Life Former cleaner exhibits her valuable art collection Gifts received over the years from established and young artists have become Nonzaliseko Hodini’s nest egg BL PREMIUM

An unusual collection of valuable local art owned by a former cleaner can be seen for the first time at Greatmore Studios in Cape Town. Titled Imbewu, it is the first public showcasing of Nonzaliseko Hodini’s art collection, comprising the works of 30 contemporary artists. Unlike collectors who buy and sell art as a commodity, Hodini received all the works in her collection as gifts from artists she met during her nine years of working at Greatmore. She has decided to share her collection as a way of thanking the artists. Greatmore Art Studios, a noncommercial art centre that houses artist studios, workshops and residencies, offered to fund Hodini’s computer studies in 2009. In exchange she volunteered there for a year. After that, she worked there once a week as a cleaner. Her job description slowly expanded — catering for artists’ workshops, helping artists with orientation and organising outreach programmes — until she was employed full time in 2012. Today she is responsible for ...