Cape Craft & Design Institute announces four appointments
In the implementation of the Cape Craft and Design Institute's programmes to stimulate growth in the craft and design sector, the Institute has filled four significant positions.
Vuyisile Mshudulu has been appointed Facilitator: Market Access, Retail and Exports. The CCDI’s Market Access Programme creates access to new and existing markets and other trade opportunities, and promotes linkages for local crafters and designers through the value chain. Mshudulu boasts more than ten years of work in the craft sector. He has chaired the national Craft and Design Sector Coordinating body under the auspices of the Department of Trade and Industry, and was deputy chair of the Craft Council of South Africa. Mshudulu is proficient in Xhosa, Zulu, Setswana, Afrikaans and English.
Sarah Polonsky has been appointed Manager: Enterprise Development and Training. This programme offers learnerships, mentoring and counseling and focuses on assisting craft enterprises to develop as strong, sustainable businesses. Polonsky brings with her a host of working experiences in townships, as initiator and co-coordinator of the Philani Flagship Printing Project in Crossroads, and also as previous manager of the Value Added Industries Programme of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry’s Working for Water Programme. “I believe I bring passion, dedication and perseverance to this challenging field of work,” says Polonsky.
Well-known artist Alan Alborough has been appointed as Manager of the Centre for Innovation, the CCDI’s state-of-the–art resourced venue aimed at promoting cutting edge design, product support and process technologies. Alborough now lives and works in Cape Town, but was born in Durban, in 1964. He has an MA Fine Art degree from Goldsmiths College, University of London (1997), and a BA Fine Art degree from the University of the Witwatersrand (1991). He has previously held the position of Associate Professor in the Department of Fine Arts, University of Stellenbosch (2000 - 2005), been a part-time lecturer at the Technikon Witwatersrand (1994-1996), and worked as the Exhibitions Officer at the Johannesburg Art Gallery (1991-1992). He has been described as a “multi-faceted, intelligent and fascinating artist who somehow manages to remain somewhat of an enigma. "…listing the materials in which he has worked - cured elephant ears, plastic clothes pegs and armoured glass for example - can't do justice to the multi-layered meaning and visual arrest of his work” (www.artthrob.co.za )
GIFT, the CCDI’s warehouse for corporate gifts, which offers buyers of corporate gifts, conference accessories and banqueting décor, access to local craft and design pieces, was established last year. With the appointment of Girl Yeki as Sales Executive, the CCDI hopes to create re-newed impetus to this trading initiative that provides an essential link between craft producers and corporate gift buyers. Her extensive marketing experience will add much-needed value and skills to the warehouse, which in its first year is showing exceptional growth and profit margins.
Vuyisile Mshudulu has been appointed Facilitator: Market Access, Retail and Exports. The CCDI’s Market Access Programme creates access to new and existing markets and other trade opportunities, and promotes linkages for local crafters and designers through the value chain. Mshudulu boasts more than ten years of work in the craft sector. He has chaired the national Craft and Design Sector Coordinating body under the auspices of the Department of Trade and Industry, and was deputy chair of the Craft Council of South Africa. Mshudulu is proficient in Xhosa, Zulu, Setswana, Afrikaans and English.
Well-known artist Alan Alborough has been appointed as Manager of the Centre for Innovation, the CCDI’s state-of-the–art resourced venue aimed at promoting cutting edge design, product support and process technologies. Alborough now lives and works in Cape Town, but was born in Durban, in 1964. He has an MA Fine Art degree from Goldsmiths College, University of London (1997), and a BA Fine Art degree from the University of the Witwatersrand (1991). He has previously held the position of Associate Professor in the Department of Fine Arts, University of Stellenbosch (2000 - 2005), been a part-time lecturer at the Technikon Witwatersrand (1994-1996), and worked as the Exhibitions Officer at the Johannesburg Art Gallery (1991-1992). He has been described as a “multi-faceted, intelligent and fascinating artist who somehow manages to remain somewhat of an enigma. "…listing the materials in which he has worked - cured elephant ears, plastic clothes pegs and armoured glass for example - can't do justice to the multi-layered meaning and visual arrest of his work” (
GIFT, the CCDI’s warehouse for corporate gifts, which offers buyers of corporate gifts, conference accessories and banqueting décor, access to local craft and design pieces, was established last year. With the appointment of Girl Yeki as Sales Executive, the CCDI hopes to create re-newed impetus to this trading initiative that provides an essential link between craft producers and corporate gift buyers. Her extensive marketing experience will add much-needed value and skills to the warehouse, which in its first year is showing exceptional growth and profit margins.