Crafts used by generations of families are the skills Bulumko Mbete has deeply explored to honour her family’s history and to create art that celebrates storytelling.
South Africa (14 October 2025) – Weaving, sculpting, beading and working with natural textiles and dyes are some of the oldest art forms in the world. Here in South Africa, these art forms form the foundation of indigenous crafting knowledge, and for Bulumko Mbete, they are the inspiration behind her art, which honours her own family’s history.
Art has been used as a tool for storytelling for centuries, from drawings found in caves to ancient pottery engraved with symbols and signs to honour spiritual practices or seasonal celebrations.
These skills and artistic talents were what led Bulumko to become the 2023 recipient of the Absa L’Atelier Gérard Sekoto Award, supported by the Embassy of France in South Africa, the French Institute of South Africa, Absa and the South African National Association for the Visual Arts. In winning, Bulumko was awarded a residency in Paris, where she could explore art in some of the most beloved museums in the world.
Her time spent in Paris was filled with cultural experiences, broadening her views and creating opportunities to tap into new creative energies.
“I appreciated the myriad of cultural activities that I could partake in and find in close proximity to Cité. I visited a lot of museums, design stores, galleries and just enjoyed taking in the architecture of the city, the river, as well as the amazingly landscaped public parks and gardens.
I think the sum of my experience in Paris was to dream big and in vivid detail. It prompted me to think deeply about the scale of the artworks and installations that I could make and the importance of attention to the fine details and marks that one imprints on their work.”
But it was a visit from home that unlocked a new element to her art, a story of heritage and tradition that has gone on to inspire several elements within her works. The Dahlia, a family symbol, one that her grandparents loved and planted in each home they lived in. As Bulumko and her mother toured the public gardens of Paris, the Dahlia became the centre piece for their visit and would go on to inspire elements in her first solo exhibition.
“I thought a lot about the practices that my mother inherited from her parents, how those manifest in our lives and what I may carry forward within my own life and practice. One example is gardening practices. My mom told me an anecdote about how her parents used to plant a bush of Dahlia flowers in the yard of each home they lived in and so I’ve started to think about this gesture of marking the land that you’ve traversed or been a part of and how that maps their family’s presence. I have started to integrate the motif into my work and use it as a tool of remembrance.”
Related Story
View this post on Instagram
In 2025, Bulumko was able to host her first solo exhibition called Like the sky, I’ve been too quiet. She exhibited at Gallery MOMO in Johannesburg and then the William Humphreys Art Gallery in Kimberley. The exhibition retraced her grandfather’s 1997 road trip across South Africa, weaving together history, family, and reflection through four immersive installations, one of which explored sound.
Bulumko honoured her mother’s grief in losing her father, working directly with her to create an immersive sound piece for the exhibition, titled Sojourning. With Sojourning, she created a sonic memory of her grandfather’s last journey. She included music he would have listened to, the sound of tyres over gravel and even a recording of her grandfather’s voice, which she had not heard since she was a baby.
“I think about how layered my grandfather’s journey and experiences in South Africa were. Especially at the time of his passing, and so I ponder about the layers to all our stories and how they meander and aren’t straightforward.”
“It was important for me to collaborate with my mom, aunt and Kamil Hassim on the sound piece, Sojourning.”
Bulumko tapped into community for her exhibition. Art forms of this nature are all inspired by the work done by community, and she honoured that. She worked with Herd Designs, collaborating on the masks in her show; her designs function through a cooperative of women from KwaNdebele who bead, led by Mbali Mthethwa.
“As the proverb says, ‘if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.’ So there were layers to the collaboration and how they tie into craft and storytelling processes in South Africa historically, and the importance of the communal aspect thereof.”
When asked what she hoped her grandfather’s journey would inspire in others, Bulumko shared:
“I hope it would evoke some feelings of resonance, whether it be nostalgia, memory, grief or introspection. I would be satisfied if it at least prompted some common experience or thought that is reflective for the individual.
“My practice is quite inspired by familial histories and oral history specifically because within my family there’s a culture of storytelling. The story of my grandfather’s passing, and even this journey that he took before he died, has been something that has been retold throughout my life.”
“For me it was important to find a way to record the story in a different way from how it gets passed on orally. I think it was also a way of expressing an interest in thinking about my relationship to my mother, my mother’s relationship to her father, and the parallels of our lives at different points in time.”
Family history is something we all have in common, despite the stories being different. The same goes for craft-making practices. Each community has these practices. Bulumko is currently pursuing her MFA at Carnegie Mellon, and for her Master’s Degree thesis, she is looking at inheritance, heritage, craft-making practices and indigenous knowledge systems. With the support of the university, she is able to delve deeply into these subjects. While she is US-based, she is exploring these themes both in what the local history is there and also in how she can apply it to her own story once again.
“I’m really excited to create my MFA thesis exhibition which will still trace and think about familial migration but also integrate some research into historical sites in Gauteng and my connection to them.”
Her grandmother was recently honoured as a Struggle Stalwart, having her name added to the wall at Freedom Park. Similarly, the ancient site of Kweneng at the Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve holds meaning and connection. Her thesis exhibition, while based in the US, will honour her roots.
As she learns more about craft-making art forms, she unpacks history and heritage beyond her own family, in honour of storytelling through the arts in all its forms. Because where there is art, there will always be a story to tell.
This interview is part of a special partnership between the Embassy of France in South Africa, Lesotho and Malawi, the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS) and Good Things Guy, celebrating 30 years of cultural co-creation. Since 1995, IFAS, the cultural agency of the Embassy of France in South Africa, Lesotho and Malawi, has supported artistic and creative exchange across disciplines from visual arts to gaming.
To mark its 30th anniversary in 2025, IFAS and Good Things Guy are sharing the stories of South African creatives whose journeys have been shaped by French–South African cooperation, highlighting three decades of connection, creativity, and shared achievement. You can read them all here.
Sources: GTG Interview
Don’t ever miss the Good Things. Download the Good Things Guy App now on Apple or Google.
Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:
Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.
by 