2020/21 Circular Economy

In September 2020, Shade opened Waste Not Want Not, a multi-disciplinary project that acts as an intersection between waste reclaimers, artists and youth to align in a way that is enduring and self-sustaining. It empowers reclaimers to source and be alert to the possibilities and potential of materials.

The project was established as an artist-in-residence where artists were given access to the waste materials library curated by Shade and sourced by reclaimers. The library is archived according to the materials source, compound make-up and the recycling value per kg.

Since its inception, over 200 reclaimers have been to Shade - either in a capacity to sell their materials or for the events setup for them to privately view the artist's ‘waste works’. The project will later result in an exhibition, one at Shade and one fitted to a dumper truck taken to communities of peripheral purveyors that made this project possible - the waste reclaimers.

The final outcome is a waste zine in Sesotho and isiZulu, which will be distributed from the roaming truck. Waste will forever be relevant, giving this project a sense of life-long iterations.

We will also cultivate the inter-relationship between self, community, and environment. Our themes that thread throughout our project have drawn from a collective agreement with the community as to what is important to them.

The outcome is a rich potpourri of ingredients. Origins-Endulo, Yantlukwano - Separation severing, disconnection, land, food peoples, Imbewe -Seeds, Kula’Nan- Grow with me planting and harvesting together, returning home, we belong everywhere.

The creative outputs of these two workshops and conscious themes form the basis for a community-curated exhibition and sharing a meal together, as well as an opportunity to share arts, crafts and stories. The exhibition celebrates the extraordinary grassroots work done to hold communities together during the Covid-19 lockdown, and the shift towards a longer-term sustainable food and care system that values the stories and well-being of those who are part of it, and the natural world that supports them.

The exhibition is the collective work of story, memories of food as a community coming together, for the process of healing in a post-Apartheid South Africa.

We advocate for and educate on the developmental role of a regenerated urban waterway and co-design the technical restoration through green technologies and art. Our objectives are to establish and eco-green art corridor along the river and create economic opportunities in the community. Currently, the river is contaminated with human and industrial waste from the city, making it a health hazard. Additionally, the surrounding areas are vulnerable to flooding due to heavy rains and failing stormwater infrastructure.

The project pilot is to develop a collaborative model for urban watershed and river restoration that is sustainable and replicable at different scales.

We use innovative ways to restore the natural eco-system of the Jukskei River, starting at the river’s daylight point in Lorentzville, Johannesburg.

We facilitate a way of life for communities that enables a change in the way they interact with the natural environment, through artistic expression, skills development, and job creation.

We are co-designing an ecological infrastructure system in the catchment area with innovative participatory Sustainable Urban Draining Systems (SUDS) interventions which harness the short intense downpours before the water reaches the canal.