What does it take to safeguard cultural memory while still moving design forward?
Mbali Mthethwa and Dr Motsane Seabela share insights on how craft and cultural memory can be preserved, reinterpreted, and carried forward, sparking conversations around heritage, responsibility, and innovation in contemporary design.
🧡 Mbali Mthethwa, Founder and Designer of
@theherd.studio , shares how she transforms Zulu Nguni beadwork into contemporary wearable art that honours ancestry without freezing it in time. Her work proves that tradition is not static, it is alive and evolving.
🧡 Dr Motsane Seabela, Curator of Anthropology at
@ditsongmuseumssa , brings the institutional lens. With oversight of more than 25 000 cultural objects, her work centres on stewardship, research and ensuring knowledge travels across generations with care.
Together with fellow contributors, this session unpacks how craft can evolve without losing its core, and how designers can create work that resonates now while remaining rooted in lineage.
📍Kramerville Design District
🗓️ 24–25 March
🎟️ Registration and more info are available on our site via the link in bio.
@theherd.studio @craft_and_design_institute @jozi_my_jozi @w_rseta @gautengsacr @joburg_artsalive @kramervilledesigndistrict @katyspalacebar @levelthreevenue @iqoqo_za @timesliveza @designweeksouthafrica @dsbd_sa #MakingIt2026 #SouthAfricanMakers #CreativeEconomy #CraftAndDesign #DesignInnovation #CreativeLeaders #CDI
