Lebo Kekana

We are the moodboard. Produced by @fedestudio_ Photography @tk.mrk Photography assistant @madeupnames

Spent a week in Cape Town for three reasons Firstly, @furnitureweek.capetown and @visi_mag invited me back to judge for the festival’s annual Design Prize — alongside @stevesmithza , @sindisokhumalo , @roddyclarkedesign and @pepilove_ — selecting top picks from some of the most phenomenal contemporary design being produced in South Africa today. A ridiculous, humbling honour. (I had to read the judging pack on the plane — not because I’m a rockstar leading a fast life, but because I’m a Type B who missed his first flight) Secondly, @investeccapetownartfair asked me to install Protoscape as scenography for the Tomorrows/Today section of the fair, curated by @mariella.franzoni (I first met Mariella when she visited an exhibition I curated in Barcelona, so this felt a little like what the kids call a full-circle moment.) Lastly, It had been a year since I’d been in the ocean. A closing thought — After that morning dip, we rushed off to start the day. Walking along the shore we began to split ways when one of my friends shouted, “Have fun at brunch. And make those deals!” I blew a kiss in their direction. As I headed back to the @_marlon_james -styled home I was staying in — with crocs flipped to sports mode and a damp towel dangling from my waist — I had this visceral, almost soul-stirring feeling. For many reasons I hadn’t realised it before, but it suddenly occurred to me: Life hae that bad.

You have to write yourself in Be it art or design — I go where my blood beats

Crescendo I like producing shows in Cape Town, in order to be in dialogue with a space that already feels so charged and ripe for discourse — for it’s Eurocentric standards and ways of being, which I find to be at odds with the regional values of the place and it’s people. All these elements that feel like poignant manifestations of global apartheid — from the stark inequality or the built environment which exhibits little to no cultural identity rooted in the place — these are the elements of the space I can’t unsee. Challenging the space becomes a means to not be complicit with it. Even though the space feels so vile in it’s quiet violence, I think I stick around because of the people who reveal a kind of magic that pierces through the cracks — the people with whom I make space for a sense of home. The people who move me to believe that there’s still so much beauty to celebrate and to cultivate. So sisa zwakele, because there’s still so much more to be done.

Curation, Art Direction, and a few things in between, for the RMB Latitudes Art Fair ‘24 @latitudes.online @rmb_cib Super grateful for this experience, and to the wonderful humans I got to work with — for their trust, care, and being so receptive to my ideas. Beku mnandi. S’bonga uMusa 🤍

My language is very clear Denzo once asked me why I no longer paint. The long answer is that I’m interested in artistic expression —through curation, creative direction, set and product design— that instead of emphasising the individual creator, depends on collective production. Nkgopoleng also asked how come I use clean lines so much when I’m so opposed to Modernism — prompting me to clarify how that’s not whose geometry I’m referencing. (I also happen to be Ndebele) These are embers of projects I’ve seen through, some in process, and others I couldn’t get off the ground. Key mentions: Frame 1 and others: an interactive installation that has since become my entire personality Frame 6: Set design for an artist campaign by Latitudes, featuring Boemo Diale Frame 14: Set design for a talks programme for the RMB Latitudes Art Fair Love to my friends/collaborators for humouring me x

“Do nothing without intention” Moments leading up to an offering by @fede_arthouse in response to an invitation from the RMB Latitudes Art Fair 2025 @latitudes.online Curator & Creative Director @lebokkn Exhibition Designer @r.asengani Creative Producer @juliettejulesjulez Operation Manager @fakudechimpinde Visual Identity & Graphic Design @justoyama @studiomaduna Film & Photography @tk.mrk @madeupnames Style Director @kirstendecerff Fashion @uniformza

Gibela phez’ kwendlu @fede_arthouse

Seminal work PROCESS, 2022-23 @fede_arthouse “FEDE’s third exhibition, PROCESS, engages a curatorial ethic best reflected in curator Adriano Pedrosa’s 2012 text, What is the process? That is to say, a curatorial approach that moves ‘in short and successive intervals, yet maintaining a slow, reflexive and concentrated focus — at once open, critical and generous.’“ — Nkgopoleng Moloi Photography: @cassandraseidel_ @mikhailiapetersen @gee_msft

Haven’t shared a grid post in a while — trying to be in the moment

Did the rounds for @designweeksouthafrica — all images by @melanateyourmood Chairs were a big focus, thanks to @thelookbook @_marlon_james

Took a breather from the art to be immersed in design — had the pleasure of forming part of the judging panel for the inaugural CTFW x VISI Design Prize 🪑 Introduced at this year’s Cape Town Furniture Week (@furnitureweek.capetown ), the prize seeks to acknowledge and celebrate new design that advances the contemporary furniture and homeware industries in South Africa. Together with VISI editor-in-chief Steve Smith (@stevesmithza ), The MAAK director Ashleigh Killa (@ashleighkilla ), design journalist Roddy Clarke (@roddyclarkedesign ), and Cape Town Furniture Week‘s Aimée Pearson (@aimeewolfaardt ), we reviewed the exhibition of 12 shortlisted entries at the @lemkus_ building, which included designs by Anatomy Design, Bronze Age, David Krynauw Design, DEFT Studios, Hoi P’loy, James Mudge Furniture Studio, Jarvis, Kino, Meyer Von Wielligh, OKHA Design Studio, Studio Kalki, and White Sheep Studio. The winners included the Dune Pendant Light by Bronze Age (@bronzeage_za ), Janis Collection by Anatomy Design (@anatomydesign ), Shard of Light by Hoi P’loy (@hoiploysa ), and SP002 by Jarvis (@studio.jarvis ). Big thank you to @visi_mag and @furnitureweek.capetown for extending the invitation, and cultivating this heartfelt engagement with incredible design. Photography by @softearth.ph @hannahstclairphotography @slater_studio @anatomydesign , @bronzeage_za , @davidkrynauwdesign , @deft.studios , @hoiploysa , @jamesmudgefurniturestudio , @studio.jarvis , @kinofurniture , @meyervonwielligh , @__okha , @studio.kalki , and @whitesheep.studio .