During Festival, Church Square becomes something of a gallery for aspiring and accomplished artists. Natja Mulunda falls into the latter category.
During Festival, Church Square becomes something of a gallery for aspiring and accomplished artists. Natja Mulunda falls into the latter category.
Mulunda’s stall is a colourful mix of hand painted fabrics, wooden sculptures, and copper bangles. The pride and glory of his offerings, however, is the copper plate art he sells at a starting price of R200. This art takes him up to a week to make.
Mulunda learnt how to make copper plate art in Congo, his home country. He describes how he and his friends would go to different homes to ask about buying copper pipes, because copper companies sold it at a price he couldn’t afford.
Mulunda has had a stall at the National Arts Festival every year since 2007, and plans to return next year. But for him, Festival’s glory years have long since faded.
“Now lots of people want Chinese goods. They can buy them for cheap. My things are not that cheap,” Mulunda says. His art ranges from R200 to R1 000.
Mulunda’s passion for making copper art exceeds his frustration at his competitive Chinese market.
“I’ve never [had to work for someone else]in my life” Mulunda laughed, “I prefer to do my own work. I love what I do.
