ANNA and Latitudes, two female-centric South African brands, have joined forces to create an exciting new art award that aims to discover, recognise and nurture a new generation of women artists in South Africa. August saw the announcement of this year’s winner, Lerato Nkosi, who was chosen from 12 finalists.
Born in 1993 in Mpumalanga, Lerato now lives and works in Johannesburg. Drawing from her experiences as a young girl, she has developed a dynamic practice that examines the intricacies of existing in the world as a woman. Her work employs ink and stamps as vital, organic, multifaceted materials.
For Lerato, ink and stamps are mediums that stain and certify any surface they come into contact with, changing it forever. Lerato’s entry for the ANNA Award featured words inspired by her reading the book All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks: ‘The book held special resonance for me because of its reference to the author’s upbringing, and the values that developed out of her experiences,’ Lerato says.
In the same way, Lerato thinks about the resilience that she was gifted through her own upbringing, and how this helped her grow into the person she is today.
See all 12 finalists and read more at latitudes.online/anna-award.
