The META foundation, in partnership with the August House and End Street is excited to announce the winner of the 2022 Thami Mnyele Fine Arts award – Livhuwani Muthivhithi.

Livhuwani Muthivhithi is a Vendan born artist with a National Diploma in Fine and Applied Art from Tshwane University of Technology (2016). While Muthivhithi works in a variety of media, from drawing, costume design, writing as well as performance art, he majored in glass and ceramics.

Muthivhithi work focuses on exploring forever changing culture under the theme “Hybrid culture”. Hybrid culture is defined as the two-way process of borrowing and blending that takes place between cultures. Through this process a new form of cultural practice emerges.  In exploring this idea, Muthivhithi’s hopes to further learn and understand the customs, values, and ideas of native cultures in South Africa, in particular a particular focus on Vendan culture.

”Culture is a fragile thing” – Muthivhithi’s position is that cultural symbols and practices of old are often adopted and re-interpreted into new sub-cultures. As this process occurs, the emergence of a sub-culture accelerates the loss of original culture and practice. This is because we accept what is being portrayed to be the original practice and we do not question its origin. All that is left of the original culture is just an idea of what once was.

Muthivhithi has worked with multiple glass beading studios as an independent artist. Muthivhithi has been accepted in Sasol New Signatures in 2017 and was part of Blessing Ngobeni Studio Award. Muthivhithi has been in multiple exhibitions in Pretoria as well as Johannesburg.