Ithandile Sibisi (born 4 November 1986) is a South African

art dealer An art dealer is a person or company that buys and sells works of art, or acts as the intermediary between the buyers and sellers of art. An art dealer in contemporary art typically seeks out various artists to represent, and builds relationsh ...

who owns Sibisi Gallery. She founded Sibisi Gallery in 2012, at the age of 25, making her the first black woman to own an art gallery in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. Sibisi Gallery, also one of the first black female owned galleries in the world becam
part of the establishment
in the contemporary African art space.

Early life and education

Sibisi was born on 4 November 1986 in

Estcourt Estcourt () is a town in the uThukela District of KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. The main economic activity is farming with large bacon and processed food factories situated around the town. The N3 freeway passes close to the town, link ...

, South Africa to Siphiwo Sibisi and Sizeni MaMncube Sibisi. She is the last born of 9 children. Sibisi grew up in

Weenen Weenen (Dutch for "wept") is the second oldest European settlement in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is situated on the banks of the Bushman River. The farms around the town grow vegetables, lucerne, groundnuts, and citrus fruit. History The p ...

, a small town well known for its political and tribal conflicts. Sibisi and her family lived in a village named KwaMtebhelu, surrounded by faction fighting. Sibisi and her family moved to Ladysmith when she was 7-years-old to escape the conflict in

. Sibisi's parents were subsistence

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...

s of

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

and

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

. Sibisi grew up herding cows and tending to the corn fields with her mother, father and siblings. Sibisi credits this time as her best years, and her mother, her best teacher, "she instilled in me a deep profound love for Africa. She told me stories about the history of a glorious continent and taught me to love it and serve it always". Sibisi studied Business Management at the

University of Johannesburg The University of Johannesburg, colloquially known as UJ, is a public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant fundi ...

and dropped out after one year to start her own business in marketing. Sibisi inspired by her rural South African roots started Invogue Concepts at the age of 18, with the aim to propagate African arts and culture. Her aim was to shine a spotlight on African arts and culture, remind Africans of their intrinsic identity by showcasing it to the world.

Career

Sibisi founded her first business, a media house, at the age of 18. Early in her career Sibisi battled to get her media house to take off. She describes this time as a blessing in disguise, "it was character building. I learned to rely on myself, as I was always alone the impossible. I am grateful for this time because it taught me humility." At age 22, Sibisi's career began to take off, when she moved to

Mahikeng Mahikeng ( Tswana for "Place of Rocks"), formerly known as Mafikeng and alternatively known as Mafeking (, ), is the capital city of the North West province of South Africa. Close to South Africa's border with Botswana, Mafikeng is northeast ...

, to consult with various government departments. While working with the

Department of Arts and Culture (South Africa) The Department of Arts and Culture was until 2019 a department of the South African government. It was responsible for promoting, supporting, developing and protecting the arts, culture and heritage of South Africa. The heritage sites, museums a ...

, Sibisi re-discovered her love for contemporary African art. During a 6-month summit in Paris, France, Sibisi made a resolution to open Sibisi Gallery, a contemporary art gallery focused i
contemporary African art
Thandi Sibsi and Justice Albie Sachs

At 25, Sibisi became th
first black woman to own an art gallery in South Africa
when she opene

at th

in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

. In 2015, the company reincorporated into the equity holding company, Sibisi Holdings, an investment art group that garnered her invaluable founder and investor experience. Sibisi is passionate about local economic development. Sibisi Holdings' main focus is the promotion and accessibility of African arts and culture.

Philanthropy and causes

As a cultural activist, Sibisi uses art to advocate for her philanthropic endeavours and responsibilities, to promote the welfare of rural women and girls in South Africa. Sibisi is the founder and director of the Sibisi Foundation. The Injusuthi Project is a Sibisi Foundation initiative which documents the stories of Ukuthwala, the act of forcing young women to enter into wedlock as young as 12-years-old. Ukuthwala is a cultural practice prevalent in

, especially in

KwaZulu Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

and

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

. Being born around this practice, Sibisi saw how this practice devastated families and young victims and has since sought to create awareness around it. Although the practice has been integrated into the Traffic of Persons Act in South Africa, it is still rife in rural communities. As a result of this practice, young women lose the opportunity to get an education, they often find themselves having to grow up living with HIV and AIDS, and become victims of gender-based violence. Sibisi Foundation believes that this practice should not exist in a free and fair

. As an art practitioner Sibisi works closely with artists and

craftspeople An artisan (from , ) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, sculpture, clothing, food ite ...

at the grassroots level assisting in the development of their skills and creating an art market for the commercialization of their works of art. A big part of that involves sustainable development for female artists and crafters from previously disadvantaged backgrounds.

Personal life

Sibisi is a traditionalist and attributes her beliefs to African spirituality,

traditional African religions The beliefs and practices of Demographics of Africa, African people are highly diverse, and include various ethnic religions.Encyclopedia of African Religion (Sage, 2009) Molefi Kete Asante Generally, these traditions are oral tradition, oral rath ...

, to which she advocates.

References
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External links
* * https://news.artnet.com/market/thandi-sibisi-gallery-johannesburg-1897342 https://www.artshelp.com/thandi-sibisi/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KenH26-LG8E {{DEFAULTSORT:Sibisi, Thandi Ithandile Zulu people 1986 births Living people Art dealers Art gallery owners South African art collectors