Reflecting on the influence other women had on her early artistic development, Zizipho Poswa shares her trajectory in relation to the cultural and historical context of the Eastern Cape. She explores the symbolism of ceramics as vessels, relating them to motherhood and traditional Xhosa customs. Zizipho also discusses the creative process behind her recent bodies of work and explores the relationship between spirituality and her artistic practice.

Mentioned in this episode: Imiso ceramics
Practice of ‘lobola’
Zizipho Poswa – iLobola (2021)
Zizipho Poswa – uBuhle boKhokho (Beauty of Our Ancestors) (2022)
Zizipho Poswa – iiNtsika zeSizwe (The Pillars of the Nation) (2023–2024) Zizipho Poswa – ‘uNa’kaMzingisi’ (Mzingisi’s Mother) (2024) shown in the Ecospheres exhibition at JCAF.
African textile tradition
J.D. Okhai Ojeikere
Center for Contemporary Ceramics at California State University
Andile Dyalvane

To know more about Zizipho’s work follow her on Instagram

Music for the JCAF Knowledge Talks podcast was commissioned by JCAF.
‘INGWENYA’, performed by the Afrikan Freedom Principle, led by Mandla Mlangeni, © MM Publishing.

Website URL: ⁠https://jcaf.org.za⁠
Instagram: ⁠instagram.com/foundation_jcaf/

Drawing from her experience working with food and land justice initiatives, Zayaan Khan examines ways to retrieve knowledge that have become extinct to us. She introduces the notion of ‘seed as relation’, a perspective that encourages using seed as a lens to see and relate with the world and all other living beings. Zayaan shares insights of the process behind her sound-piece ‘Seeds from the Streets to the Seas’ (2019), speaks about fermentation, how grief is embedded in the land in South Africa and much more.

Mentioned in this episode: Zayaan Khan and Coila-Leah Enderstein – ‘Seeds from the Streets to the Seas’ (2019) June Bam – ‘Deep listening’
Ecocide Aboriginal dreaming tracks Magical realism
⁠⁠J.M. Coetzee
Zayaan’s research project supported by Prince Claus Fund Fermentation Necropolitics Jorge Luis Borges – “Undivided divinity” in ‘Labyrinths’ (1962)

To know more about Zayaan’s work follow her on Instagram

Music for the JCAF Knowledge Talks podcast was commissioned by JCAF. ‘INGWENYA’, performed by the Afrikan Freedom Principle, led by Mandla Mlangeni, © MM Publishing.

Website URL: https://jcaf.org.za
Instagram: instagram.com/foundation_jcaf/

Dr Kirti Ranchod is a neurologist who explores the relationship between art and brain health. She dives into the concept of neuroaesthetics and shares how exposure to art can enhance our brain’s well-being. With an emphasis on perspectives from the African continent, she speaks to the critical role of food, culture, and the integration of diverse knowledge systems in our approach to mental and brain health.

Mentioned in this episode: Dr Kirti Ranchod’s project Memorability
‘Ecospheres’ exhibition at JCAF Eric Kandel – work on memory Nobel prize winner Jane Alexander – 'Butcher Boys' (1986) Irving Stone – 'The Agony and the Ecstasy' (1961) Exhibition featuring Zina Saro-Wiwa at the Brooklyn Museum (2016) Paul Klee – 'a line is a dot that went on a walk' Martin Buber – 'I and Thou' (1923) Henry David Thoreau Michel Foucault - 'Discipline and Punish' (1975) E.M. Forster –'Howards End' (1910) Dr Phuthuma Seoka

Music for the JCAF Knowledge Talks podcast was commissioned by JCAF. ‘INGWENYA’, performed by the Afrikan Freedom Principle, led by Mandla Mlangeni, © MM Publishing.

Website: jcaf.org.za
Instagram: instagram.com/foundation_jcaf/