In his book Afrikan Alphabets, Saki Mafundiwaka includes a Ghanaian pictograph meaning “return to the past” This is exactly what he did in 1997 when he cashed in his publishing job 401(k) and left New York to open the Zimbabwe Institute of Vigital Arts (ZIVA) in Harare. (“Vigital” denotes visual arts taught using digital tools.)
As a kid growing up in Zimbabwe, Mafundiwaka loved to sketch letterforms he saw in books and magazines, but he didn’t know graphic design was a career option until he arrived in America. "Sometimes you have to leave home,” he says, “to discover yourself.” He opened ZIVA to pay it forward. “The dream,” he says, “is for something to come out of Africa that is of Africa."
In 2010, he made the film Shungu: The Resilience of a People, a compelling narrative of the strategies ordinary people use to survive in Zimbabwe today.
“It is his hope that Africa can imprint itself on the canon of graphic design.” — Camille Lowry
TEDGlobal 2017 was an important homecoming to the African continent, and a ton of work went into creating an authentic experience, from the curation of talks to the music to the graphics and stage design. Saki Mafundikwa, a graphic designer, filmmaker, design teacher and founder of the Zimbabwe Institute of Vigital Arts (and a TED […]
Continue readingDo you have a TED Talk you’ve always wanted to try out in front of an audience? We’re thrilled to announce that applications are open for two new events in Africa: TEDLagos and TEDNairobi 2017 Idea Search! Anyone with an idea worth spreading is invited to apply to either of those two events; around 25 […]
Continue readingThe founder of Zimbabwe's first graphic design college shares some teaching resources he loves.
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