Province adds perspective to Design Indaba
Cindy Preller
THE Eastern Cape will be well represented at The Design Indaba in Cape Town next week.
Uitenhage firm Moladi Construction will take part in the centrepiece Africa is Now exhibition, and the conference will be simulcast to a venue at the Ford Little Theatre in Central, Port Elizabeth.
The Design Indaba celebrates its 20th anniversary this year and in the past five years, it has contributed over R1.3- billion to the country's GDP.
Moladi Construction will be one of 52 companies and designers taking part in the expo, which will run from next Friday to Sunday. Described as the biggest curated design event in the southern hemisphere, the centrepiece is the Africa is Now exhibition, which will also look north of South Africa's borders to include work by creative minds from other African countries.
The exhibition would introduce visitors to the latest developments in architecture, fashion, social and industrial design, and technological innovation, Design Indaba manager of content and programming Kelly Berman said.
Moladi Construction chief executive and inventor of the plastic formwork construction technology, Hennie Botes, said it was exciting to be a part of the exhibition. Moladi is one of only 15 South African exhibitors to be showcased on the international platform.
Other Eastern Cape exhibitors include Mohair South Africa and Hinterveld textile designers and weavers, who are part of the Stucken Group.
The expo will be preceded by a Design Indaba conference, from next Wednesday to Friday, where more than 40 of the world's leading design minds will take to the stage with multidisciplinary presentations. The diverse group of speakers comprises sound designers, architects, curators and graphic designers from more than 20 countries.
It will be simulcast for the second year by Boomtown to the Ford Little Theatre from next Wednesday to Friday. Boomtown managing director Glen Meier said speakers were globally renowned masters of industries and disciplines.
"Design Indaba is the leading light for creativity in Africa, and with them we are committed to promoting the industry by making it accessible to aspiring and seasoned creatives, especially young designers – they are the future of our industry and of design, and we need to invest in that."
The Design Indaba FilmFest, showcasing 10 documentary feature films, and Music Circuit, featuring top South African and African musicians, form part of the event.
ýSee Leisure pages tomorrow for a competition in which five readers can each win a three-day ticket to the Design Indaba simulcast in PE.
