wearable art

art | equality

art into fashion

#artonly

wearable art

art | equality

art into fashion

#artonly

Here’s to the arty ones

Khula means ‘growth’.  A name that originates in the desire to give a platform to the views of our artists; local South Africans coming to grips with the contrasts that surround them, in order for society at large to experience and engage with their work.

Artists’ paintings, illustrations, graffiti and photography are reproduced by digital print or hand-painted directly onto the bags. Each bag is tagged with an insight into the work and background of the artist – thereby enabling wearers to engage directly with the artwork and spread the word about the artists involved.

Khula came to life when our founder Moniek van Erven moved from Amsterdam to Johannesburg and fell in love with its rhythm, diversity and people. She felt the need and desire to give a voice to the alternative narrative expressed in the artworks of South African artists – providing a canvas for their work, a ‘voice’ for their stories and providing additional income for the artists with an honest share for the sale of each bag.

In discovering the South African art scene, she found a country struggling to reconcile a tumultuous past with an uncertain future, yet bursting with potential and hope – yet a lack of platform for the voices she encountered to engage a larger worldwide audience. As an experienced social entrepreneur she seized the opportunity and got to work.