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The banquet, held in the Ballroom at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, was a celebration of South African creativity, from the décor to the live music and poetry, culminating in a fund-raising auction of original contemporary hand-made furniture inspired by street craft.
MC John Vlismas set the tone with his particular brand of indigenous humour, introducing top local acts like the beat poetry duo Over the Hills and the cross-over jazz band, Freshlyground.
Among the 400 guests who enjoyed the evening's entertainment were Minister of Arts and Culture, Pallo Jordan, Minister of Minerals and Energy Affairs, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Western Cape Premier, Ebrahim Rasool and a variety of representatives from foreign governments. A number of prominent Design Indaba delegates also attended, along with prominent local and international media personalities and the heads of South Africa's top advertising agencies.
The Charity Banquet was initiated to support the Design Indaba's mission: to elevate indigenous design to an international standard through creative education.
For the auction, top local designers were each asked to produce a piece based on the furniture created by street vendors and hawkers. The project was curated by Roche and Greg Dry of Egg Designs, and produced a stunning collection of high-end, contemporary pieces.
Bidding was fierce, with the auction raising R128 000 for design education. The money will be used for bursaries in the creative disciplines at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, the Central University of Technology, Free State, the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, the University of Johannesburg, the University of Pretoria and the Durban Institute of Technology.
