The ideology of the San people was rooted in egalitarianism and this is how they survived harmoniously throughout the wilderness of Southern Africa. Bushkoppies, a creative collective of individuals with a multidisciplinary skill set, have derived their core values around those of the San people so that they too can survive in Johannesburg, their urban wilderness, as they hunt for creative highs.
Bushkoppies collectively experienced their last creative high at the showcase of their Offshore clothing collection in late 2016. The Offshore collection captures the serene vibes that are experienced when you are at the beach through its colour palette and style. For city-dwellers, this collection provides a sweet escape.
Throughout 2016, the creative collection experienced other euphoric releases of creativity. In April, Bushkoppies established themselves as a creative house and their pop-up experience, which took place in June was their debut. The pop-up was a small beginning, which involved the reselling of rare branded items. Their desperate pursuit for independence quickly led to the launch of their first capsule collection titled “Bushboyz”. The anticipation for their next creative high is growing as they prepare for the release of the Offshore collection in March 2017.
Bushkoppies deliberately presented themselves through fashion first because of the essential attention that their innovative and stylish apparel would grab. As they grow into themselves, Bushkoppies plan to enhance the delivery of their projects by showcasing the multiple disciplines that they have.
There are currently eight Bushkoppies: Ketumile Malesa (Fine Artist / Fashion Designer), Siyabonga Myaka (Graphic Designer), Hloni Matjila (Photographer / Filmmaker), Sandile Madi (Film Producer / Filmmaker), Themba Konela (Visual Designer / Filmmaker), Lebogang Ramfate (Textile Designer), Kopano Lichaba (Musician / Film Director) and Sizwe Dube (Filmmaker).
They each celebrate the unique combination of experiences that have built their collective skill set. The creative house are not in the business of creating boundaries for their capabilities; you could have attended an academic institution, gotten professional training or be self taught, as long as you are making something from nothing then the possibilities are endless.
“We are not trying to box ourselves. We are challenging the idea that you were supposed to go to school and done this amount of studying or you have to have worked for those kind of people to get there. We are redefining the path and it is too gangster, it is guerrilla, it is like we are MacGyver”, said Siyabonga.
The lack of resources have compromised the vision that the creative house would have desired to bring to life but it is within these constraints that they have been able to tap further into their creativity.
“You do not need to have a million rands in order to execute an idea. You do not need to be funded by a huge organisation. You do not need brick and mortar. You do not need a hundred thousand in order to start a movement. We are in a day and age where you can just have an idea and use the resources around you to convey your message. We honestly did not have much. We just approached the people that we knew and the small networks that we had and we have grown exponentially”, said Bushkoppies co-founder, Ketumile.
Bushkoppies will be launching a website this year but beyond the stream of diverse content that they are creating, they ultimately want to be service providers. The creative house dream of being approached to shoot films, design collections and package ideas for individuals and organisations.
