By Chief Kagiso Molema

Alice Mfundisi is the flower of Swellendam, and an outlier if I have met one. She is an African woman who owns an art gallery – what a peculiar sight.
Her fire for the art world was sparked by her stay in Franschhoek and travelling her home province, the Western Cape. Hers is a journey of trust and faith. Reflecting on her path, Alice becomes emotional and drops a tear as she recalls the highs and lows that have defined her life. Her story inspires not only faith in God, but also in the enduring kindness of humanity.
Alice shouldn’t be where she is today. Her background condemns her to a life of unappreciated servitude, just as millions of other gifted and talented South Africans are forced by circumstances to work lowly jobs in the service industry. Born to farm labourer parents on a farm outside of Swellendam, Alice began her working life as a sculler in a restaurant. She was later promoted to work in the kitchen, and then to waiter and then finally to manager. Her positive attitude on the job and the willingness to learn was thankfully recognised by her then employers who gave her a chance to lift herself up. No opportunity is too small for anyone willing to rise, Alice seized all those opportunities to the max.
Last year Alice took a leap of faith when she decided to take the plunge and open her business, Anami Art Gallery, located on the “golden mile of Swellendam” – Swellengrebel street. She speaks with gratitude and overwhelming support she has received from fellow businesswomen in Swellendam. She honours the late Itha Taljaard who showed her love and support by even purchasing artwork in her gallery. Another person who stood out in encouraging and supporting her is owner of De Kloof Luxury Estate Hotel, Marjolein Von Mourik. It is such people, and many others really, who would consistently check in on her and offer her business moral support. For Alice, this sisterhood of businesswomen transcends race. She notes that they do not see her as a black woman but rather purely as a fellow businesswoman. Their solidarity arrived at a time when she was used to not having support because she has been a single mother most of her adult life. This journey has profoundly brought her closer to God.
Sidenote: If you think about it, women form the backbone of commerce in Swellendam because most establishments in Swellendam are owned by women.
When I asked her how she curates the art in her gallery. She says her focus is local artists, and makes it very clear that by local she means the entire South Africa. That is how large her playground is – proud citizen. The walls of Anami Art Gallery feature pieces of Zwelakhe Ngobese who uses a normal bic blue pen to draw hyper-realistic portraits. The compelling work of a fellow Swellendammer, Melanie Jordaan called Die Sonvanger is a piece that stands out. She also chooses the work based on impact, exhibiting the work of Jan Raats and Dr Willie Bester from Montagu who use recycled plastic water bottles to make elegant art pieces. There are beautiful, embroidered pieces from Mapula Embroideries. Mapula is a women-empowerment project supporting and showcasing the women of Hammanskraal and Winterveld to earn a living.
Alice envisions the next phase of Anami being to co-opt the youth of Railton into the art world. She looks at art made with waste material and says there is no reason for people to wallow in poverty when they could use the material around them to be creative, resourceful and make a living. She is also looking into venturing back into hospitality, her first love, and the industry where she cut her teeth as a businesswoman in managerial positions.

Sis A, as my wife and I call her, bemoans the lack of trained hospitality staff in Swellendam so she would like to train the local service staff in hospitality. “There are many opportunities left on the table by young people in the hospitality sector” she pointed out. It would be interesting how she combines the art gallery world with hospitality because to her they do intersect.
When asked about her hopes for Swellendam, Alice is optimistic. She says, Swellendam occupies a fantastic location between Cape Town and George. With proper marketing Swellendam could become a prime tourist destination. She hopes that the stakeholders in tourism could work together to form a marketing agency which will properly market Swellendam. If they could have meetings of stakeholders at least once a month that would move the sector forward tremendously.

The name Anami is Xhosa for “they are with me”. The “they” in the name refers to the people of the Majola clan from which she descends, her ancestors. The full name in Xhosa is amajola anami. Well, it is not only her people that are with her. The sisterhood of business in Swellendam is with her. The people in general, young and old alike, are with her. The Drostdy Museum, which she calls the heart of the community and where her gallery is located, is also with her. Many art lovers from across the globe are also with you Jola. Your people are proud of you because you have broken through the boundaries and shattered generational chains. Your ceiling will be the foundation that your children will build upon.

The last question I ask my interview subjects is, who do you think I should speak to next? She suggested I speak to the owners of Passion for Nurture Spa. The loyalty to the sisterhood of commerce is strong with this one.