Spotlight: Human·Kind

Heritage & Herstory

Anna Carnick

A video chat with Zizipho Poswa about the stories—and community—behind her acclaimed work

In 15 Minutes on Design & Human·Kind, we connect with outstanding creatives to explore design-led visions for a more equitable and interconnected world. This time around we speak with acclaimed Cape Town-based ceramicist Zizipho Poswa, whose work celebrates her rich Xhosa heritage and the powerful, beautiful women in her life.

Her large-scale, totemic ceramic pieces are bold declarations of African womanhood—and testaments to the storytelling power of objects. Poswa discusses the stories behind some of her most acclaimed series to date with Design Miami Editor-in-Chief Anna Carnick.

From left: Poswa's Umthwalo uMaradebe and iLobola uTsiki (Welcome Ceremony). Photos © Christof Van Der Walt; courtesy of Southern Guild

This series was conceived and curated by Wava Carpenter and Anna Carnick of Design Miami and Anava Projects as an exploration of the Design Miami/ 2021 curatorial theme Human·Kind.

About Human·Kind: As an antidote to our most pressing social and environmental problems, today’s leading-edge design thinking strives to empower traditionally overlooked perspectives while expanding the scope of valued narratives. The process begins with seeing the world for what it is: a network of beings entangled with other beings, whose future is entirely interdependent. The objective is to level hierarchies that elevate humans over other species and to subvert unjust systems that privilege certain people while denying others the full slate of human rights. 

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