("Herd the cow" embroidered work by Xolili Ndlovu)Welcome Danca and Xolile Ndlovu are the African Art Centre’s Artist and Crafter of the Year respectively. An exhibition of their work is running at the centre until May 5.
From the time of its inception in 1959, the African Art Centre has provided significant opportunities and opened doors for thousands of artists and crafters from the province by providing them with a professional platform, valuable support and guidance. An initiative which aims at developing and nurturing new talent is the Artist and Crafter of the Year Award, a project which was initiated by the Centre in 2003 and has been running consecutively.
This sought-after award presents one artist and one crafter with professional direction, critical support and resources for a period of three months which enables them to concentrate on and develop their art practice. In honour of their award and the contribution they have made to the cultural heritage of KwaZulu-Natal, the Centre mounts an exhibition of their work and in so doing, continues to expand its vision, which is to acknowledge, respect, appreciate, promote and preserve the work of artist and crafters to ensure that they are able to earn a sustainable living from their artistic creativity and craftsmanship.
The criteria for selection is that the recipients must be of mature age, must consistently produce works of high quality and innovation and should be concerned with passing on their skills and knowledge to young up and coming artists and crafters living within their communities. The awardees for 2012 are Welcome Danca and Xolile Ndlovu
Welcome was born in Port Shepstone in 1978. In 1995, whilst in Makumbuza High School High School, he started art classes and started experimenting with charcoal and pencil. It was when he drew a map on the school black board that a teacher recognized his talent and suggested he attend art classes with Trevor Makhoba. Danca fondly remembers his art classes under the mango trees.
His preferred medium is oil and acrylic paint; however he has also experimented with graphic design. Danca’s subject matter varies, from social commentary to interpretations of the traditional Zulu way of life. Conceptually Danca says he explores personal memories focusing on his rural childhood and how growing up as a child in rural areas contrasts with his current urban lifestyle. He looks at how these recollections have influenced the way in which he responds to his immediate space and how his experiences have shaped his personal identity as a black South African who finds himself in and between these partial spaces.
Welcome says that his relationship with the landscape and his portrayal of pastoral life reveals his love of his native land and its people. His renditions of transformed landscapes and environments have stories to tell about the terrain we inhabit and the numerous elements which impact on us.
Thembeka Hazel Xolile Ndlovu was born in 1981 and resides in Richmond in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. She was introduced to embroidery during the Ntokozo development project initiated by the African Art Centre in 2004, where seven young unemployed single mothers living in KwaZulu-Natal were skilled in the technique of embroidery and appliqué.
Eight years on, Xolile has evolved to producing a variety of embroidered textiles including bags, wall hangings and cushion covers and continues to demonstrate her nimbleness in the art of needle and thread.
The word Ntokozo loosely translated means “happy” and Xolile’s embroidered panels of bold images and exuberant colour speak of her personal stories, her environment, hopes and aspirations. The uniqueness of her embroideries is further illuminated by the incorporation of textured cloth, beads, buttons and appliqué. Her work clearly demonstrates her authentic connection to a craft tradition within her community and exemplified excellence, high quality and promising marketability.
Xolile remains a prominent member of the Ntokozo Group and constantly employs new styles and expertise in design and concept to make her textiles more appealing. She continues to participate in Development Projects at the African Art Centre and markets her work through the shop and gallery. In 2005, Xolile and the Ntokozo Group produced a beaded South African Flag in extent 6 x 2 metres for the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg and in 2009, they produced a 2 x 4 metre beaded South African Flag for the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
Xolile is committed to training other women in her community to become successful craftswomen and says that her aim is to promote sustainable development and rural regeneration in the community wherein she lives.
She has participated in numerous group exhibitions and in 2010 she was selected from 367 applicants from 70 countries to participate in The Santa Fe International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico from 11 to 15 July 2012.
The exhibition is sponsored by the National Arts Council of South Africa and the WK Kellogg’s Foundation. It runs until May 5 at the African Art Centre in Florida Road.
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