Atang Tshikare: Emerging Creatives Q&A

This week’s featured Emerging Creative is graphic designer and illustrator Atang Tshikare who was part of the programme at Design Indaba Expo in 2012.

Part of the Project

Graphic designer, graffiti artist and the founder of Zabalazaa, Atang Tshikare customises sneakers, stilettos, furniture, machines and clothes. He also makes desolate areas of South Africa more colourful through street art. He has come a long way since doing graffiti in Bloemfontein. Today his sweat, paint and pencil is paying off.

Here’s what he had to say about being part of the Emerging Creatives programme in 2012:

What are your thoughts on the Emerging Creatives programme?

The Emerging Creatives platform let me showcase my work on a grand scale. I also met a French man named Fabrice who was attracted to my creative potential and offered me a free studio for five months where I met Laurie van Heerden, a fellow exhibitor and now creative associate.

Have you broadened your brand, Zabalazaa, since being an Emerging Creative?

Yes, I have just made my first designer furniture piece that is going to be shown in the Museum of African Design in Johannesburg.

Have you collaborated with other designers since being an Emerging Creative?

Yes, I collaborated with 2Bop during Design Indaba 2012; Kent Lindgeveldt of Alpha Longboards; clothing designer Kat van Duinen; Jamie Litt of Ubuntu Bikes; and Woodstock Cycleworks.

Since Emerging Creatives, have you participated in any local or international exhibitions or events, or won any awards?

I took part in Design Days Dubai earlier this year. I have also exhibited with Kent Lindgeveldt in Germany. I am currently dealing with stocking some of my designs in a small store in Oslo and was asked by the Young Blood Gallery to design works that will be shown during the Cologne Art Festival in Germany. I have participated in local exhibitions, was a guest presenter for Open Design Festival in Cape Town and am currently working on a graphic novel titled 360 Degrees that will be published early next year. 

Atang Tshikare lives and works in Cape Town as a professional graphic designer and illustrator. See more of his work at zabalazaa.com.

Apply to be an Emerging Creative at Design Indaba Expo 2014 here.