The Intuthuko Embroidery Project
The Intuthuko Embroidery Project
The Intuthuko Embroidery Project Collective (previously "Various Artists")
2002-ongoing
South Africa
Community-based project with various exhibitions
Segalo, Puleng, Einat Manoff, and Michelle Fine. 2015. “Working With Embroideries and Counter-Maps: Engaging Memory and Imagination Within Decolonizing Frameworks”. Journal of Social and Political Psychology 3 (1), 342-64. JSPP.
The Intuthuko Embroidery Project is a women’s community empowerment collective situated in the township Daveyton, South Africa. Established in 2002, the initiative seeks to provide poverty alleviation alternatives for socially and economically disadvantaged women. Their productions depict the everyday experiences of the women, reflections on the environment, and stories about their surroundings. Many of the women in the collective lived through the apartheid regime and they carry these stories, memories, and traumas with them. The Intuthuko Embroidery Project includes Ntombela Irene Thetheni, Sikhosana Rose Ntombikayise, Songo Selina Sdudla, Nkosi Zanyana Clerence, Maseko Lindiwe Matilda, Sasebola Maphuti Sannah, Matsosa Mantlenyana Alzina, and Madonsela Christine Mabatho. They have collaborated with various organizations on projects that allowed them to use their embroidery skills to engage social issues.