Western Cape now boasts 53 top craft and design Icons

With the recent honouring of entrepreneurial craft and design artists, the Cape Craft and Design Institute (CCDI) extended the Western Cape’s pride of 2004 and 2005 icons from a treasured 43 to 53. The ten newly appointed icons now boast among well-known names the likes of Clementina van der Walt, Carrol Boyes and Majolandile Dyalvane.

The CCDI instigated the iconic project in their desire to give real status and impetus to honour local crafters and craft-artists that have excelled as designers, innovators, entrepreneurs, job creators, role models, trendsetters and/or leaders in the craft sector.

Announced at the official opening of the Iconic [craft] exhibition, the ten new icons (in no specific order) are:

• Katherine Glenday (ceramic)
• Zizamele Ceramics (ceramic)
• Elizabeth Vels (paper)
• Willard Musarurwa of Feeling African (wire)
• Haldane Martin (synthetic material)
• The Bronze Age (metal)
• Avoova (natural material – ostrich eggshell)
• Jane Solomon and Jann Cheifitz of Fabricnation (textile)
• Debbie Parsons of Alchemy Soul Jewellery (jewellery)
• Sue Kingma of Nuno (fashion accessories)

The Icons’ art pieces are at present on show at a very special CCDI exhibition, the Iconic [craft] exhibition at Spier Estate. The exhibition displays all Western Cape icons’ crafted art pieces, counting close on 100 art works. The appeal of the exhibition lies in its accessibility in that the pieces were created by hand crafters and designers who need to produce pieces that will generate an income or even create more employment opportunities. The pieces are art pieces in their own right, but at the same time designed and handcrafted for the marketplace.

The showpieces represent every medium, from beads, ceramics, glass, mosaics, leather and metal, to natural material, paper, recycled material, textiles, wax, wire and wood. There is a special selection on jewellery and fashion accessories.

The Iconic [craft] exhibition boasts close on 100 crafted art pieces at Spier Estate at the Beam Gallery, next to the conference centre. ICONIC [craft] are on show now till 22 January 2008, 10:00 till 17:00.

CCDI executive director, Erica Elk, says this first complete Icon Exhibition boasts the phenomenal talent and creativity of the best in this province. “An exhibition of this nature challenges craft artists to excellence. Many of the crafters have drawn deeply from their respective wells of creativity and have produced items that have stretched their powers of innovation and production. Others have submitted work that exemplifies the best of what they have produced over the years.”

• The CCDI is a joint initiative of the Western Cape Provincial Government and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, and is also funded by the City of Cape Town, MAPPP Seta, the national departments of Science and Technology and Trade and Industry and a number of private sector funders for specific projects.
• The Beam Gallery, that hosts the ICONIC [craft] exhibition, is a project of the Africa Centre. For more information, visit www.africacentre.net.
• The CCDI created the Spier Hotel’s most successful ‘art room’, an extraordinary suite in an Afro Deco theme that has been hailed by guests staying in the room as an experience to remember.
• The CCDI has a database of 910 active Western Cape craft enterprises, 360 retail outlets and 200 service providers.
• The CCDI aims at contributing to the Western Cape’s drive to build a better home for all, supporting craft producers, networking all players in the product-to-market chain, promoting Cape Craft and encouraging unlimited creativity and innovation.

Issued by:  HR Strategic Communications     
On behalf of:  Cape Craft and Design Institute
Tel: (021) 460 4245
www.capecraftanddesign.org.za

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Hélène Rossouw
Cell: 082 771 8834
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