Atelier Resident Artist In Conversation: Drawing The Line with Unathi Mkonto and Boban Varghese

Unathi Mkonto, the current artist-in-residence in the Zeitz MOCAA Atelier was joined by his former lecturer and Director of the School of Architecture at Nelson Mandela University, Boban Varghese.
Together they unpacked the intersections of art, design, architecture and interdisciplinary practices. Beginning with the education of architecture, the two discussed what it means to develop an architectural and artistic language within the landscape of South Africa.
Unathi Mkonto (b. 1982, Peddie, South Africa) is a Cape Town-based artist working with drawing, sculpture and installation. Mkonto is a self-taught artist who pursued a Bachelor’s in Architecture at Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth. He was also a design fellow at Architecture for Humanity in Johannesburg and has participated in residencies at the A4 Arts Foundation (AVOID, 2018) and Alma Martha, both in Cape Town, South Africa.
Mkonto has experimented with performance art, most notably in the seventh season of mentorships at the Center for the Less Good Idea, a performing arts theatre in Johannesburg. With a practice that sits at the juncture between art, design and architecture, Mkonto says: “I am always studying and looking at processes to humanise this historically apartheid-inspired built environment”.
This talk is part of the ongoing programming for the Zeitz MOCAA Atelier. Launched as an experimental platform and residency that provides Cape Town-based artists with an opportunity to create new work, conduct research and develop ideas for future projects, the Atelier is a multi-gallery area situated on level 2 of the museum.
In addition to providing an exploratory space for artists, the Atelier is also open to the public, allowing visitors to Zeitz MOCAA to have unique access and insight into the artist’s modes of production and processes.
Zeitz MOCAA’s curatorial and exhibition programming is generously supported by GUCCI.