Futurity, Imagination, and Waking Up Singing with Nontokozo Tshabalala

Join us for our first full episode, where I sit down in the studio in Malmö with Nontokozo Tshabalala! We’ll chat about imagination, mental health, and futurity; the early days of moving to Sweden; and what it's like to routinely ~literally~ wake up with a cheerful song in your head. (Classic Nonto.)

But first, a little bit about our guest: Nontokozo Tshabalala is a multidisciplinary artist, poet, graphic designer, fashion stylist, organiser, producer, motivational speaker, and lecturer. She received her MFA in Design at HDK/Valand. Formerly based in Gothenburg, she’s now living and working in Malmö!

She is the co-founder of #viskaprata, an initiative for raising the stories of police/security brutality against POC in Gothenburg and Mamgobozi Design Factory, a South African design studio. Among the many projects she’s worked with over the past few years are  Melanin Spaces, her thesis project and a space occupation project in Social design; and the Neither Here Nor There exhibition (2021), which she co-curated alongside Mmabatho Thobejane at Blå stället in Gothenburg. 

She is currently working on a group show at Röda Sten Konsthall in Gothenburg, which opens on June 10, 2023. 

You can find her on Instagram at @future_of_brown