Hlwele, Nondumiso (1974 - )

One of the women artists from the Bambanani Women’s Group, who went on to work on the Longlife Project, which raised awareness and campaigned for antiretroviral treatment to be made available in the South African public health care sector. The Longlife Project recorded the life stories of the women who were participating in a Medésins Sans Frontières (MSF) pilot antiretroviral programme. Life size body maps were created and published in the book Longlife: Positive HIV Stories together with interviews of people working on the project. Limited edition fine art prints of the original body maps have been exhibited locally and internationally at conferences, fund raising events and in art galleries. The Longlife Project marked a shift from ‘preparing for death' with the creation of memory boxes to 'fighting for life’ as antiretroviral therapy was made available in public clinics and hospitals in late 2003. After the Longlife Project the Bambanani Women’s group went on to be trained as field researchers and worked on surveys conducted by the Centre for Social Science Research at University of Cape Town. Some members of the group have continued to do Memory Book and Body Map workshops and presentations for organisations such as VSO, Tateni Home Based Care, Red Cross, Medésins Sans Frontières and medical students at the University of Cape Town.