Alliance gives a voice to creatives

Fashion designers, illustrators, photographers and more have captured the essence of the V&A Waterfront through their varied artforms. Meet some of the artists with whom we have partnered:

Tandile is trained as a dancer and performance artist, and is also an educator and choreographic activist whose practice aims to bring about an awareness of the LGBTQ+ community, while recouping an African queer narrative, giving a positive platform to queer stories and allowing them to emerge from the margins of society. “For Artist Alliance, I’ve created a movement installation work,” Tandile explains. “I look at it as multi-modal. It’s a way for my work and my community to be seen.”

Ishaarah is a designer, illustrator, art director and maker, whose work is focused on representation of brown females, through femininity and softness, as a redirection of the male gaze. Her illustration for Artist Alliance was inspired by the sights and sounds of the V&A Waterfront. “From the laughter of friends shopping together, to the joy of children playing, to the sound of seagulls stealing hot chips from the food court,” she explains. “My piece is a collage of experiences you can find at the V&A, all coming together as a colourful oasis under the purply Table Mountain.”

Gcobisa is a creator in photography, film and videography who recalls moving to Cape Town and realising “how many complexities lie in the communities we find ourselves in”. For Artist Alliance, they drew on muses such as Charlotte Maxeke and Yolanda Dyantyi to symbolically tell the inter-generational stories of Black people and Black academics. “This is a piece of work inspired by the experiences of women in South Africa,” they say of the work titled ‘UMTHWALO ONZIMA’, meaning heavy luggage/baggage. “It is a sentiment of all that women in this country have to carry.”

Robyn is the founder and creative director of the clothing brand Art Club and Friends. Of her work for Artist Alliance, she says, “As an artist who works with textiles and fabric, the inspiration behind my artwork stems from my love of denim, one of the fabrics that has become a distinct part of our brand’s identity. We are constantly looking at ways to create pieces that are long-lasting and transcend trends, and this is why denim is a pillar textile for