In this interview I’m speaking with South African sculptor and installation artist Snelihle Maphumulo, an extraordinary young creative whose work is deeply rooted in both her Zulu heritage and her Christian faith.
Snelihle was born and raised in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, and she studied Fine Art, Sculpture, and Visual Culture at Rhodes University. What makes her work so unique is the material she chooses to work with: sheep hide.
In Zulu tradition, hide carries cultural significance—it's connected to ceremonies, identity, and ancestral heritage. But for Snelihle, the sheep hide also has a powerful spiritual meaning. It represents the biblical idea of God as the Shepherd and humanity as the sheep under His care.
Through her sculptures and installations, she uses the hide to express the themes of protection, guidance, and faith. Her artworks often create quiet, contemplative spaces that invite you to reflect on the relationship between the physical material and the spiritual symbolism behind it.
What I love about her practice is how she brings together two worlds—her cultural roots and her personal Christian belief—without separating them. Instead, she weaves them into a conversation, showing how tradition and faith can coexist and inform each other in beautiful and unexpected ways.
In this interview, Snelihle shares how she transforms this traditional material into a message of hope, vulnerability, and divine connection. Her work is not just about sculpture—it’s about storytelling, identity, and the deep relationship between culture and spirituality.
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In this interview I’m speaking with South African sculptor and installation artist Snelihle Maphumulo, an extraordinary young creative whose work is deeply rooted in both her Zulu heritage and her Christian faith.
Snelihle was born and raised in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, and she studied Fine Art, Sculpture, and Visual Culture at Rhodes University. What makes her work so unique is the material she chooses to work with: sheep hide.
In Zulu tradition, hide carries cultural significance—it's connected to ceremonies, identity, and ancestral heritage. But for Snelihle, the sheep hide also has a powerful spiritual meaning. It represents the biblical idea of God as the Shepherd and humanity as the sheep under His care.
Through her sculptures and installations, she uses the hide to express the themes of protection, guidance, and faith. Her artworks often create quiet, contemplative spaces that invite you to reflect on the relationship between the physical material and the spiritual symbolism behind it.
What I love about her practice is how she brings together two worlds—her cultural roots and her personal Christian belief—without separating them. Instead, she weaves them into a conversation, showing how tradition and faith can coexist and inform each other in beautiful and unexpected ways.
In this interview, Snelihle shares how she transforms this traditional material into a message of hope, vulnerability, and divine connection. Her work is not just about sculpture—it’s about storytelling, identity, and the deep relationship between culture and spirituality.
Why Neuroarts Matters: Bama Lutes Deal on Arts, Science & Community
Petra Sittig
56 minutes 50 seconds
2 months ago
Why Neuroarts Matters: Bama Lutes Deal on Arts, Science & Community
In this episode, I sit down with Bama Lutes Deal, a musicologist, consultant, and passionate advocate for the arts, whose journey has taken her across disciplines—bridging music, culture, business, science, and technology.
Bama’s story begins with her deep love of music and her training as a musicologist, where she studied music not only as sound, but as a cultural and historical force that shapes our lives. From there, she built a career that spans management consulting, writing, arts management, higher education, and community development. What ties all of this together is her ability to combine creative and critical thinking to solve complex challenges.
Today, Bama is deeply involved in the emerging field of neuroarts—a place where science, the arts, and technology meet. As a consultant for the Palm Beach County Neuroarts Collaborative, she is helping map out local partners, programs, and research to strengthen how the arts support health and well-being in South Florida. In our conversation, she takes time to expand on what neuroarts really means, and why it is so important for the future of health, education, and society.
But Bama’s passion doesn’t stop at theory and research—she is also an advocate for artists, helping them share their work, find ways to market themselves, and build supportive networks within their communities. She reminds us that the arts are not just “nice to have,” but essential to who we are as human beings. We also talk about the power of nature and aesthetics, and how both play a vital role in healing and inspiring us.
Bama’s insights remind us that when creativity, science, and community come together, we open doors to healthier, more connected, and more beautiful ways of living.
Petra Sittig
In this interview I’m speaking with South African sculptor and installation artist Snelihle Maphumulo, an extraordinary young creative whose work is deeply rooted in both her Zulu heritage and her Christian faith.
Snelihle was born and raised in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, and she studied Fine Art, Sculpture, and Visual Culture at Rhodes University. What makes her work so unique is the material she chooses to work with: sheep hide.
In Zulu tradition, hide carries cultural significance—it's connected to ceremonies, identity, and ancestral heritage. But for Snelihle, the sheep hide also has a powerful spiritual meaning. It represents the biblical idea of God as the Shepherd and humanity as the sheep under His care.
Through her sculptures and installations, she uses the hide to express the themes of protection, guidance, and faith. Her artworks often create quiet, contemplative spaces that invite you to reflect on the relationship between the physical material and the spiritual symbolism behind it.
What I love about her practice is how she brings together two worlds—her cultural roots and her personal Christian belief—without separating them. Instead, she weaves them into a conversation, showing how tradition and faith can coexist and inform each other in beautiful and unexpected ways.
In this interview, Snelihle shares how she transforms this traditional material into a message of hope, vulnerability, and divine connection. Her work is not just about sculpture—it’s about storytelling, identity, and the deep relationship between culture and spirituality.