Three Emerging Female Visual Artists You Should Know About.

By Mukondeleli Mushiana & Tandaza Simama.
Contribution: Sandile Dube.

In honor of the international women’s day (08 March) & month, we would like to celebrate these three local emerging visual artists.

Visual arts is one of many artistries and I believe it’s one of the most interesting as well as complex. We have had phenomenal artworks in our lifetime from many famous artists such a Vini da Vinci, Vincent Van Gogh & local artists, Noria Mabasa, Zanele Muholi, Nandipha Mntambo and Maggie Laubser just to name a few. We have emerging local artists that are breaking boundaries with their artworks and they’re all females.

Muofhe Manavhela.

We know that every visual artist draws inspiration from different things , places and emotions. Twenty year old visual artist and architecture student Muofhe’s artwork resembles not only herself, but her emotions as well. Studying to break into the architecture industry is not in any way odd for this visual artist, because both mediums require her to use her imagination and always allows her to be creative. Described as someone who “carries the responsibility of social commentary through her art” , Muofhe’s persona screams comfortability! Creating artwork that draws a journey many young black women can relate to while retaining her true self in a world that’s constantly requiring them to change is an art she has perfected.

Puleng Mongale.

Navigating through life as a young mother, Puleng finds comfort in being artistic and that’s why she is a print visual artist. Her art is authentic and original because of what she draws her inspirations from. She is heavily influenced by black women, women that raised her, women in her family and her late-great grandmother that she never go to meet, Puleng. Other inspirations she gets from black working-class women she encounters daily in the city. Puleng describes her work as “ a search for identity through an internal dialogue that revolves around a re-imagined history, the establishment and maintenance of ancestral relationships, black womanhood and re-claiming her heritage” Her digital collages fall nothing short of this description.

Nombuso Dowelani.

We may not know Nombuso, formally known as Nombi personally, but we know most of her artwork through social media that she shares mainly on Instagram. Nombi’s Instagram account is an online studio open to everyone. Her interest in different cultures and one’s self fills grids with images that bring along great aesthetic pleasure. Her artwork is controversial and its main objective is to break all set stereotypes and cultural norms. Being exposed to art on a daily as a BA (visual arts) student at University of Johannesburg she gets to master her craft while working towards being a qualified artist.

We are going to have a digital exhibition to showcase their artworks here on culture club in a few days. Keep an eye out on Instagram and Twitter for dates and links.