Important Notice from Paula Thomson about Woza Moya and the African Art Centre!

It is with much sadness that we hear that, after 65 years uplifting, mentoring and showcasing local creative talent, The African Art centre has been forced to close its doors. This is a tragic day for Durban and our country as this is one of our finest Art institutions.

I visited the African Art Centre as a school girl in 1987 when it was still housed across from the Workshop, and I was blown away by the incredible creativity that I saw there. Over the years we at Woza Moya have been honoured to partner with the African Art Centre . Although we were in the same field there was never any rivalry as both our organisational mandates were to assist crafters and artists and help them secure sustainable work; We always saw the African Art Centre as family and they did have a knack of putting things together “just right”. I will always remember the kind staff who wrapped up your purchases so beautifully in the shop. Their attention to detail was always something we sought to replicate but couldn’t quite match. The African Art Centre put many of our favourite artists on the map.

When The African Art Centre called us up to ask us if we would pick up their mantle and if we would take on their existing customers, artists and crafters it was a bittersweet moment – Covid has been a cruel master and it could have very easily been us calling the African Art Centre! Nonetheless we have accepted the challenge and we will endeavour to honour the African Art Centre’s legacy and it is not something we take lightly. In any organisation, who matters are the people who have come before, that are the “elephants” who hold the organisational DNA, the rich history and heritage. We are lucky in that we will be retaining Slie Dube who will still work with African Art Centre Crafters and customers. The crafters will continue to produce the African Art centre patterns and we trust and hope that this will be a smooth transition for everyone.

We will strenuously endeavour to recognise the organisation’s legacy and learn about all the workshops and people that brought these designs to life. We would like to thank Anthea, Jane and the board for entrusting us with something so precious and we hope that Jane , Anthea and Sli guide us and bring some of The African Art Centre DNA to our organisation.

We trust and hope that the merging of these two organisations will lead to a renewed burst of creativity – a renaissance of sorts. I hope that we can incorporate all the best and beautiful things from the African Art Centre into Woza Moya. Our first move would be to invite all the African Art Centre artists and crafters to a tea hosted by Sli and the Woza Moya team. Once we have the crafters and artists on board, we invite all the friends/ ex staff board members of the African Art Centre to come and visit. We do hope that we will be able to earn your loyalty, we know how difficult this loss is to many of you as we feel it as deeply.

Yours Sincerely

Paula Thomson