Notes

Sandile Ashar Mhlongo's paintings articulate his life story - one of personal struggle, strong family ties and friendships. He is inspired by daily experiences and the people that surround him. Mhlongo's work addresses problems prevalent in South African society; problems exacerbated by politicians, corruption and abuse of power.

Mhlongo was born in the township of Langa, and still lives and works in Cape Town. His love of art was kindled and encouraged from a young age, particularly by his father, who is an artist as well. Mhlongo started attending art classes while still in school and furthered his studies at the Community Arts Project (1996) in Woodstock, Cape Town. He has participated in several group exhibitions held by Truworths and the Community Arts Workshop, with his most recent group exhibition being, Siyakubona, held at the Cape Gallery in 2012. New Work, a solo exhibition was held at the AVA Gallery in 2012. Mhlongo participated in the 2017 iteration of the Nando's Creative Exchange developmental programme and exhibition Assemblage at the AVA Gallery in Cape Town.

At Nando’s, we believe that creativity can change lives, which is why we invest in Southern African art and have been doing so since 2001. We know PERi-PERi chicken, and we’ve partnered with Spier Arts Trust because they know art. One of the art initiatives that Spier Arts Trust runs is Creative Block – colourful, contrasting and ever-evolving. The artworks created in this programme are known as Creative Blocks and many are available for sale to the public, presenting an affordable way to begin investing in contemporary Southern African art. Spier Arts Trust selects artists to join the programme. They are invited to interpret blocks of specific sizes in any way they choose, promoting fresh creative exploration among even the most established styles. Artists can use any medium and focus on any subject. Artists submit their artworks at regular intervals to Spier Arts Trust for feedback. The best blocks are curated and purchased. Some of these become part of the Nando’s collection.

Every Block is unique and signed by the artist. While each Creative Block is an artwork on its own, we love seeing the impact when we display many blocks together in our restaurants, creating a larger group work of art. As Spier Arts Trust calls it, “a rich and striking expression of South African art”. There are wonderful examples of Creative Block installations at Nando’s Westfield Stratford and Nando’s Birm Broad Street in the UK. In South Africa, some of our faves include Nando’s Central Kitchen in Gauteng, Nando’s Florida Road in KwaZulu-Natal, and Nando’s Mthatha in the Eastern Cape. Some of the artists who take part in Creative Block go on to join Nando’s artist development programmes, such as Nando’s Creative Exchange. “I feel that the Creative Block is a trustworthy, flexible vehicle for elemental artists yearning for self-expression, participation and mutual aid”, says Ricky Dyaloyi, who first became involved with Nando’s through the programme and has since also taken part in the Nando’s Artists Society and Chicken Run programmes (other programmes within the Nando’s Art Initiative). Today, Ricky is represented by Everard Read in South Africa and in London.