Sue Powell Bernstein met Andries Botha in 1986, just at a time when the spirits were “right.” Bernstein, a professional fund-raiser from Evanston whose three children were at last grown and on their own, had recently separated from her husband and was looking for a commitment–“something to get me up in the morning besides my job.”
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Botha, a successful sculptor in his own right, had spent much time in the black townships studying the ancient, rhythmic skills of Zulu rope making, weaving, beading, and knotting. He adapted these techniques in his own huge sculptures and won a considerable reputation in the South African progressive art community. One of his pieces, made of wood, rubber, aluminum, and wire, seems to portray a beast in hot pursuit of an ethereal figure; its title includes the name of the boat that brought the first white settlers to South Africa. It appears the government overlooked or ignored any subversive intent in Botha’s art, because his works have won several national awards, and one stands in a prominent public place in Johannesburg.
But Botha’s hopes of raising the economic level of the artisans depended largely on foreign outlets. With the tense political situation in South Africa, free-spending tourists were hard to find anywhere and were virtually never seen in the black townships.
A bank provided a generous loan, the South African art began to arrive, and Siza, which means “help” in Zulu, opened last fall. To make the operation work, Bernstein quickly learned, she had to offer more than just South African art. So she has gradually expanded Siza’s offerings with Australian aboriginal dream paintings, Guatemalan crafts, Native American art, and various handmade utensils and clothing from Peru, Gambia, and West Africa. “I see the store as a showplace for minority, third world, and undiscovered artists everywhere,” she explains.
