Bernice Mannie

She is part of the Design Indaba Emerging Creative Class of 2020 program. With not much spotlight as an emerging artist, Zoleka the young poet has had her poetry published with Outcast Magazine, Button Poetry, Plants & Poetry Journal, Active Muse Journal, and articles published with Heart of Alpha Magazine and a featured article in the Street Culture Code site. Her most celebrated project is 'Talk Like A Painting, a poetry book written and self-published in April 2019 but she is currently working on more collections.

She is currently working on "Let it be Tragic" which will be published in the coming year or two. Mannie is presently completing her Diploma in ICT and App Development at the
University of Mpumalanga. Some of her projects include the digital series "YOU CAN'T HAVE YOUR ART BACK", "IMPHEPHO" and “DECOR YOURSELF” ”which are inspired
by African masks, ancestral blood, and black/melanin royalty.
Bernice sees herself as living in the abstract wildlife of her existence and resists anything that dehumanizes her melanin
identity. Passionate about art, indigenous knowledge, literature, gender equality, youth and childhood development, mental health, sustainability, and intellectual disability sports.

The narrative of her work is inspired by the relationships she has with people and the intercultural dialogues which exist within these relationships. Mannie describes her work as incredibly mystical and purely focuses on the similarities and energies of human nature, intimacy, and healing.