Platform Creative Agency, the team behind the annual 100% Design exhibit, has partnered with the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town to celebrate South African ingenuity with the 100 Beautiful Things project.
They've called on the public to nominate projects, products, ideas or experiences that are “creative, innovative or simply beautiful” with the aim of showcasing 100 of these "things" online over the course of 100 days.
The project, which kicked off in April, has crossed the halfway mark with more than 50 “things” featured on the 100 Beautiful Things website so far; it will culminate with a physical exhibition at the V&A Waterfront later this year.
“We launched this good-news initiative to inspire positivity and to support and elevate some of the incredible enterprises and creative projects in our country,” says David Green, CEO at the V&A Waterfront.
“During tough times like these we need to support the people behind local businesses and enterprises. Creative, retail and lifestyle businesses have been particularly hard hit, but with help and support they're exactly the companies that will have the ability to help rebuild our society.
“We hope that by showcasing these enterprises and the creative abilities of the people behind them, we can lift people's spirits and contribute to helping them sustain themselves through the difficult times arising from the global pandemic.”
MAKING THE GRADE
The diverse selection of “things” that have been showcased thus far are spread across five themes: Designing with Compassion, Sustainable Design, Future Thinking, South African Essence and Simply Beautiful.
They include everything from Neo Hutiri's Pelebox — a digital locker-system for dispensing chronic medication — to Rosa Design's contemporary crochet homeware, which is crafted from fabric offcuts that would otherwise end up in landfills.
"Creative excellence is the number one attribute we look for when selecting something to hero on the website, explains Cathy O'Clery, Platform's creative director. “We get excited about design solutions that come from unexpected sources or from people with few resources.”
She adds that curating the 100 Beautiful Things exhibit has been “a joyous voyage of discovery”.
“There have been many ‘I didn’t know that moments’, such as how virtual reality is helping designers rethink their design processes, or that we have a relatively unknown fossil park near Langebaan that is a world-class attraction.”
Tinyiko Mageza, the V&A Waterfront's marketing executive, agrees: “Each Beautiful Thing has, in its own way, sparked my curiosity, challenged the boundaries of my creative thinking and brought such joy.”
A PLATFORM FOR CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING
O'Clery explains that the 100 Beautiful Things project has blossomed into more than a simple online exhibition — it's become a platform for creative problem-solving and inspirational solution-seeking.
“In the next few weeks, we will launch a series of collaborative online 'think-and-inspire' sessions, where the 100 Beautiful Things themes will be discussed in the context of the current social and economic challenges. Thought leaders within and outside the design industry will join us to deliver keynotes and panel conversations.
“Lastly, 100 Beautiful Things sets the scene for the December launch of the V&A Waterfront’s 101st Beautiful Thing: a raw, repurposed industrial space, conceived and designed as a platform for food entrepreneurs to scale up their businesses.”
• To nominate yourself or someone you admire for the 100 Beautiful Things project visit 100beautifulthings.co.za
