Nontokozo Tshabalala

Creatives Shall Govern

If you ask anyone who knows me better than my instagram profile, they'll tell you about how much I love my small hometown of Standerton in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Growing up here was a mixture of apartheid meets 'rainbow nation' (democratic South Africa), which then produced complex ways of making sense of my identity as a Black child but in the same breath also holds my dearest childhood memories.

Often in small towns such as Standerton, not much is invested in youth development, forget creativity or the arts. This often leads to young people creating in isolation and having limited places to experiment artistically. Despite these complexities and lack of investment in youth, there is a big community of creatives; musicians, producers, painters, illustrators, rappers, and poets who continue to tell their stories, create new stories, and live out their dreams. I am constantly inspired by them and the potential our hometown displays. And that is why I started Creatives Shall Govern which was initially called Creative Joint Sessions.

Creative Joint Sessions is a creative empowering initiative aimed at creating a space where the creatives of Standerton can meet to discuss the different fields we are all in and share what being a creative in a small town means. Founded in 2019 on my first visit home from Sweden, I wanted us to not only celebrate being artists but also build a network where we can all assist each other with what we already have.

Since then Mam’Gobozi Design Factory, often collaborating with locals in creating wholesome events for artists, has managed to host three of these sessions two in Standerton South Africa as well as in Harare, Zimbabwe led by my former business partner Osmond Tshuma. The latest event was an exhibition we collectively created with the participating artists in what was a temporary Skate park.

We are looking for collaborators who believe in our dream to transform Standerton. Please do contact us if you think you're a perfect fit.

2019 Event in Standerton, Mpumalanga.

2021 Event in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Creatives Shall Govern Exhibition 2023, uMphakathi Skate Park, Standerton.

Melanin Spaces

Melanin spaces is a space occupation initiative aimed at getting people of African descent into spaces of exclusion in the extremely segregated city of Gothenburg. The project was developed as part of my Master's thesis practical project where I explored the role of a social designer in the context of a newly formed group of individuals who wanted to create a network for black people in Gothenburg. The group was formed at HDK/ Valand at an event organised by myself, Nyamusi Nyambok from the Afro-Swedish Organisation and Jasmin Kelekay from Afrosvenskarnas Forum för Rättvisa.

In an effort to reclaim our public spaces and challenge the politics of visibility in order to empower ourselves and our community, Melanin spaces was created. During several occupations we've had, we discussed why it was important to have melanated spaces, what it means to be in the diaspora. We also shared different Afrikan folklore from our childhoods as a way to explore our common ground and connecting to our roots. In total, we occupied three spaces: Göteborgs Konsthall, Rhösska museet, and the venue where my final thesis presentation was held, Kyrkogatan. The initiative has since in many ways inspired other projects, such as Gothenburg based organisation; Afroinstitution.

Although I was the project lead for the initiative and wrote my thesis on it, I'd like to acknowledge the collective participation and contribution by Daysury Valencia, Isatou Svenungsson, Ismaila Jallow, Aron Zahran, Pluva Abdo, Vera Marcelo and Veronica Odetunde.

Occupying Röhsska

Logo animation by Osmond Tshuma

Some of the card prompts filled out together during the session

The first meet up held at HDK Valand school of Design, Gothenburg University.

Afroinstitution (co-founded)

Afroinstitution is an association based in Gothenburg that functions as a meeting place for people of Afrikan descent. Their goal is to empower, heal, and uplift Black people, to create community and build community, to spread knowledge, to fight anti-Black racism, and to celebrate Blackness in all its diversity. We want to act as a hub that can support different types of projects run by members.