18/06/2026
We are excited to have Bulumko Mbete at Witklipfontein for her residency.
In her practice, Bulumko Mbete explores the transmission and inheritance of knowledge. She engages with fundamental craft processes like natural dyeing techniques, beading geometry, embroidery and clay work. Indigenous epistemologies are centred, considering South Africa's ongoing process of historical reclamation and decolonization, her practice interacts with the legacies of Apartheid that are perpetuated through our current realities.
Her research weaves together multiple threads: familial lineages, migration patterns, and historical narratives of colonialism and ‘post-colonial’ struggles. Through examining the histories of materials like cotton, silk, linen, and glass beads, alongside their cultivation and processing methodologies, reflections on world histories can be made. Natural systems and human affect offer deeper insights into the craft traditions and indigenous knowledge.
Mbete received her MFA from Carnegie Mellon University. She is the recipient of the Absa L'Atelier Gerard Sekoto Award, The Cassirer Welz Award and Creative Knowledge Resources Fellowship. She has previously been a resident artist at Cité Internationale Des Arts, Paris and The Bag Factory, Johannesburg.
