Destiny pushes envelope by putting Ndebele artist gogo Esther Mahlangu, 81, on its cover

Ndebele artist Esther Mahlangu’s work is being celebrated in the latest issue of Destiny magazine.

Mahlangu has recently collaborated with BMW in a lucrative deal in which her artwork is used in the ‘art car’ luxury 7 series model. Mahlangu has also worked with an alcohol brand and her work has been honoured internationally.

According to South Africa.net, Esther Mahlangu has exhibited locally and abroad in Australia, America, Japan and in many European countries, and was also awarded the Order of Ikhamanga in Silver by the South African presidency for her contribution to the development of indigenous Ndebele arts.

Khanyi Dhlomo, publisher of Destiny magazine, posted on Instagram that Mahlangu’s legacy needed to be honoured.

“Africa you are Beautiful. Africa you are Powerful. Africa you are the Cradle of Humankind. Africa you are the Now. Africa you are the Future. Believe it. Embrace it. Celebrate it. Few embody this view better than Mama Esther Mahlangu cover star of the September #HeritageIssue of @destinyconnect on sale from tomorrow.

“We salute her for living her heritage with such dignity, authenticity, love and tenacity. We salute her for eloquently demonstrating that so long as we can breathe we can imagine. Through our imagination we can create a magnificent reality. What an inspiring icon she is. May she continue to rise and stir up in all of us a deeper love for our heritage, art and creativity. Halala Mama Esther.”

On Twitter, the cover was trending.