Once again, we were blown away by the exceptional talent of our emerging South African creative community. We received over 200 applications for our Emerging Creatives programme this year, and our curatorial panel of creative industry leaders had the near-impossible task of narrowing it down to only 42 for Design Indaba Expo 2014. 

Thanks to the Department of Arts and Culture, the featured Emerging Creatives will have a full sponsorship to showcase their talent at the Expo and have the opportunity to attend the Simulcast of Design Indaba Conference. 

The platform has been a launchpad for designers such as Daniel Ting Chong,Laduma Ngxokolo, Katherine-Mary Pichulik, who have gone from strength to strength. 

Andri Burnett

Calvin Botha

Christi du Toit

Erika Wessels

Fatima Kader

Fatlip

Fayaaz Mahomed

Henriette Botha

Jess Gouws

Kira Levy

Londiwe Msimang

Louw Roets

Lucy Stuart-Clark

Maria Lebedeva

Matthew Fraser & Talia Simons 

Mbongeni Fongoqa

Megan King

Michael Masinga

Mokoena Kobeli

Nadia du Plessis

Neil Grantham

Pola Maneli

Renee Nicole Stander

Ruth McNaughton

S'bhekile H. Ndlangisa

Simone Biggs

Sphiwe Giba

Sphume Nxumalo

Valerie Britz

Vukile Batyi

Wonder Meyer

Zaheer Randera

Kirsten Beets and Frank Conradie

Natasha Viljoen

In addition, this year we selected eight up-and-coming designers and paired them with experts in their relevant fields. The mentorship programme allows for collaboration and skills transfer, and the ability to learn from seasoned professionals who are working in the design industry. 

Design Indaba Expo takes place from 28 February to 2 March at the CTICC.  Tickets are available online or at the door.

Source: www.designindaba.com