TELEPHONE-WIRE artist Ntombifuthi Magwaza-Sibiya is featured at the Woza Moya Artists Wall for January.

The concept behind the Woza Moya Artists’ Wall and Artists’ Cards is to create and showcase artists’ work. Each month a different artist is paid to paint or sculpt a feature piece on a 1.1m x 1.1m wall panel which is displayed outside the Woza Moya Hillcrest Aids Centre shop. Woza Moya is the economic empowerment project of the Hillcrest Aids Centre Trust and assists the artist by marketing their work for the entire month. A greeting card is made of the painted wall panel and sold in their shops so the artists can earn an ongoing passive income.

Also read: Chirping with Kloof Conservancy – National Bird Day

This has worked well with artists earning from R200 to R1000 a month from the sale of the cards. The Woza Moya Artists’ Wall thanked the 100% Foundation for coming on board with an ongoing sponsorship and making this monthly event possible.

About the artist:

Magwaza Sibiya is an award-winning telephone-wire artist from Nongoma, KwaZulu-Natal. She began weaving in 1993 and quickly developed her signature style – bold colour combinations, intricate geometric patterns, and a unique blend of Zulu and Ndebele influences. Her exceptional talent has earned her two FNB Vita Craft Now Awards, placing her among South Africa’s leading wire weavers. Today, her baskets are collected locally and internationally, admired for their precision, cultural depth, and unmistakable artistry.

“Her work is part of the exhibition iNgqikithi yokuPhica/Weaving Meanings: Telephone Wire Art from South Africa in the Museum of International Folk Art (MOIFA). This is a major exhibition, described as the first major exhibition of telephone-wire art in a North American museum. The exhibition includes both historical and contemporary work, and foregrounds the artists’ voices (including interviews, process-videos). A Forbes magazine article describes the exhibition as one of the ‘special exhibitions unsurpassed anywhere in America’,” said Woza Moya executive manager Paula Thomson.

Also read: Thomas More College learner on expedition to the Antarctica

Her works are also collected in many local South African Museums, including the Phansi Museum and KwaMuhle Museum Collection. She also took part in a wire weaving demonstration event at MOIFA in July 2025.

As part of the celebrated telephone-wire weaving community of Siyanda, Magwaza-Sibiya plays an important role in maintaining and advancing a uniquely South African art form born during a time when traditional materials were scarce. Through her work, she carries forward a craft shaped by innovation, resourcefulness, and cultural memory.

Over the years, Thomson said Magwaza-Sibiya has developed a signature style that is immediately recognisable: bold colour combinations, finely balanced geometric patterns, and a confident fusion of Zulu and Ndebele visual traditions.

“Her work is technically precise yet deeply expressive. Each basket is meticulously woven, with colours radiating outward in rhythmic symmetry, creating pieces that feel both grounded in tradition and strikingly contemporary. The patterns speak to heritage, movement, and continuity, while the vibrant palette gives her work a joyful, energetic presence. These are not simply functional objects, but sculptural artworks that carry cultural memory and innovation in equal measure,” explained Thomson.

Shop opening times:

Monday to Friday: 08:00 – 16:00 Woza Moya Hillcrest Aids Centre Trust, 26 Old Main Road, Hillcrest

Monday to Friday: 09:00 – 17:00 Woza Moya, Kloof Fields Centre

Saturdays 08:00 – 14:00 HACT and 09:00 – 14:00 Kloof Fields shop

Email: wozamoya@hillaids.org.za

For more from the Highway Mail, follow us on Facebook , X and Instagram. You can also check out our videos on our YouTube channel or follow us on TikTok.

Click to subscribe to our newsletter here