Creatives get their shot
ROAD TO FAME: DESIGN INDABA PICKS 40 OF 380 DESIGNERS FOR 2022 Programme designed to hone talent and take their work to next level.
Forty gifted youngsters have been selected from more than 380 entries to participate in South Africa’s most prestigious creative developmental programme.
Design Indaba’s Emerging Creatives platform, which has been supporting South Africa’s fresh talent for 17 years, is pleased to announce its Class of 2022.
“We are delighted to continue our annual support for our country’s young creatives, particularly in a constrained pandemic environment,” says Design Indaba founder Ravi Naidoo.
“We are grateful to the department of sports, arts and culture for its ongoing commitment to stand with the rising stars of tomorrow.”
The young designers handpicked for 2022 will be introduced to the public via an extended virtual exhibition and Design Indaba’s thriving social media channels.
The Class of 2022 will also benefit from masterclass sessions with experts, like UK-based Arts Thread, documentary video sessions and dedicated personal profiles on www.designindaba.com.
The Emerging Creatives programme is designed to hone talent and provide participants with strategies to take their work to the next level and then to market.
The Design Indaba Emerging Creatives platform has successfully launched the careers of a number of gifted creatives, including Mpho Vackier, Russell Abrahams, Daniel Ting Chong and Crystal Birch.
The Class of 2022 was selected by curators Lukhanyo Mdingi and Ditiro Mashigo, both wellknown fashion designers and former Emerging Creatives.
Both were impressed by the high quality of the submissions.
“I’m incredibly inspired to see the brewing and exceptional talent of the Emerging Creatives,” says Mdingi. “Year after year, Design Indaba has provided a platform for aspiring designers to showcase their work. They are to be commended for this.”
In sifting through the many submissions, Mashigo’s agenda was to seek out “innovation in design-led problem-solving and an honest point of view from South African emerging design talents on issues of climate change, socioeconomics and equality”.
“Congratulations to all those who have come through the rigorous curatorial selection process – this year’s Emerging Creatives are enormously talented, and we look forward to seeing the Class of 2022’s contribution,” says the department of sports, arts and culture’s Stella Khumalo.
“The pandemic has shown us that creative thinking is not a luxury but a survival skill, so nurturing creative talent is vital.
“We are proud to partner with the Design Indaba once again to invest in the future of South Africa’s creative industries.”