Thato Kokwana (21), a third-year Fine and Applied Arts student, proudly displays his design that will be used to manufacture trophies for the 10th World Choir Games.
The African Cultural Development Foundation (ACDF) handpicked a design by Thato Kokwana (21), a third-year student specialising in glass, after challenging Fine and Applied Arts students to propose designs for the event that will take place in Tshwane.
Students rose to the challenge and had only two weeks to prepare their designs under the watchful eye of Retief van Wyk, internationally-renowned glass master and lecturer at the Department of Fine and Applied Arts.
Thereafter, ACDF CEO and member of the organising committee, Ali Mpofu, and Eben Keun from Breinstorm Brand Architects, a company that handles the branding of the event, visited the TUT Glass Studio at the Arts Campus to have a closer look at the proposals. They were hugely impressed with the students’ ingenuity and eventually decided that Thato’s design best interpreted the brief. “We are excited about the shared value emanating from this procurement manufacturing process,” Mpofu said.
The brief, among others, explained that designs had to exude a feeling of the joy of a choir, unity in diversity, and, most importantly, be aesthetically pleasing and sturdy enough to travel home with winners from all over the world.
The trophy will be manufactured from 10 mm polished brass, with its shape reflecting the WCG logo. The holes in the logo (brass) will be filled with coloured glass beads and the design will be mounted on a cork base.
Thato’s design will now be manufactured by Marileen van Wyk, an alumni student of the Department of Fine and Applied Arts and owner of Nkwe Marketing/Glass Forming Academy. Both Thato and the Department each received R5 000 as an incentive.
Thato said he was really overwhelmed that his design made the final cut.
The WCG, also referred to as the Olympic Games of Choirs, will see over 21 000 singers from 48 countries competing in song. It is the first time that the event is hosted in Southern Africa.
It will also offer workshops, seminars and open rehearsal sessions. During these workshops, choirs, conductors and individuals will be introduced to international choral literature, singing styles and performance practices.
Ali Mpofu, CEO of the African Cultural Development Foundation and member of the organising committee of the 10th World Choir Games; Eben Keun from Breinstorm Brand Architects, a company that handles the branding of the event; and Retief van Wyk, Glass Master and Fine and Applied Arts lecturer, look at some of the student designs.
Thato’s design will be manufactured by Marileen van Wyk (centre), an alumni student of the Department of Fine and Applied Arts and owner of Nkwe Marketing/Glass Forming Academy.
A closer look at Thato’s Protea-inspired design.