Professor Jackie Guille in Durban!

Prof. Jackie Guille, Research Professor at the University of Northumbria, London, was recently in Durban. Jackie was just returning from being a Key Note speaker at the recent Design Research Conference held at CPUT (our sister UoT!) in Cape Town.

At the City Campus of Durban University of Technology (DUT), she met up with two Siyazama project beaded cloth doll makers. They were Lobolile Ximba and her daughter Sbongile Ximba (mother of beautiful twin babies, a girl and a boy!). Both Lobs and her daughter were on their way to attend the Mphumalanga Art and Craft Market near Nelspruit. This market is becoming more and more popular on the South African craft map, as it provides the most unusual crafters with the potential to travel to the USA, to market and sell at the classic and famous Santa Fe Market in New Mexico. Lobs has done this twice, and we are forever hoping she will be invited again, and soon!

I photographed them against the new graf work done by my current BTech Graphic Design student Dane Knudsen. Dane is fascinated with all sorts of graf street art, and typography, and for his degree, he has designed a whole new alphabet on the stairwell wall at the entrance to City Campus! Fabulous work Dane!

Jackie is due back in Durban in February 2012 as part of a Visiting Professor award in the Department of Visual Communication Design / Graphic Design programme. She will work with both our Master's and Hons students during this time, as well as undertake rural craft research updates in the province.

Sbongile, Jackie and Lobolile in front of the B + C of Dane's alphabet

Jackie, Sbongile and Lobolile in front of the U!