An exhibition featuring works by local artists and craftspeople is currently underway at the Old Agricultural Hall in Stellenbosch.
The Winter Exhibition, which will run until 28 August, includes works by community crafters who have received training through Stellenbosch Crafts Alive (Crafts Alive), according to Anna Kruger, the founder and director of Crafts Alive and iThemba Curios. Crafts Alive is a non-profit organisation that works in conjunction with iThemba Curios, a retail business, said Kruger.
The back room of the Old Agricultural Hall is a space in which local crafters involved in Stellenbosch Crafts Alive (Crafts Alive) can develop their products. Nomathemba Ngalo (left), a member of the Crafts Alive sewing project, and Anna Kruger (right), founder and director of Crafts Alive and iThemba Curios, consider the best way to create pot holders using embroidery produced by the uVuyo Crafts group from Kayamandi. PHOTO: Tamsin Metelerkamp
“Stellenbosch Crafts Alive is providing development and training,” said Kruger. “The purpose of Stellenbosch Crafts Alive is to support our crafters in the community…to uplift their products, so they are of a standard that you can sell in a space.”
Both Crafts Alive and iThemba Curios operate out of the Old Agricultural Hall, which is a Stellenbosch Municipality building, throughout the year. Crafts Alive was awarded the tender for the premises in 2017, with the objective to create a local economic hub and creative business incubator in the area, according to Kruger. They officially moved into the building, which is located at 1 Noordwal Wes, Die Laan, in May 2020, she added.
The Winter Exhibition is one of a series of seasonal exhibitions intended to bring new life to the space, according to Kruger.
iThemba Curios, a retail business, and Stellenbosch Crafts Alive (Crafts Alive), a non-profit organisation, are both focused on developing products that appeal to the local market, and not just the tourist market, according to Anna Kruger, founder and director of Crafts Alive and iThemba Curios. PHOTO: Tamsin Metelerkamp
“It’s also a process where we invite craft producers [to present their work], and if their work is not up to standard, we will train and mentor them to have their products ready for the next exhibition,” explained Kruger.
The exhibition initially began on 19 June, but experienced restrictions and delays due to the onset of lockdown level four, said Kruger. It was able to reopen to the public with the return to level three, according to a Facebook post by Kruger on 26 July.
Collaborating with crafters
A group of embroiderers from uVuyo Crafts (uVuyo) in Kayamandi form part of the Crafts Alive project. Each week, they visit the Old Agricultural Hall for training in sustainable product development, according to Kruger.
“It’s very nice to work with all the people…especially the Kayamandi people, who sit here and make things,” said Elin Anthony, the sales assistant at iThemba Curios.
Through Stellenbosch Crafts Alive, a non-profit organisation, local craftspeople such as Tessa Natasha Jansen can develop a sustainable product and income. “I’m learning a lot – I didn’t even know that I could make this,” said Jansen, on the product she is currently developing. PHOTO: Tamsin Metelerkamp
Crafts Alive also runs a sewing project that aims to assist its members in developing a sustainable production line, according to Kruger. Both the sewing project and the uVuyo group have produced products, such as cushion covers and pot holders, for the Winter Exhibition, she said.
“We want to have that space where arts and crafts live together and complement each other,” said Kruger. “That is also the purpose of Crafts Alive, where we support our producers to really produce quality stuff.”
Anna Kruger, founder and director of iThemba Curios and Stellenbosch Crafts Alive, speaks about the value of local artists and craftspeople exhibiting their products at the Old Agricultural Hall.
Tessa Natasha Jansen, a craftsperson who is staying in a local shelter, told MatieMedia that receiving training and mentorship at Crafts Alive has given her hope.
“I am enjoying it – it’s keeping me on my toes,” said Jansen. “I’m not letting my situation get me down. I’m positive about my future…I see a bright future ahead of me.”
The women involved in the Stellenbosch Crafts Alive sewing project use left-over pieces of fabric from other projects to create new products, such as patchwork pillow cases, according to Anna Kruger, founder and director of iThemba Curios and Stellenbosch Crafts Alive. PHOTO: Tamsin Metelerkamp