Young Artist Wins Solo Exhibition for Work Honouring Hand-Me-Downs

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A young artist recently won a big title that she hopped on her first flight ever, to receive. For Nosiviwe Matikinca and the hand-me-downs she gave artistic purpose, the win is life-changing.

Pretoria, South Africa (12 September 2023) — Hand-me-downs are not often given muse-worthy status. However, for one artist who spotlit their beautiful fragility and presence in South Africa thoughtfully, hand-me-downs in the form of sculptured school shoes are exactly what secured a career-kickstarting win.

22-year-old Nosiviwe Matikinca’s work Ndiziphiwe – They were given to me won the 2023 Sasol New Signatures Art Competition—a big step in her career as an artist.

Her winning work, a ceramic installation honouring hand-me-downs as school shoes passed onto underprivileged learners from their older siblings or family members, put into visual feelings of humble purpose and a fragile education system.

By immortalising these school shoes (which, for many South Africans is a luxury no matter how many wears they’ve endured), Matikinca captured the essence of the scratched shoes attempting to hold strong in a public school system that’s often tearing at its own systems.

Pfunzo Sidogi, Chairperson of the New Signatures Competition, said:

“This year, 765 entries were submitted throughout the country. While the volume of entries declined from last year, the narrative power of the artworks was just as loud and profound. Poverty, love, religion, rape, climate change, displacement, are some of the individual and collective narratives captured throughout the hundreds of submissions. Every person has a story that needs to be told and I am particularly proud that this competition provides a space for all creative voices to be heard and seen”

Matikinca who is from Hermanus and studies at Nelson Mandela University was flown to Johannesburg to receive her award—her first time on a plane. Not only will she get the opportunity to host her own solo exhibition at the Pretoria Art Museum in 2024 (following Mondli Mbhele) but she has also won R100 000; a life-changing amount for her.