"PROMINENT South Africans, including musician Vusi Mahlasela and Dr Carol Hofmeyr, are among those to be honoured by Rhodes University at its annual graduation ceremony.
Hofmeyr will receive an honorary doctorate from the Grahamstown university on Saturday for her significant contribution to upgrading the quality of life of many Eastern Cape people, particularly in the village of Hamburg where she settled in 2000.
Mahlasela will receive his Doctor of Laws honoris causa today.
Hofmeyr founded the Keiskamma Art Project, and then set up the Keiskamma Trust, which aims to attend to a broad range of community needs.
The impact of her work has not only been in the aesthetic and creative arenas, but also in areas that involved generating income, as well as enhancing the health and education of the community.
The project supports about 130 people and has become well known for its impressive works such as the Keiskamma Tapestry (2004), the Keiskamma Altarpiece (2005), the Creation Altarpiece (2007) and African Guernica (2010), as well as the Rhodes University Tapestry (2011).
The art project has been the recipient of various accolades.
The Keiskamma Tapestry, which was bought by Standard Bank and placed on permanent display in parliament, won a Brett Kebble merit award.
The project also won the Gold Award at the FNB Vita Craft Now Exhibition in 2004 and the Chairman's Premier Award from Business and Arts South Africa in 2011.
Mahlasela was honoured for the role he played in helping to unify and contributing to the building of the South African nation as a social commentator and through the medium of popular African music."
(Article from The Herald - 5th April 2013)
