Towards resilience in South African craft enterprises, from design theory to craft practice

Abstract

This thesis is a response to the position of South African craft enterprises within the larger global context affecting creative industries. Fuelled by a need for skills development and job creation, the South African government identified craft industries as a potential growth sector (Cultural Industries Growth Strategy, 1998:3). Substantial investment was made in this sector resulting in some growth and job creation in the following two decades. Despite this investment, exports have been declining, and the sector still faces many challenges. Existing models for South African craft practitioners no longer mitigate the challenges faced by South African craft practitioners operating in globalized digitally mediated economies. The fields of craft versus, and more recently, with design have formed part of on-going discourse since the development of design studies in the mid-twentieth century. Nomadic theory is used as a lens with which to interpret the conditions under which the challenges faced by South African craft practitioners can be mitigated. The findings indicate that there are alternatives to the accepted model for successful craft enterprises in South Africa that point towards ethical and alternative economic practice. An updated open and flexible model is proposed which could enable ethical and sustainable practice and build resilience in this sector.