Mother of Rain
The Women of Mapula Embroideries
24 Jan - 19 Feb ‘25
LUMI. Gallery
Shop 2, Village Gate, 7872 Main Rd, Hout Bay, Cape Town, 7806
The Mapula Embroidery Project is one of the most significant community art projects in South Africa.
Mapula means Mother of Rain in Setswana. Rain brings relief, stimulates growth and provides hope for new opportunities, which embodies the goals of the project.
It was founded in 1991 with only 14 women, and has grown to include 140+ women at present. Thanks to the founders and supporters of the Mapula Embroidery Project, these women can improve their lives: both financially, through earned income, and creatively, through unlocking their artistic voices.
The Winterveld and Hammanskraal, where the Mapula embroiderers live and create, is situated in a rural area 70 kilometers northwest of Tshwane (Pretoria). It has a complex and troubled history as a result of political, social, economic and gender forces that have left the area under-privileged and many residents unemployed, poor and vulnerable. The social challenges facing these women have often been subject matter in their embroideries, collectively forming a visual history of the women in Mapula, and South Africa in general.
Three of the Mapula artists, from left to right: Kelelo Maepa, Elizabeth Malete, Rosina Maepa
