Design Indaba’s 2015 creative campaign Make. Change. embraces a movement of ‘design activism’ and celebrates people out there finding creative solutions to daily problems that are creating real change in this world. Cumulatively, these small changes can make a huge difference. Believing in the power of creativity, collaboration and commitment, Design Indaba sought out a number of partners to help our own Make. Change. initiatives come to fruition. We partnered with The Bookery, a local NGO that assists with creating fully functioning library in public schools, with the aim of increasing literacy and numeracy, which in turn can create true social and economic change. Together with Leg Studios’, a design consultancy based in Salt River, Design Indaba created two initiatives on the expo floor, which would provide long-standing support after the four-day exhibition.
First we created the BOOK.exCHANGE and sent out a call for second-hand books. Some of these were sold at the Book Exchange during Design Indaba Expo, resulting in over R3000 being raised, while the rest have been donated to the new library at Kannemeyer. The raw pine shelves and other furniture from the stand have also been donated to Kannemeyer Primary to become their new library. The total value of the donated stand and books was R56 780. Beyond the donation of books for the new library, there was also a total of R3 020 raised from the sale of pre-loved books on the stand itself. So a total of R59 800 was donated from this initiative alone.
The CREATe.CHANGE project was born out of Design Indaba and Leg Studios’ desire to tap into the innate creativity of local artists and harness this talent to Make.Change. We sent out a challenge to 16 of South Africa’s most exciting artists and creatives such as Lionel Smit, Unathi Mkonto, Lauren Fowler and Daniel Ting Chong to take Leg Studios' three-legged, flat-packed birch Carry Tables and transform them into works of art. These were then auctioned off to the highest bidder. The minimum bid for these tables was set at R1 500, although most tables sold for over the minimum bid. The amount raised from this exhibition was R40 200.
This comes to a total value of R100 000 that Design Indaba has donated to Kannemeyer Primary School.
"We at KPS are absolutely delighted at the out-pour of generosity and goodwill upon our children. Thepartnership between Design Indaba, Leg Studios and The Bookery shows that together we can rally support to create better opportunities for all our children. We have contributed to Madiba's legacy for he once said: pIt is in your hands to make of our world a better one for all'," Ridwan Samodien, principal at Kannemeyer Primary School.
The new library will certainly be a better place and one where we can sharpen the skills of not only our children but serve the community at large.
"The work that Mr Samodien and his team do is phenomenal; I was humbled by his passion and being able to assist in our small way, partnering with Design Indaba has been an absolute privilege. Thank you!" said Leon Erasmus of Leg Studios.
Kim Seeliger, Expo Manager at Design Indaba, added: "We are so thrilled with the overwhelming support we received from our audience and partners. Without them, we would not have been able to realise this project and to contribute to making meaningful change."
