1. Named After Nelson Exhibition opening function:
25 April 2024
2. Freedom Day Student Workshop: 27 April 2024
The workshop explored Design Inquiry as a research methodology through the lens of Graphic Heritage. With a focus on six locations in the Gauteng Province, South Africa, that are named after Nelson Mandela, the workshop explored how graphic heritage reveals as much about absence as it does about presence. Participants were also introduced to archival practice and the role of the Archive at the Centre of Memory (ACoM) that preserves Nelson Mandela’s legacy. Presenters included Dr Robert Harland and Dr Yolandi Burger (Loughborough University), Zandile Myeka (Nelson Mandela Foundation) and Nkululeko Mthembu (Pista Ventures).
3. Institute of Advanced Studies Fellowships
Making Reading Fun (MRF) was launched on 15 April 2023 to encourage reading and literacy among South Africa’s children, and to impart knowledge of Mandela’s extraordinary life story, and his values, which are celebrated worldwide. Read more here about this initiative. The NaN team collaborated on several MRF events over the six months that the exhibition was hosted in at the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory. Our activities included a scavenger hunt and a t-shirt design activity on the following days: 25 May 2024, 27 July 2024, 24 August 2024 and 21 September 2024.
Residential Fellowship
The Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS) at Loughborough University invited Zandile Myeka as an IAS Residential Fellow at Loughborough University for July 2024. Zandile’s visit extends ongoing collaboration between researchers at Loughborough University’s Graphic Design Research Unit into graphic heritage. Read more about her fellowship here.
Open Programme Fellowship
In July 2024, Yolandi Burger was invited as a fellow to the Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS) at Loughborough University as part of their Open Programme. Her fellowship continues the ongoing collaboration with the Nelson Mandela Foundation and Loughborough University.
4. Nelson Mandela International Day: 18 July 2024
5. Making Reading Fun Workshops
Making Reading Fun (MRF) was launched on 15 April 2023 to encourage reading and literacy among South Africa’s children, and to impart knowledge of Mandela’s extraordinary life story, and his values, which are celebrated worldwide. Read more here about this initiative. The NaN team collaborated on several MRF events over the six months that the exhibition was hosted in at the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory. Our activities included a scavenger hunt and a t-shirt design activity on the following days: 25 May 2024, 27 July 2024, 24 August 2024 and 21 September 2024.
5. Community Workshops, Presentations and Events
10 October 2024: Yolandi Burger conducted an online community workshop for the IIE Vega School students participating in the Brand Challenge with the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital, sharing the narrative behind the Named after Nelson project and exploring how its themes align with the hospital’s values and mission.
25 October 2024: Yolandi Burger and Everardt Burger presented the Named after Nelson project to esteemed faculty members and postgraduate students at the Faculty of Art and Design Research Showcase at Tshwane University of Technology in South Africa.
28 October 2024: The Named after Nelson project was showcased at the inaugural Institute of Advanced Studies Research Summit for 2024-25 at Loughborough University. The Africa Summit – Resilience and adaptability for climate change focussed on lessons from Sub-Sahara Africa that aligns with the three University strategic 2030 themes and the UK’s climate action targets.