methodist Church. She has four grandchildren. She is an outstanding public speaker and storyteller and has had a lifelong passion for dance.

Nomathansanqa Precious Mavela was born in 1980 in the coastal village of Hamburg, in the former Ciskei, now part of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.

The year after Mavela was born, South Africa’s apartheid government unilaterally declared the Ciskei region independent, in line with its racist policy of ‘separate development.’ Only the apartheid regime and the governments of the other so-called homelands or bantustans recognised Ciskei’s independence. Mavela was thirteen years old when South Africa held its first democratic elections on 27 April 1994 and Ciskei was reincorporated into South Africa. Hamburg is now in the Ngqushwa Local Municipality, within the Amathole District Municipality of Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Mavela grew up as one of four children (two of her siblings have sadly since passed away) and attended primary and high school in Hamburg. After matriculating, she studied Business Management at Boston College in East London, and has a keen and confident business sense. She married in 2008 and has four children. Her eldest son is studying civil engineering at Tshwane University of Technology, and is due to graduate in 2025. Her second child is at high school in East London and her two youngest children are at primary school in Hamburg.

She has been a member of Keiskamma Art Project (KAP) for over ten years and has played a role in the creation of several of the collective’s iconic works. These include the Covid Resilience Tapestry (2021), which went on display at the Association for Visual Arts during the 2024 Investec Cape Town Art Fair and was purchased by the Judith Neilson Foundation in Sydney, Australia the same year. In 2024, she played an important part in the making of a major tapestry commission for the new Amazon Africa Headquarters in Cape Town. Besides her passion for sewing, she enjoys cooking and catering.

Nokuzola Mvaphantsi was born in 1978 in the coastal village of Hamburg in the former Ciskei, now part of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. When she was three years old, the South African government unilaterally declared Ciskei’s independence, in line with its racist policy of ‘separate development.’ This status was recognised only by the apartheid regime and the governments of the other so-called homelands or bantustans. Mvaphantsi was sixteen years old when South Africa held its first democratic elections and Ciskei was reincorporated into South Africa. Hamburg is now in the Ngqushwa Local Municipality, within the Amathole District Municipality of Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Mvaphantsi attended primary and high school in Hamburg but was unable to complete her formal schooling as she coped with the demands of being a teenage parent. Employment opportunities were scarce and she took on a caring role in her grandparents’ home, cooking, cleaning and taking care of her grandmother and younger children in the household.

Although Mvaphantsi learned sewing skills from her grandmother at a young age, it was her aunt Mandisa Makhubalo—already a talented member of Keiskamma Art Project—who taught her how to embroider. In 2004 Mvaphantsi too joined Keiskamma Art Project, where she has acquired advanced embroidery skills and has experimented in other media, such as ceramics. Embroidery is her preferred medium. Now financially independent, she has worked on several iconic Keiskamma Art Project works, including the large-scale installation South African Trees in Time (2009), for the Murray & Roberts Headquarters in Bedfordview, Johannesburg, and the recent Mercedes-Benz SA commission, Diamond Structure (2024). She also worked on a large-scale tapestry commissioned by Hazendal Wine Estate in Stellenbosch in 2024.

She has four children and is married to Jonathan Betheni.

Nkosazana Veronica Betani is a leading member of the Keiskamma Art Project (KAP), and has helped to create the collective’s profound and iconic artworks: rich tapestries of personal experience, community life and collective memory in rural Eastern Cape.

Born in 1968 near Qonce (formerly King William’s Town), Betani faced the harsh realities of apartheid and personal adversity. In 1968 King William’s Town was part of an arbitrarily defined, impoverished region within South Africa called Ciskei, which South Africa’s apartheid government declared a separate administrative territory in 1961, a self-governing territory in 1972 and finally an independent ‘homeland’ in 1981. This status was recognised only by the apartheid regime and the governments of the other so-called homelands or bantustans. Work opportunities in the region were scarce and forced removals of Xhosa-speaking people into Ciskei and neighbouring Transkei from land in South Africa reserved for whites only exacerbated conditions of extreme hardship.

Betani’s life took a challenging turn when she contracted HIV, at a time when there was enormous stigma associated with the diagnosis, and antiretroviral medication was not available through the public health system in South Africa. Betani joined Keiskamma Art Project in 2000, six years after the advent of democracy in 1994. Since then she has transformed her life journey into a source of inspiration and strength.

Living openly with HIV, she now uses her art to advocate for awareness, education and compassion. She often draws on the symbolism of the strelitzia, or bird of paradise, to represent joy, freedom and endurance. Just as the flower blooms again after periods of drought, Betani’s journey illustrates the possibility of overcoming major life challenges.

In 2024 she travelled to Munich, Germany, where her work was exhibited as part of the exhibition HIV Science as Art (22–26 July), organised to coincide with the 2024 International AIDS Conference in Munich.

Betani has also travelled nationally and internationally with major KAP artworks such as the Keiskamma Altarpiece (2007) and Keiskamma Guernica (2010). Recently, she accompanied the tapestry Umlibo (2023) to the COP28 climate negotiations in Dubai, highlighting the intersection of HIV awareness and environmental issues.

Her involvement in the Keiskamma Art Project has been not only a therapeutic outlet but also a way to foster a sense of community and support among those affected by HIV. Through her art, Veronica Betani continues to bring global attention to the struggles and resilience of rural South African communities. Her work embodies her own community’s strength and art’s transformative power in promoting social change and healing.

Mzwandile Atwell Ndlondlo was born in February 1960 in the village of Hamburg in the former Ciskei, now part of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Two months later, the South African apartheid government would ban the African National Congress (ANC) and the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) and the following year begin ruthlessly enforcing its racially discriminatory policy of ‘separate development’—in practice a combination of labour control and political repression—declaring the Ciskei region a distinct administrative territory. This exacerbated poverty and unemployment in the region as Xhosa-speaking people were forcibly removed into densely populated Ciskei and neighbouring Transkei from areas in South Africa reserved for whites only.

Ndlondlo grew up in Hamburg as the fifth of eight children. His father passed away when he was ten years old, and the family elders decided it would be best to send Ndlondlo to live with relatives in Transkei. He completed his education in Transkei. In 1983 he found a job at the Waverley Blankets Factory in East London, and worked at various times as a senior machine operator, quality controller, mechanic, shift foreman and acting production manager. During this time, at the height of apartheid state control, with the ANC and the PAC still banned and Nelson Mandela in prison on Robben Island, Ndlondlo joined the underground ANC military wing uMkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation) and engaged in covert activities to overthrow the apartheid regime. He was thirty-four years old when South Africa held its first democratic elections and Ciskei was reincorporated into South Africa. Hamburg is now in the Ngqushwa Local Municipality, within the Amathole District Municipality of Eastern Cape, South Africa.

After Mandela’s release in 1990 he left politics and returned to Hamburg, where he has lived and worked since. He married Ntombazana Makubalo, now Nomonde Ndlondlo, from the village of Ngqamakwe in the former Transkei. In 2007, he was employed as a driver and general assistant by the Keiskamma Trust AIDS Hospice, Umtha Welanga (Ray of Sunshine) in Hamburg, to help transport severely ill AIDS patients from their homes to the hospice for care. He and seven other staff members were invited to Washington DC in June 2008 by the US not-for-profit organisation 25:40, founded in 2003 to help save children impacted by HIV/AIDS, where they performed as a gospel choir in various cities.

Ndlondlo founded Thandazani Apostolic Church of Zion of South Africa and serves as the Archbishop. A dedicated community member, in 2009 he registered the not-for-profit organisation Hamburg Connection Community Rehabilitation, which grows organic herbs and vegetables using animal manure and a rotavator for tilling.

Cebo Mvubu was born in 1981, in the village of Bodiam, in the former Ciskei, now part of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. In the same year Mvubu was born, Ciskei was unilaterally declared an independent ‘homeland’ by South Africa’s apartheid government, as part of its racially discriminatory policy of ‘separate development.’ In practice, this was a combination of labour control and political repression, and only the South African regime and the governments of the other so-called homelands or bantustans recognised Ciskeian independence. Poverty and unemployment in the region were exacerbated as Xhosa-speaking people were forced to move there from areas in South Africa reserved for whites, under the Nationalist government’s policy of forced removals.

Mvubu grew up and attended school in the village of Bodiam. While gifted with artistic ability, there were no formal art classes at school to spark his creativity. He became aware of the limitations of gender roles as boys were discouraged from pursuing artistic interests.

In 2001, seven years after Ciskei was reincorporated into South Africa following the first democratic elections, Mvubu joined Keiskamma Art Project (KAP). Through the support of the Keiskamma Trust (of which KAP is the flagship project), he completed his fine arts degree at Walter Sisulu University in East London, a merger of the former Border Technikon, Eastern Cape Technikon, and the University of Transkei.

Since then he has worked for KAP as a lead artist and, in more recent years, as Production Manager, gaining experience in overseeing many complex projects. He was key to the successful installation of the retrospective Umaf’ evuka, nje ngenganga / Dying and rising as the moon does: Celebrating two decades of Keiskamma Art Project at Constitution Hill, Johannesburg in September 2022 and as an artist has worked on most of the iconic KAP artworks, including the Keiskamma Tapestry (2003), owned by Standard Bank South Africa; the Keiskamma Altarpiece (2005); the Keiskamma Guernica (2010), owned by Red Location Museum, Gqeberha; and the Covid Resilience Tapestry (2021), owned by the Judith Neilson Foundation, Sydney. Mvubu has travelled and exhibited as part of KAP nationally and internationally.

As a committed member of his community, he is dedicated to its growth and development, especially regarding the welfare of women and children. His daily work involves fair distribution of work, and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the KAP team. At the same time he considers the unique circumstances facing each person, so creating an inclusive, accommodating and highly productive space for everyone.

Cape Town-based designer and brand developer Penny Waterkeyn brings over 30 years of expertise in the communications industry. Her career began in the dynamic world of advertising, where she developed a keen understanding of storytelling and strategic design. Eager to create more agile, collaborative partnerships, she transitioned to independent work, allowing her to offer a unique approach focused on flexibility, creativity, and client-centered solutions.

Waterkeyn’s skills span a wide range, from brand strategy and visual identity design to the development of impactful publications and campaigns. What distinguishes her is her passion for meaningful, transformative work, particularly in the social sector. She combines exceptional design talent with a commitment to positive change, building brands that inspire action and crafting communication strategies that drive social progress. Waterkeyn has worked with a diverse number of clients including: DG Murray Trust, Yellowoods Foundation, The Association for Savings and Investment South Africa, PILO not-for-profit education organisation, The Department of Basic Education, Activate!Leadership, Cape Action for People and the Environment.
With every project, she brings creativity, strategic insight, and heartfelt dedication.

In 2005, Penny designed the first book on the Keiskamma Tapestry, marking the beginning of her longstanding relationship with the Keiskamma community. Her thoughtful, meticulous approach to materials for the 2022/2023 exhibition Umaf’ evuka, nje ngenyanga / Dying and Rising as the Moon Does, celebrating two decades of the Keiskamma Art Project, at Johannesburg’s Constitution Hill Museum, reflects her deep respect for the cultural heritage of Hamburg and the Keiskamma Art Project. Her work not only showcases her design expertise but also honours the artistic legacy of the community.

Renowned for her ability to blend artistry with strategic vision, Penny’s work stands as a testament to design’s potential as a tool for connection, change, and innovation.

Malika Ndlovu has been a dynamic force in literature and performance for over 25 years, captivating audiences across South Africa and internationally. Her impactful body of work includes two published plays, five solo poetry collections, and an enduring presence in multimedia poetry events and festivals. As a co-founder and curator, she has enriched platforms such as the Africa Centre’s Badilisha Poetry X-Change podcast and spearheaded ground-breaking initiatives like the Cape Town-based women writers’ collectives And the Word was Woman Ensemble and WEAVE.

Ndlovu thrives at the intersection of creativity and collaboration, embracing transdisciplinary approaches to artistic expression. As an applied arts practitioner, she is deeply committed to fostering healing through creative engagement, actively contributing to this process as a member of the Sp(i)eel Art Therapies Collective and the broader South African Arts in Psychosocial Support community of practice.

Her literary contributions are in seminal works such as Our Words, Our Worlds: Writing on Black South African Women Poets, 2000–2018 (ed. Makhosazana Xaba, UKZN Press, 2019) and Voices Unbound: Poems from the 8th International Symposium of Poetic Inquiry (HSRC Press, 2023). In 2023, Malika delivered the keynote address, Re-turning to Ourselves, Our Wealth: Poetic Reflections, at the inaugural conference of the African Humanities Association, underscoring the importance of her voice as a transformative force in African literature.

Having spent time living in Hamburg, Eastern Cape, her connection to the landscape is intricately woven, much like the threads of women’s work she amplifies and honours.

Her forthcoming book, Grief Seed, is set to be published in early 2025.

Hernease Davis, a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) graduate of the International Center of Photography at Bard College (ICP-Bard College), is a multimedia, photo-based artist and educator living between Brooklyn, New York, and Rochester, New York State. Her work has been exhibited across the United States. She creates immersive installations using photograms, cyanotypes, crochet, and sound, offering spaces for rest, reflection and rebirth. Her series “…new love” debuted at the SHIFT Residency 2020–21 exhibition at the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts in New York. Davis has shown work at venues like the Houston Center for Photography, Silver Eye Center (Pittsburgh), Transformer Station (Cleveland), and the International Center of Photography (New York). Named to the inaugural Silver List, Davis is also an Assistant Curator and MFA instructor at the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester, New York State, and a past Visiting Lecturer at ICP-Bard College. Her practice, a journey in empathy and self-healing, seeks out profound and visceral connections with others through art. She draws inspiration from the human- and nature-centred art practice of Keiskamma Art Project, an artists’ collective based in rural Hamburg, Eastern Cape, South Africa, valuing both the exquisite intricacy of their work and the moving stories of personal and community resilience embodied in it.

Kimathi Mafafo is a multidisciplinary artist from Kimberley in the Northern Cape of South Africa.

Focusing on celebrating the black female and abstracted forms, Mafafo’s practice in painting and embroidery work is a raw articulation of two mediums that have embodied the Black woman and/or female’s body within the tradition of women’s work. In these, she creates a tension between becoming and being, concealing and revealing, retreating and showing up, all of which embody the arduous negotiations Black women have to make in navigating their existence in society.
Kimathi Mafafo has most recently exhibited in Soulscapes at the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London, and has been acquired by the Newark Museum of Art and the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields.

‘Collaborating with Mustapha Saadu a tailor from Ghana, Mafafo’s works tell stories of women trapped under the weight of tradition and not fully realising their worth.’ Dr Same Mdluli

Image courtesy of EBONY CURATED

Michaela Howse grew up in the Eastern Cape, with early beginnings in Alice, where her father was the village GP and her mother a psychology lecturer at Fort Hare University. After schooling in Gqeberha she completed her BA FA in graphic design at Stellenbosch University with English and photography as major subjects. She was preoccupied by the question of what role design could play in the context of the craftart industry in South Africa, a then burgeoning field with significant potential for social change. Predominantly through Streetwires Artists’ Studio (a wire and bead art company) in Cape Town, she utilised holistic design and research skills to the ends of improving livelihoods and prospects for marginalised groups outside of the formal economy.

A love of film catalysed her exploration into this medium’s potential for communicating meaning and for storytelling, and the idea of creating a hand-crafted animated film led her back to Stellenbosch University in 2012. After an honours in Visual Studies, Howse completed her Master’s in Visual Art with a strong focus on curatorship. An exhibition at the Cape Town Holocaust and Genocide Centre followed in 2018, built around inherited Meissen porcelain shards (the broken remains of her great great grandparents’ collection in Dresden) emblematic of their deeply invested position in the business and culture of Germany.

A focus on critical curatorship (with its root word in Latin curare, meaning to care for) has been sharpened through her leadership of Keiskamma Art Project since 2020—where sustainability has been key—while also lecturing part time in Visual Studies for Nelson Mandela University. Carrying the familial memory of violent dislocation in the European context, her research in post-apartheid South Africa remains committed to the value of material culture in the post-conflict setting, and to questions of how we move on (personally and socially) after trauma and conflict.

Sandra Dodson is a published writer, editor and researcher, with a particular interest in the relationship between storytelling and the visual arts. She studied English language and literature at the University of Cape Town and Trinity College, Oxford, and has worked on exhibitions and publications at the Irma Stern Museum, Cape Town; the Museum of Modern Art Oxford (now Modern Art Oxford); the Hayward Gallery, London; and Norval Foundation, Cape Town. In 2020 she researched, compiled and edited Accomplice: Michael Armitage (Norval Foundation 2020) and iiNyanga Zonyaka (The Lunar Songbook): Athi Patra Ruga (Norval Foundation 2020). In 2021 she contributed to the richly illustrated and researched publication, Headrests of Southern Africa: The Architecture of Sleep (Five Continents Editions, Milan, 2021).

Her work is motivated by a sense of social justice. She co-edited and contributed a story to the collection Just Keep Breathing: South African Birth Stories (Jacana 2008) and has worked with the award-winning literacy NGO, FunDza Literacy Trust, as a writing mentor, editor and producer of educational materials. In 2020, she co-produced the Norval Foundation’s interactive educational book Making Art History: Getting to Know Artists from Africa and Beyond (Norval Foundation 2020) for Foundation phase learners unable to access the Museum during the Covid lockdown. Most recently, she researched and developed content for the Keiskamma Art Project retrospective Umaf’ evuka, nje ngenyanga: Dying and rising, as the moon does: Celebrating two decades of Keiskamma Art Project (Constitution Hill, Johannesburg, 24 September 2022 to 24 March 2023) and its in-depth digital catalogue, to accompany a planned travelling exhibition.

Her intention is to foster the Keiskamma artists’ reflections on their creative practice, with a view to creating a dynamic digital archive of written and visual material that will document their extraordinary output over the past two decades and into the future. In June 2022, she and Kholeka Sigenu—storyteller, retired teacher and author of Ezakowethu: Folktales from home—facilitated a writing/storytelling workshop with the artists in Hamburg, Eastern Cape. The workshop was led by fiction writer, founder of the Life Righting Collective and winner of the SALA Nadine Gordimer Short Story Award 2024, Dawn Garisch.

As a seasoned UX/UI Designer and Design Lead at GlassBox, Catherine Bondesio brings a unique blend of creativity, technical expertise, and strategic insight to every project she undertakes. With over 20 years of experience across the UK and South Africa, Bondesio’s work spans both print and digital design, showcasing her adaptability and commitment to quality.

Holding a diploma in Graphic Design from Cape Technikon, she combines her creative vision with strong project management and business acumen, making her a valuable asset in both commercial and community-focused initiatives.

Her dedication to community-driven projects and arts education shines through her longstanding collaboration with the Keiskamma Art Project. Since the early 2000s, she has supported this initiative and recently developed the website for the Keiskamma Art Project retrospective at Constitution Hill, Johannesburg: Umaf’ evuka, nje ngenyana / Dying and rising, as the moon does (24 September 2022 to 24 March 2023). She also played a major role in bringing the digital catalogue for this exhibition to life. This partnership, which holds a special place in her heart, reflects Bondesio’s deep commitment to using design as a force for positive impact.

Nobukho Nqaba was born in Butterworth, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. She is a graduate of the Michaelis School of Fine Art at the University of Cape Town (UCT) with a specialisation in photography. In 2012, she was awarded the Tierney Fellowship and was the recipient of reGeneration3, a photography-focused initiative by the Musee de l’Elysee.

Continuing her academic pursuits through UCT, Nqaba acquired a Postgraduate Certificate in Education, specialising in Visual Art and Design, in 2013, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Library & Information Studies in 2019.

Nqaba has embarked on various teaching endeavours. She served as a Visual Art and Digital Photography Educator at the Peter Clarke Art Centre (2014-2019) and also held the position of Photography Lecturer (2019- 2021) at the Red & Yellow Creative School of Business in Cape Town.

Recently, Nqaba completed her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree at the Michaelis School of Fine Art and currently works as a Curator and Education Coordinator at the Irma Stern Museum in Cape Town.

Nqaba’s artistic oeuvre delves into the nuanced themes of home and opportunity, unravelling the delicate balance between stability and transience. Through her work, she intricately weaves together commonplace materials such as checkered plastic bags, plain grey blankets and weathered overalls, symbolising the fragility of the concept of home. Drawing from her personal experiences growing up in an informal settlement in Grabouw, Cape Town, Nqaba’s art reflects upon the multifaceted narratives of migration and labour, resonating with audiences on a deeply emotional level.

Malibongwe Tyilo is a filmmaker and multimedia journalist who works across the fields of art, design, fashion, culture and current affairs. He has gained expertise in various roles, notably as a columnist, writer and editor for leading South Africa magazines and newspapers.

As a filmmaker, he has shot and edited a number of editorially-led short films covering a wide range of subjects. These include South African art, design and fashion, as well as climate change—a subject he explored as part of On the Edge of Change, a six-part short documentary series launched in 2019 for the South African investigative news platform, Daily Maverick. Most recently, he co-directed, shot and edited Section 16, a multi-award winning short documentary about online violence targeted at women journalists.

In 2024, his focus shifted fully into establishing Daily Maverick’s social media video platforms, where he works as Creative Lead. He collaborates closely with the platform’s investigative journalists and a video production team to translate their work into highly-produced short-form videos, as a way to increase the reach and impact of their investigative work online. He also continues his work within the fashion and design fields as curator of global restaurant chain Nando’s’ internal gifting and apparel assortment, where he supports the restaurant chain’s goal of working with and uplifting South African designers and artisans.

Malika Ndlovu has been a dynamic force in literature and performance for over 25 years, captivating audiences across South Africa and internationally. Her impactful body of work includes two published plays, five solo poetry collections, and an enduring presence in multimedia poetry events and festivals. As a co-founder and curator, she has enriched platforms such as the Africa Centre’s Badilisha Poetry X-Change podcast and spearheaded ground-breaking initiatives like the Cape Town-based women writers’ collectives And the Word was Woman Ensemble and WEAVE.

Ndlovu thrives at the intersection of creativity and collaboration, embracing transdisciplinary approaches to artistic expression. As an applied arts practitioner, she is deeply committed to fostering healing through creative engagement, actively contributing to this process as a member of the Sp(i)eel Art Therapies Collective and the broader South African Arts in Psychosocial Support community of practice.

Her literary contributions are in seminal works such as Our Words, Our Worlds: Writing on Black South African Women Poets, 2000–2018 (ed. Makhosazana Xaba, UKZN Press, 2019) and Voices Unbound: Poems from the 8th International Symposium of Poetic Inquiry (HSRC Press, 2023). In 2023, Malika delivered the keynote address, Re-turning to Ourselves, Our Wealth: Poetic Reflections, at the inaugural conference of the African Humanities Association, underscoring the importance of her voice as a transformative force in African literature.

Having spent time living in Hamburg, Eastern Cape, her connection to the landscape is intricately woven, much like the threads of women’s work she amplifies and honours.

Her forthcoming book, Grief Seed, is set to be published in early 2025.

Oxford-based Jan Chalmers, with her late friend and colleague Jacky Jezewski, worked closely with South African artist and medical doctor Carol (Baker) Hofmeyr as she established the Keiskamma Art Project (KAP) in Hamburg, Eastern Cape twenty-four years ago. Between 2001 and 2011, she and Jezewski led initiatives to introduce a wide range of new embroidery techniques to the artists of KAP. Her dedication contributed to the creation of the renowned Keiskamma Tapestry, a large-scale embroidered work of over 120 metres long, depicting the history of the Eastern Cape from pre-colonial times. The tapestry, previously on loan by Standard Bank South Africa to the Houses of Parliament in Cape Town, was recently exhibited in the retrospective exhibition Umaf’ evuka, nje ngenyanga / Dying and Rising, as the moon does: Celebrating two decades of Keiskamma Art Project at Constitution Hill, Johannesburg (24 September 2022 to 24 March 2023).

Jan also played a pivotal role in promoting Keiskamma Art Project in the United Kingdom, where she raised awareness and much-needed funds by showcasing the collective’s work.

Jan’s experience of working with a community of Xhosa women in a region profoundly impacted by apartheid strongly influenced her subsequent initiative: the Palestinian History Tapestry Project, which she founded in 2011. Recognising the rich tradition of cross-stitch embroidery (tahriri) among Palestinian women—yet noting its limited use in narrative or pictorial formats—she collaborated with local artists to create a tapestry that documents Palestine’s historical and cultural narratives across over 100 embroidered panels. This project, much like the Keiskamma Tapestry, serves as a visual chronicle, capturing the heritage and resilience of an indigenous people through textile art. Jan continues to work closely with Palestinian embroiderers and designers, coordinating the production of panels to ensure cultural authenticity and artistic integrity.

Jan extends her heartfelt gratitude to the women of Hamburg, Bodiam, and Ntilini, whose warm friendship and hospitality enriched her creative journey and inspired her subsequent work.

Cathy Stanley is a South African paper-maker and paper-painting artist based in Cape Town. Her relationship with the Keiskamma Art Project was established when she assisted artist Elizabeth Vels, longtime friend of founder Carol (Baker) Hofmeyr, in creating paper prayer bowls with the artists in Hamburg, Eastern Cape. This association was cemented during the nearly ten years she worked for the Keiskamma Art Project curating exhibitions and trade fairs, workshopping and facilitating commissions and collaborations, and assisting in product development. She continues this relationship as an independent consultant and curator.

She has recently co-curated two major retrospective exhibitions. A mammoth retrospective of artist Elizabeth Vels’ work, A Life in Making, was held at the Spin Street Gallery in Cape Town from 17 to 30 July 2022. This rich and prolific body of work was exhibited over a period of three weeks, with three distinct phases titled ‘Return,’ ‘Replant, ‘Restore,’ in reference to the cycle of destruction and recovery in the biblical Book of Jeremiah (review by Lucinda Jolly in Daily Maverick 17 July 2022). An entirely new selection of work was presented for each phase. Over the same period, Stanley co-curated, with Pippa Hetherington and Azu Nwagbogu, the widely acclaimed retrospective of the work of the Keiskamma Art Project collective based in Hamburg, Eastern Cape. This was held in the historic precinct of Constitution Hill, Johannesburg, from 24 September 2022 to 24 March 2023. In July 2022 she also curated a solo exhibition by artist Kathy Robins entitled Re-Turn, at Creation Wine Estate, Cape Town. @cathy.stanley

Carol (Baker) Hofmeyr is a humanitarian and fine artist with a background in medicine. She views healing in the broadest sense, and her humanitarian work is grounded in a belief that there is alchemy where art and science meet. Before anything, she believes in equality and inclusivity.

Baker qualified with an MB Bch from Wits University in 1973. After working as a medical officer at Baragwanath Hospital and McCord Zulu Hospital in 1975, she moved to the (then) Transkei to become a medical officer at Holy Cross Mission Hospital. Between 1978 and 1988 she worked as a medical officer at Alexandra Clinic and at the Coronation Hospital (now Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital) paediatric developmental assessment clinic.

Pursuing her interest in the humanities, Baker later studied English and psychology through UNISA and fine art through Witwatersrand Technikon (now University of Johannesburg). In 1993 she graduated from Witwatersrand Technikon with a Higher Diploma in Fine Art and, between 1995 and 2000, worked on the Department of Arts and Culture Aids Awareness Campaign, using art as an educational tool.
In 2001, to help address problems of extreme poverty, learned helplessness and eroded self-esteem through lack of opportunity in the remote communities of Hamburg, Ntlini and Bodiam, Baker set up the Keiskamma Art Project (KAP) and began teaching art skills and embroidery to about 100 women and a few young men from the three villages. The Project has achieved international renown and KAP artworks have toured to many parts of the world. The iconic Keiskamma Altarpiece has been seen in the US, Canada, UK and Europe, while on exhibition in cathedrals in Toronto, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington State, Seattle, San Francisco, and London. The piece has also been exhibited in Hamburg, Germany and many cities in South Africa. KAP has been the subject of multiple academic publications and textbooks, has featured in South African school text books and matriculation examinations, and is documented in the book: The Keiskamma Art Project: Restoring hope and livelihoods by Prof Brenda Schmahmann (Print Matters Heritage, 2016).

In the same year, 2001, Baker founded the Keiskamma Health Programme. This initiative developed as a response to the poor health care in the community of Hamburg in 2001 and has grown to become a successful not-for-profit organisation (NPO) offering support to government programmes in the area and facilitating patient care where there are shortfalls in the state programmes. Prior to the start of the national HIV treatment program, the Health Programme provided in-patient care for AIDS patients who were ill and unable to travel and initiated treatment in these patients. Over 600 patients were initiated on ARVS and care was provided for the poorest people in the community who were infected and affected by the disease. Most of these patients would not have survived without these interventions.

In 2010, under Baker’s guidance, KAP produced a major work depicting community outrage at the slow management of HIV/AIDS and the health service in the Eastern Cape. This work was successfully exhibited at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown (Makhanda) in June 2010. After its purchase by the Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) City Council, it was subsequently displayed at the Red Location Museum, Gqeberha, and later travelled to the Venice Architectural Biennale.

In 2004, Keiskamma Art Project became the flagship project of the overarching Keiskamma Trust. In addition to the art and health programmes, the Keiskamma Trust runs an education programme and the Keiskamma Music Academy, which has performed locally and internationally to high acclaim.

Baker became an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, UK (FCP) in 2012 and in 2013 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the university currently known as Rhodes University, South Africa. She has also received the Eastern Cape Herald Citizen of the Year Award (2006); the Eastern Cape Premier’s Award for Art and Health (2006); the Shoprite Checkers / SABC 2 Award for Art, Culture and Communication (2007); and the Ellen Kuzwayo Award from the University of Johannesburg (2011).

As an artist Baker is known by the name Carol Hofmeyr. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in South Africa and abroad. Her work as part of the Keiskamma Art Project collective has also been documented in two SABC-commissioned documentary films by Miki Redelinghuys entitled Keiskamma: A Story of Love and Once upon a River. Keiskamma: A Story of Love was also broadcast on Al Jazeera.

Azu Nwagbogu is an internationally acclaimed curator, interested in evolving new models of engagement with questions of decolonisation, restitution, and repatriation. In his practice, the exhibition becomes an experimental site for reflection, civic engagement, ecology and repatriation—both tangible and symbolic. Nwagbogu is the Founder and Director of African Artists’ Foundation (AAF), a non-profit organisation based in Lagos, Nigeria. He also serves as Founder and Director of LagosPhoto Festival, an annual international arts festival of photography held in Lagos. He is the publisher of Art Base Africa, a virtual space to discover and learn about contemporary art from Africa and its diasporas.

In 2023, he was named an Explorer at Large by the National Geographic Society, recognising his commitment to exploring and documenting the world’s diverse cultures and environments. He was also appointed the curator of the first ever Republic of Benin pavilion for the 2024 Venice Biennale. In 2022, Azu Nwagbogu was appointed as one of the first curators of Buro Stedelijk, a new platform for contemporary African art based in Amsterdam. His expertise in contemporary African art has made him a sought-after speaker and panelist at art events around the world. In 2022, Nwagbogu also launched the project ‘Dig Where You Stand (DWYS) – From Coast to Coast,’ which offers a new model for institutional building and engagement, with questions of decolonisation, restitution and repatriation, the exhibition took place in Ibrahim Mahama’s culture hub SCCA in Tamale, Ghana. He was awarded the prestigious RPS Award for Curatorship 2021 by the Royal Photographic Society UK and also listed among the hundred most influential people in the art world by ArtReview. Nwagbogu’s primary interest is in reinventing the idea of the museum and its role as a civic space for engagement for society at large.

Professor Annie E. Coombes is Emerita Professor of Material and Visual Culture in the School of Historical Studies and Founding Director of the Peltz Gallery at Birkbeck, University of London. Coombes’ research focuses on colonial histories, their legacies in the present, and the tensions involved in engaging these violent histories through practices of memorialisation, museums and monuments, in Britain, South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria.

Award-winning books include History After Apartheid: Visual Culture and Public Memory in a Democratic South Africa (Duke 2003) and Reinventing Africa: Museums, Material Culture and Popular Imagination in Late Victorian and Edwardian England (Yale 1994). She is Co-editor (with Ruth B. Phillips) of Museum Transformations: Decolonization and Democratisation (Oxford 2019).

Coombes has always written for contemporary artists—particularly women, whose practice expands our understanding of the epistemic and actual violence of colonialism and its affect, for example: Sonia Boyce; Joy Gregory; Syowia Kyambi; Senzeni Marasela; Lisa Reihana; Tracey Rose; Berni Searle; Penny Siopis; Carrie Mae Weems and the Keiskamma Art Project.
Coombes’ internationally recognised research has resulted in key positions as Expert Advisor to the African Union Human Rights Memorial Project and as member of the Panel of Experts at EMOWAA (subsequently MOWAA) advising on the exhibition and display of the returned Benin ‘bronzes’ to Benin City. Professor Coombes has also been ICOMOS-appointed assessor of nominations for UNESCO’s World Heritage Site status.

Annette Wentworth is a poet, author, and essayist. She holds a Master of Social Justice and International Studies degree and is currently working on completing her PhD on rural women’s lived experience and the remembrance of AIDS in South Africa through the University of Alberta. Annette is the co-chair of the Africa Region of the Memory Studies Association and a 2023/24 Killam laureate (@Killam Trusts) scholar. While originally from Canada, Annette worked with not-for-profit and community-based organisations in Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa for over 15 years, including seven years serving as the managing director/ deputy director of the Keiskamma Trust. She currently divides her time between Stellenbosch, where she is affiliated with the Centre for the Study of the Afterlife of Violence and the Reparative Quest (AVReQ) and the village of Hamburg, home of the Keiskamma Art project, in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.

introduction

Sandra Dodson

These Knowing Hands

Malika Nldovu