Esther Mahlangu: how the famous South African artist keeps her Ndebele culture alive
(Via The Conversation)
Mahlangu didn’t attend any formal schooling but her vibrant and distinctive artwork has earned her honorary doctorates and luminary status in contemporary African arts both locally and internationally. She grew up watching elders like her grandmothers doing wall paintings in the homestead and began to imitate them. She practised over and over until she had learned to master the art of producing patterned Ndebele ornamentation.
Between prestigious gallery exhibitions and public art commissions, she creates diverse products from her work. She sells coffee cups, decor pots, beaded blankets and photographs of her mural art.
And she also teaches. As a custodian of Ndebele culture she teaches young boys and girls to do wall paintings, beadwork and traditional Ndebele dances in the backyard of her homestead in Mpumalanga. She has never wavered from her commitment to preserving Ndebele culture and passing it on.
