Artist Database

Betty Ntshingila was born in 1962 in Loskop, KwaZulu-Natal. On leaving school, she worked as a domestic worker on a farm in the Champagne Valley, close to where the original Ardmore Berg studio was started by Fée Halsted. In 2002, Betty was introduced to Ardmore by sculptor Nhlanhla Nsundwane, and she began her sculpting career under his mentorship. Ntshingila's skills as a female sculptor are unusual at Ardmore, yet she has found her niche and excelled in the traditionally male-dominated sculpture studio. Ntshingila's choice of subject matter inlcude birds and bees busy with life's chores, building nests, laying eggs and feeding their offspring. In 2011, Betty accompanied Halsted and painter, Punch Shabalala, to a life-changing symposium entitled Clay: The Art of Earth & Fire, at the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut, United States. Ntshingila's work has been highly considered at the Cellars-Hohenhort in Cape Town in 2012 , and at Patrick Mavros in London. Ntshingila's works can be found in collections internationally, including that of collector Larry Singer.