ADDING COLOUR, CREATIVITY TO VISION

Nadia Meer is involved in various creative initiatives, providing mentorship to social entrepreneurs and helping women and children, writes

NADIA Meer’s history is as colourful as the exquisite fabrics and arts she unveils to South Africa and the world.

Her creativity marches alongside her vision to uplift women and children, help the disabled and, in some cases, go where most artists would never even dabble, let alone immerse themselves.

Activism runs in her family’s blood and Meer has stepped up boldly to this plate. She is involved in varied creative initiatives internationally, nationally and locally: the anti-nuclear campaign; and as co-ordinator of the KZN Chapter of Artists United Against Corruption.

She provides mentorship to social entrepreneurs, and volunteers on projects with

Refugee Social Services in Durban.

She is an ambassador for the NGO 2 Suns Shamsaan – which recently brought the world’s “youngest” journalist, Janna Jihad Ayyad, 12, to South Africa – and the Pals4peace Tour last August which hosted a youth delegation that included Palestinian icon Ahed Tamimi, 17, who had been jailed for slapping an Israeli soldier.

Meer has honed her design talents, creating handcrafted accessory lines with fashion houses such as Chanel, Gucci and Prada and her collections have been shown on catwalks in places like Paris, London, Milan, New York, Los Angeles, Istanbul, Frankfurt, Delhi and Shanghai.

She started Ukusa Designs in 1997 and has been involved in economic empowerment programmes that promote traditional craftsmanship.

The Gaza Strip is hardly a place one would equate with fine art, but the violence there has not deterred Meer from taking up an invitation to work with students in this Middle East hotbed.

She also works with men who have been disabled by white phosphorus in bombs, which has an horrific effect on flesh and bones. “Their limbs are very weak, but they are able to paint ceramics and do products with detailed patterning in pyrography – wood burning,” said Meer.

The rallying call is “Trade not Aid” and she has worked similarly with arts graduates at the Durban University of Technology and local crafters.

“It is difficult to get materials in and out of Gaza, it remains under siege and with the blockade firmly in place, we adopted an upcycling approach through the Crevig (creative recycling with a view to income generation) Project and focused on local market needs.”

When she swept into the

Sunday Tribune newsroom for an