Poet.
Design Indaba superhost.
Nap artistCOMPILED BY GARRETH VAN NIEKERKnever give it away for free. My go-to comfort
foods are Indian and Ethiopian food, and
my mother’s cooking. I always travel with
incense, crystals and candles. The one
place I’ve travelled to that I’ll never forget is
Medellín in Colombia for the International
Poetry Festival of Medellín. I’m currently
reading Redefining Realness by Janet
Mock. I’m listening to Björk, Moonchild
Sanelly and Maxwell. I’m definitely not
a lover of mayonnaise. If I could change
one thing about South Africa, it would be
to teach the true history of this country
in schools so that every child has an
understanding of what happened to us.
Don’t leave Johannesburg without bungee-
jumping and eating shisa nyama in Soweto,
visiting The Women’s Jail at Constitution
Hill, watching a play at The Market Theatre
in Newtown and enjoying a night of
twerking at Liquid Blue in Melville. When
I was younger, I used to think I had to make
people okay with who I am. Now I know
that people-pleasing is draining, and that
boundaries are healthy. O lebomashile PHOTOGRAPHS: ISTOCK, SUPPLIEDPEOPLE / STYLE PROFILEJUN JUL 128again. My hidden gems in Joburg’s inner city
are the recording studio at the Bassline
in town, the Oriental Plaza and Bismillah
in Fordsburg, and Little Addis Cafe in
Maboneng. The best view in South Africa
is Valley of a Thousand Hills in KwaZulu-
Natal and the Richards Bay coastline.
When I’m tired I turn into a professional
nap artist. It’s my other calling! My
kitchen cupboard staples are olive oil, soy
sauce, an assortment of pastas, coconut
milk, numerous Indian spices, dried
herbs, canned tomatoes, chickpeas, black
beans, nori, brown and white rice, apple
cider vinegar, herbal teas, lentils and
pilchards. The best advice I’ve ever received
is ‘Let yourself off the hook.’ Working
in the arts has taught me that there is
a vast difference between the process of
creation and earning a living from your
creativity. The one thing no one knows
about me is I could live off a diet of fresh
fish and watermelon. Every South African
artist should value their work. If someone is
willing to pay for what you do, you shouldI am a poet, performer, actress, theatre
maker, former TV presenter, recording
artist, speaker and mother. Design in
South Africa is eclectic, ancient, modern,
culturally rooted, responsive, influenced
by various parts of the world and futuristic.
I like what I do because every day I am
challenged and inspired in a myriad of
ways. Even after nearly 20 years, I feel like
I’m still a student of my craft. The worst
part of my job is the lack of protection
mechanisms in the arts for artists and our
labour. Hosting Design Indaba is a crash
course in understanding some of the most
expansive and exciting creative minds in
the world. It’s exhausting, exhilarating and
very rewarding. My highlight of the 2019
conference was seeing how many African
designers use history and culture – beyond
colonialism and its resulting horrors – as a
well of inspiration to reimagine the present
and the future. I use poetry to connect,
challenge, mirror, provoke, heal, share,
express and learn. I’m currently obsessed
with Dekalog, a Polish drama series from
the late 1980s that I’m watching as part
of research for a script I’m working on.
I’ve recently started recording vocals
in studio, and I’m learning how to fall
in love with the process and all of the
possibilities that come out of it all overLEBO
MASHILE