A year ago, DTK marketing and export manager Ed Beukes began discussing opportunities for a collaboration with Alexa van Tonder, project manager of the 2Blossom Foundation. Soon after, DTK Wines’s Student2Star mentorship programme was born.
The 2Blossom Foundation is an aftercare initiative funded by DTK’s Dutch importer, Intense Wines, to create a safe space where children can express their emotions and creativity after school. This keeps them out of trouble and helps spark their imaginations to envision a better future. The foundation focuses heavily on art, and the venue at DTK provided an ideal space to expose children to the world of art.
Over a period of twelve weeks, three local artists committed their time and resources to introduce five learners in the Breedekloof to the foundations of visual art. The students chosen for the programme, Tlhokomelo Seholoba, Benito Fransman, Ignatius Louw, Jason Visser and Sergio Arendse, were given their first taste of the creative process.
Tlhokomelo Seholoba, one of the young artists who took part in the mentorship programme.
“By bringing children together with local artists, who have been exhibiting with us since 2022, we could give these kids an opportunity to experience an opening night for themselves and see their own work exhibited,” Ed explains. “People can see the students’ work right next to the works of their mentors.”
On opening night, artists Madeleine Du Toit, Charmaine Beukes (Mainka), and Mieke Droomer shared their experiences as Student2Star mentors.
Under Madeleine’s guidance, the students focused on still lifes and the scenic views of the Breedekloof. “We started with a theory session where we focused on the theory of art and composition,” she says. For another session, Madeline brought irises, sunflowers and vases to apply this knowledge to a still life. “It was so inspiring to see how they went about putting together their individual compositions, and how they were figuring everything out. Part of this whole project is to give them that exposure to art and it was an interesting process to witness. They did such a good job.”
Her students progressed to landscapes, painted on location from the Ou Meul Bakkery’s balcony. “With the beautiful environment around us, you don’t need much to be inspired!” Madeleine says.
Charmaine cherished the opportunity to teach kids skills and concepts she only discovered later in life. Her lessons started with basic colour theory and expanded to portraits and facial expressions. “We learned about facial structure and proportions, for instance how five eye-widths fit into a face. I tried to make it as easy as possible. Everything comes back to colour and tonal value which allows you to express in three dimensions.”
DTK marketing and export manager Ed Beukes interviewing artists Madeleine du Toit, Mieke Droomer, and Mainka.
Mieke was the last artist to take on students and took a less structured approach. “This was meant to be fun,” she says. Her preferred method, lino-cut, entails cutting into the medium and covering the relief surfaces in paint to impress a shape, while the cuts remain clear. In preparation she had her students experiment with polystyrene, which engaged their creativity and encouraged exploration. “There was no brief; it was all spontaneous, and the more they got into it, the more amazing it became.”
Despite minor challenges such as language, time, logistics, or simply sitting still, the initiative succeeded in opening minds and hearts. With the children’s creations up against the wall of DTK Wines’ spacious tasting room/gallery, it was easy to see the influence of their mentors, but the first blossoms of their own creativity.
Initiatives such as the Student2Star programme demonstrate how the wine industry can make a rich contribution to their communities by becoming involved in creative and surprising ways.
