WATCH | Visual artist Hoko finds herself in Joyce Banda

When visual artist Nomvula Hoko began researching former Malawian president Joyce Banda, she did not expect to find so much of herself in the woman she had been chosen to immortalise.

Hoko was among 14 SA artists selected for Portraits of Power, a landmark international exhibition that opened this month at the Union Buildings Amphitheatre in Pretoria.

Co-hosted by the presidency of SA and the Charlotte Mannya-Maxeke Institute, the cultural diplomacy initiative brought together portraits of 19 iconic global women leaders.

Hoko was commissioned to paint Banda, Malawi’s former president, and began researching her life and work.

“I was honoured to be selected by the country that selected me, the Republic of Malawi, and to be given the honour of Dr Joyce Banda,” she said.

What stood out for Hoko was Banda’s commitment to young people and women, particularly through education and giving back to her country.

“When I came across a video on YouTube of what she’s been doing … she tried her best to actually build young people, young women, through education and giving back to her country,” she said.

“I felt like I saw myself in her because I’ve also not been an artist only,” Hoko said.

Her own journey has included teaching and volunteering in schools, something she believes is connected to a larger sense of purpose.

“When you are called to do something for the world, you can never do just one thing, but you need to change other people’s lives,” she said.

For Hoko, the connection between herself and Banda went beyond their individual careers.

“I find it as if we are the recognition of the same woman, just in a different purpose and in different years, and we’re doing this impact over and over again,” she said.

Her own path to becoming an artist, however, was far from easy.

After matriculating in 2014, Hoko stepped away from the industry and considered pursuing other work.

She eventually returned to the arts, convinced that she could not ignore what she describes as her calling.

Her practice explores spirituality and indigenous knowledge, and she says her approach to art is deeply connected to how she understands her place in the world.

“Everything I do, I do it because I rethink and think, plan and try to involve myself spiritually. Because even before that I had to keep explaining to them [ancestors] what I was doing because they didn’t understand it, that I still needed to put bread on that table.”

Through her company, Canva City, Hoko works with people across different provinces and has taken on a female mentee.

She believes women artists need more opportunities and is determined to help create some of them herself.

“Certain opportunities don’t actually give female artists the platform,” she said.

Hoko said she understands the importance of having someone open a door for you because she experienced it herself.

“I know I’ve struggled, and someone gave me an opportunity to become who I am. I can also give it back to you to actually build yourself around it,” she said.

Her commitment to giving back has also taken her into schools. While teaching grade 8 and 9 pupils at Jeppe High School for Girls, she found herself answering questions about art, careers and what comes after matriculation.

“I think this is also a calling, and it’s important to give back and make some impact on other people,” she said.

For Hoko, that responsibility also extends to preserving the history of African artists, particularly women whose contributions have not always received the recognition they deserve.

“There are a lot of people who draw but don’t understand the history. We need to document. People need us.

“It’s a calling that we need to do something about female artists and give opportunities to those who require it,” she said.