Local crafter enters Innibos competition

Ntombifuthi Ashley Nkosi’s bold life-sized pottery heads of African women, adorned with traditional accessories, have left the organisers excited about the standard of this year’s competition. This awards showcases the excellent skill of South Africa’s crafters.

The overall winner will walk away with R50 000, the first runner-up with R20 000 and the second runner-up with R15 000.

There will also be merit awards for the best emerging craftsmen, along with sound financial advice to grow their business.

Nkosi also entered a bright totem pole for the competition. “My art is inspired by traditional Africa. I wanted to create art that is different from Western art and it should be distinct from any other art in the world. My work celebrates traditional Nguni adornment and the beauty of the black woman,” explained Nkosi.

Nkosi was born in Mbombela, although the 26-year-old left the Lowveld in 2013 to study fine art at the Vaal University of Technology.

Although none of her family are crafters, she said she loved to draw from a young age. “People would say that my drawings could not be originals and that killed my love of art. Eventually I stopped drawing completely. When I decided to go to university, I wanted to prove a point to those people,” she said.

She now has a bachelor of technology in fine art and is about to tackle a master of visual arts in fine art.

“I arrived in Vanderbijlpark with raw art talent that was developed and refined by a team of amazing lecturers,” said Nkosi.

Entering the competition is free and entries are open until April 12.

For more information on how to enter the competition visit innibos.co.za and click on the “kuns” tab.