Who We Are

We would welcome more design or fine art students/graduates to join us at Our Workshop. We’ve had a number of international interns, but in line with our purpose to create a more intercultural and interracial shared space, we could really use more people from the ‘leafy suburbs’ as members in Langa: more cars, more laptops in the group.

It’s an amazing opportunity for young designers and artists to learn more about their own city.

Email us at ourworkshopct@gmail.com

“Being a team member of Our Workshop since January 2019 has been the greatest privilege. As somebody who finds intrinsic value in human interaction and connection, I really appreciate how Our Workshop has introduced me to some special friends and fellow colleagues. Through these relationships, as well as the many Our Workshop projects in which I was included, I have learnt much in terms of teamwork skills, ideation, project management, sharing resources and knowledge, and true creative collaboration/making. Not only this though: through Our Workshop and its team members, I have been given a valuable introduction to a community and area of Cape Town which would have otherwise been very unfamiliar and unapproachable to me. In this way I have learnt much about the immense diversity and disparity of the South African socio-economic climate, and the importance of creating friendships and alliances between people/organizations of differing life experiences, languages, cultures, locations, races, etc. I feel that the OW philosophy, its projects and especially its people have inspired me and challenged me to think creatively and critically about our fractured society, and how artistic, collaborative work can make a small (but important) step in healing it.”

– Ella Petousis, Our Workshop member and intern

“I volunteered for Our Workshop in 2017 and 2018. Initially, I popped into Guga S’thebe with a friend to see what the workshop was about and, basically, stayed for two years. My greatest joy was spending time with other makers. Having a creative space to bounce ideas around, be supported, and be involved in varied projects was an incredible opportunity and meant that we were constantly not only planning and designing but doing. The care and innovation with which Our Workshop members respond to the world around them fed my own creativity and made for an environment in which we really could work together to solve problems, play, and make things. As an artist of privilege in South Africa, it is crucial for me to move outside my bubble. Our Workshop is a grounded, inventive, and imaginative space and I grew immensely as an artist and a maker while I worked there. I would encourage anyone with a creative streak who has something they can offer (it might be expertise, time, or the resources to help with logistical hurdles) to check in with the team and see if they have any projects you can join..”

– Gina van der ploeg, Our Workshop member and intern