David Krut Publishing,
Africa’s No 1 Arts Bookstore and Publisher

The long-awaited launch of Mapula: Embroidery and Empowerment in the Winterveld took place on the 11th of November 2006 at the Pretoria Art Museum. Bronwyn Law-Viljoen, Managing Editor of David Krut Publishing, and her team have worked tirelessly to put this book together and Professor Brenda Schmahmann of Rhodes University has put in years of work interviewing and documenting the Mapula project.

It was a beautiful warm day and the sun was beating down relentlessly. Fortunately we were all in the comforting and cool walls of the Pretoria Art Museum. The Museum was swarming with people all coming to attend the launch of the book; there was a phenomenal turn out with about 160 people in attendance. There was so many women there one would have thought a political rally was about to take place; the place was filled to the max to put it mildly.

Bronwyn opened the event with a short speech, in which she took the opportunity to thank her team for their support and extend congratulations to Brenda Schmahmann and the women of the Mapula project for their achievements.

Brenda Schmahmann also gave a speech thanking the many people who had helped in making the book a reality. The Mapula Embroidery Project began in 1991 with a handful of women and since then it has gained over a hundred new members and now boasts a membership of 150 women.

The Mapula Embroidery Project in the Winterveld is one of the most important community art projects in South Africa. In addition to generating an income for economically disadvantaged women, Mapula embroideries couple high levels of technical and visual artistry with topics that speak eloquently of public histories as well as women’s personal experiences.

The event was lively and entertaining and 150 books were sold by the DKP team. Steve Bales of FirstRand Banking group bought 100 books as gifts for the Mapula women present at the launch. The FirstRand Bank, alongside the National Lottery, the National Arts Council of South Africa, the P.A. and Alize Malan Trust and Rhodes University provided the funds for book to be published.

One woman attending the launch described the event and the book as fabulous and exciting. Another said, “I feel like I am back home in the rural areas; this scene has the familiar essence of a ceremony, with everyone eating, talking and laughing, it’s so wonderful.” The guest speaker at the launch of the book was Dr Pamela Dube, who has a PhD from Siegen University in Germany. Dr Dube is well read and soft-spoken, and despite her erudition she gave a simple and honest speech. She commended Brenda Schmahmann for her initiative and the book that she had put together. Dr Dube was amazed by the embroidery the women had produced, remarking especially on the artistic element of the work. “I admire these women for their resilience and strength and I congratulate them for their fearlessness when it comes to the commentary on the social issues faced by our society today. The book is a mouthpiece for self-expression for the women of Winterveld and communication is expanded in this form of expression,” she said. Dr Dube’s admiration for the women was obvious to everyone attending and there was no doubt about her sincerity. She finished her speech by expressing her pride in the women’s strength in the face of adversities such as poverty, HIV/AIDS and unemployment. Her speech was well received and she was an inspiration to all there regardless of gender, age, race and vocation.

Prof. Brenda Schmahmann

Dr. Pamela Dube

The ladies have a fat chat after a successful day
The women of the Mapula Project with their copy of the book, courtesy of Steve Bales of the First Rand Banking Group

Keywords: Art, Brenda Schmahmann, Craft, David-Krut, News, Outreach-TAEP, South-African