Raised in a small, rural town called Siyabuswa, in the KwaNdebele region of north-eastern South Africa, Zana Masombuka is on a mission to create art that bridges old and new Africa. Inspired by her ...

Rows of dolls bedecked with beads line the shelves of the stall in Johannesburg city center. They’re dressed in the traditional rainbow colors of South Africa’s Ndebele people, the ethnic group to ...

The origins of Ndebele beadwork are unclear, but they probably date back at least to the late nineteenth century. It is also unclear which of the two Ndebele groups, the dominant Manala or the ...

THE NDEBELE artist threads her beaded skirt with her South African heritage and with curious dreams about the West. She fashions pictures of houses with stairs and plumbing and electric lights, ...

Ndebele beadwork, as we know it today, originated in the late nineteenth century as a means of expressing cultural identity and reinforcing social status, following major defeats and dispersals at the ...

Esther Nostokana Mahlangu was born on 11 November 1935 in the Middelburg area of South Africa’s mostly rural Mpumalanga province. Today she lives in Mthambothini village, a few hours away. Mahlangu ...

Esther Mahlangu, a South African painter, is a cultural ambassador who bridges the gap between tradition and modernity in the world of contemporary art. Her vibrant and intricate artworks have ...

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 ...