Mogalakwena Craft Art Development Foundation

Notes

Soccer matches take place at ultra-modern stadiums in cities around South Africa. While widespread media coverage ensures that these spectacular stadiums and matches are viewed the world over, numerous African players learn to play the game on hardly recognisable dusty ‘soccer fields’ in informal settlements and rural villages.

Soccer is a popular sport being played in many villages throughout South Africa.

Mogalakwena Craft Art Village borders villages under the rule of traditional chief Kibi and upper chief Maleboho in the remote Blouberg district of the Limpopo Province. These villages cover an area of approximately 15 000 km², stretching from Sheshego to Ramasfikana. An estimated 200 teams are actively participating in this area.

Mogalakwena Craft Art celebrates the soccer teams of the Blouberg district and is proud to exhibit embroidered panels created by 19 embroiderers living in this area. The embroidered panels depict images of soccer matches played by teams in these villages, images of upper chief Maleboho, chief Kibi, the Blouberg, as well as several village scenes.

The embroidery of these panels commenced in 2006 and is part of the larger research project on Documentation of contemporary Northern Sotho culture in the Blouberg district of Limpopo Province, South Africa. This project includes academic input from international researchers.