FRATPACKER WORLD.

REFRAMING HOW WE LOOK AT ART

When we think of art, especially visual art, the first thing our mind goes to is old white European men from before our time. This is because of what history has shown us or rather I say what history they’ve wanted to show us when it comes to visual arts. African artists have been washed out and sidelined from the art world for centuries and more specifically Africa women but in this modern age we are seeing more and more African & women artists being portrayed and represented in this industry. This is because these marginalised artists have decided to take a stand and take the recognition and respect that they’ve worked hard for and deserve.

One of the artists leading in making this change and making sure that not only is her work being seen but her voice is being heard rooms and that her face is been seen and recognised to ensure that more black women are being represented in the art is Neo ‘Nene’ Mahlangu Having this mindset and firm stand in who she is and what she does, she has been able to use it to position herself in places of influence and power to change this narrative that has surrounded black women and visual artists alike.

Her mindset of always seeing the bigger picture but still being able to attend and pay attention to the small details has helped her shape her own career path and through that she has been able to achieve some hectic and crazy milestones already. She has designed coins for the South African Mint and was named one of Mail & Guardian’s Top 200 Visual Artists in 2020. She has been able to use her social media platforms such as Tik-Tok and YouTube (Rich Kid Aura) to reclaim the power dynamics and where she explores topics such as psychological frameworks, wealth psychology, and cultural critique without the performative nonsense. Currently she finds herself in the tech space working on Apps that feed into the South African culture, community and their needs.

Some of these apps are:
GrooveFund -A digital concert stokvel. With the wave of events, concerts, festivals and international acts coming to South Africa the demand to go is high but the pockets are still low, and this looks to provide a solution for people to still see the life changing experiences.

EasyStokvel – SaaS for stokvel treasurers. In South Africa we know how important and impactful Stokvels have been in many communities but also know the pressures that the treasures in charge are under so making online software that makes it easier to keep track of the finances will be a big relief to many in the country.

Desire Intelligence Engine – A psycho-graphic marketing tool. Everything in 2026 is about selling. Whether it’s yourself, product or business. Learning how to market yourself and gain the position you need in your industry to make a difference and be successful is necessary. In order to do that you need to understand the mindset of your consumers; be they old, new, current or potential; to give you that competitive advantage and better understanding of the market.

Nene has shown that she can do it all and wants to do it all. There’s an abundance of knowledge, wisdom, experience and truth she has to offer and her thirst for more is unquenchable. I could carry on speaking about the brilliance that she is but rather you hear about the brilliance she has to offer straight from Nene, herself. 

INTERIEW WITH NENE

There’s already a lot of stigmas around being a black woman, an artist and social media. How bad does it get when you combine all three and how have you been able to deal with it all?
I think the question is not framed in the way I see the world. To me social media is a medium. Video is a medium. All creative work will be loved or criticised at some point. I think if you are creative long enough, you just learn how to block out the noise and do what you need to do. I just want to get better, at video, at storytelling, at listening to my creative voice. Thank goodness social media has not only opened numerous doors for me, but it’s also given me the opportunity to meet amazing people, challenge my creativity, to have more fun, to share ideas which is the only thing that matters to me at the end of the day. Everything else is just noise.

There is strength you have, of believing in yourself and who you are. Where does your strength come from and how do you replenish it in times of weakness?
My strength comes from feeling viscerally, in my heart, how short 24 hours is and how quickly time flies. That inspires me to put any negative thought to the side and move forward with whatever it is that’s on my plate in that season. In times of weakness I move my body, I dance, I strut, I act silly. That tends to remind me to loosen up and have fun with all of this. Sometimes I meditate, which has been a game changer for me.

Traditional vs digital has been an ongoing debate since the introduction of technology. Do you have a preferred? If and if not, why?
It’s seasonal, I had a 6–7-year streak leaning heavily into the analog via my paintings, from self-taught to designing coins and travelling & exhibiting around the world, now I’m in a season where I’m leaning heavily into the digital space through coding, Youtube and Tiktok. I genuinely find pleasure in learning new things and progressively getting better at them, that’s where I find my joy. Being obsessed is my default setting, I just love the journey of sucking at something and then being great at it. Right now, I kinda suck at Youtube, but it won’t be for long.

How are you able to merge the two worlds of traditional and digital to use to your advantage, engage with your community and showcase/sell your art and services?
For someone with an obsessive personality, where if I’m locked into the pursuit of a goal, I shut the world out, knowing that recording a 30 second Tiktok in my room can reach 100k people, is a life saver. Thank goodness the algorithms do most of the heavy lifting for me. It’s a no-brainer to incorporate the digital space with what I do. I would’ve had it hard if social media didn’t exist.

While we are on technology what are your thoughts on AI mainly being used and developed in the art community and not as much in other sectors?
AI is being used heavily in finance, tech, healthcare, etc. There are AIs being trained to trade in the stock market. Agents are creating NFTS and selling them amongst each other, making agents earn their own money. AI is solving complex problems in mathematics and physics, problems that haven’t been solved in 50 years. The disruption is happening everywhere, not just the arts.

At the Cr8tor Con Week Africa panel you had a very interesting and hot take on wanting to work with Elon Musk and I loved your take on it. Please do explain this take for the people who weren’t able to make the panel.
I can’t remember the specifics, but I love it when people have audacious dreams, if it’s in your skillset, why not aim for collaborating with people who are venturing into space. Sometimes creativity deserves alternative spaces to shine, spaces bigger than a stage or a gallery. Why not dream the impossible? Why not take your art to Mars?

At the panel is where I found out more about you and your work. How important is it for South African artists to still use traditional/physical media and platforms to showcase and highlight themselves?
It all depends on that artist’s goals. If your dream audience is the older generation, then sure use traditional media. And if your client is a younger audience then digital would be better. There is no cookie cutter formula to this, it depends on the artist, their work and their goals.

Speaking on South Africa and physical/traditional platforms. What’s more physical than money, plus everyone wants it. How was it working with the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and what did you learn or unlearn about money?
There was a point, during the tour that the Reserve Bank gave us of the Mint, where we were standing in one of the warehouses that store the R5 coins. That one warehouse was as big as an airport hanger, floor to ceiling, shelves were packed end to end, with money. Physical, literal millions were in that one room. And what got me in there were charcoal drawings. That rewired something inside of me. As someone who grew up in a township, who didn’t even know such rooms existed, it just seemed insane that I was in this room, a room most will never see, a room that had literal millions and I, Neo “Nene” Mahlangu, was about to design coins. Something in my core changed after that day. That’s why you can never convince me that anything is not possible. It doesn’t matter how you start, how rough the beginning might be, anything is truly possible.

You speak on wanting to have black women represented on money and more importantly in life. Where are spaces in the art community that you think need more black women representation?
Aren’t black women already everywhere? I see them everywhere. Most of my clients are black women. Most people I do business with are black women. And that has accelerated as the years have gone by. I’m not dismissing history here, but I think black women have done a fantastic job infiltrating the ranks in society, I think we should spend more time celebrating that. 

You recently just did a collaboration with Poetry? What was it and how was it?
It was an in-store live illustration at their flagship store in Sandton for Mother’s Day. It was fun because I made a lot of people smile and allowed them to use my talent to spread love. I created illustrations for the store, but I also made time to create art for adults who wanted to give personalised gifts to their mothers. Last year this time I made an artwork of my mom and gave it to her and saw how that made her feel. It made her cry. It felt great to do the same for other people’s moms.

How is it collaborating with brands and how do you make sure that you don’t lose your voice (let it get drowned out) and still make sure that you and your beliefs are being represented?
Working for brands is always a great creative challenge. If I were to give a suggestion to artists, use that brand collab money and invest it. Do it enough times until you get dividends/passive income. Having that breathing room will help give you the freedom to work only with brands that align with your values. I’ve never worked with a brand that didn’t align with my values and therefore it was always easy to keep my creative vision because we usually saw eye to eye.

What is your dream project right now and what do you think you need to make it happen?
My dream project is to travel and meet 10 people who I think are the most fascinating minds in the world right now. They’d span creative fields, science and maybe spirituality. I’d start with Myha’la (Harper Stern from Industry), then go see Robert Greene, and so on. I’d document it and share it on my Youtube channel.

What would you say to other young black women artists in the space or try to enter the space?
I don’t know if I can give the best advice. Just spot the person whose career you’d like to emulate most and retrace their steps. 

THE END.