Over five years summer in Cape Town has become synonymous with the annual Joy from Africa to the World campaign at the V&A Waterfront. The beautiful series of installations indicate a shift away from traditional Christmas, and are like nothing you’ll find anywhere else in the world. They have been hand-made and curated by South African artisans in Langa, Imizamo Yethu, Mitchell’s Plain, Khayelitsha and Philippi, the Karoo, the Eastern Cape, and even further afield: Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Senegal.
For this year’s theme, Between the Mountain and the Sea, over 20 teams of local crafters, designers and artists have focussed on Cape Town and its wealth of natural beauty and local artisanal craft talent. The campaign celebrates the flora from the mountain, the vibrancy of the city and all that the ocean offers us. The decorations, which not only add (non-plastic) sparkle and delight to shopping districts at the V&A Waterfront precinct, but they also stimulate the local creative economy.
At a time in history when the ubiquitous nature of the dominant Western culture is increasingly under scrutiny, the V&A Waterfront’s festive season decorations replace the conventional dependence on imported, mass-produced cheap, plastic fir trees, baubles and tinsel with a display of decorations that reflect South Africa. Instead of symbolism from the global North’s interpretation of Christmas, Joy from Africa brings references of African life and reflect African heritages. This is depicted in woven, wood carved, textile, embroidered and crocheted installations.
Cathy O’Clery, creative director of Platform Creative the agency that curates the installations, says that the annual campaign has created a new narrative that “celebrates a real sense of place”. It shines a spotlight on the importance of preserving traditional handcraft and how this can merge with circularity and contemporary design. Over the last five years, Cathy says that the V&A has built an important lexicon of South African craft.
Before embarking on the campaign five years ago, Platform Creative conducted research and analysed what the festive season means in South Africa. South Africans are very rooted in the tradition of Christmas, but here in the global South the festive season is about summer festivities and enjoying family and friends. And since days are long – especially in Cape Town where the sun sets at about 8pm during December – installations that can be appreciated during day light are more relevant than night-time Christmas lights.
None of the installations are made from plastic which is in line with the V&A Waterfront’s public announcement in 2017 to do all it could to eliminate plastic waste from the precinct. There is also a focus on circular design. Cathy says, “We reuse and redesign decorations. We have already done an audit of this year’s campaign to see what we can reuse next year.” This year Audrey Abraham who works with Embrace Collective and Wola Nani made 30 baubles by recycling 210 baubles used in previous years.
The commitment to sustainability and circularity is further illustrated in the large-scale swaying skirt installations at the Watershed district which are made from textile factory waste collected from fashion tenants including Good, Good, Good and Artclub and Friends. The skirts, conceptualised by Cathy, were designed by Matthew Edwards and made up by various factories.
In a press release, Tinyiko Mageza, executive manager of marketing at the V&A Waterfront, says that the Joy from Africa is invested in independent artisans, small local art, craft and design businesses and creative communities. “This collective of partners in turn help us create far more sustainable, unique and compelling festive displays that reflect our heritage and support the mission to restore the relevance of African craft; often passed down through the generations.”
The installations are on display until the end of January 2024.
- The V&A Waterfront sponsored the Twyg Sustainable Fashion Awards 2023
- Images supplied
