Southern Guild’s co-founders Trevyn and Julian McGowan were honoured with the Icon Award at the inaugural House & Garden SA Designer of the Year (DOTY) Awards this week, held at the Norval Foundation. The duo was recognised for their pioneering work in building a global platform for contemporary art and design from the African continent.

The awards are about honouring and celebrating creatives for their innovative approaches, commitment to sustainability and significant contributions to their respective disciplines. A selection of extraordinary talent across various fields were acknowledged, from architecture and interior design to art and product design.

Thank you to House & Garden and Condé Nast for the honour, and congratulations to all of the other recipients:

Thabisa Mjo (Mash.T Designs), Lulama Wolf, Coot Club, Bruce Fyfe and Kelsey Boyce (Fyfe Boyce Interior Design), Laurie Wiid van Heerden (Wiid Designs), Christa Botha and Carla Erasmus (Bofred), Leon Kluge, Nic Charalambous (Ouzeri) and designers Julia Rutherford and Nikhil Tricam.

ABOUT THE MCGOWANS

Trevyn and Julian McGowan are the co-founders of Southern Guild gallery in Cape Town and Los Angeles, and Design Network Africa, the leading agency for the design and export of handcrafted homeware from Africa. The McGowans have dedicated their careers to elevating the production and presentation of work, empowering makers both creatively and commercially, fostering collaboration and community, and furthering the continent’s contribution to global art and design movements. Having pioneered Africa’s collectible design category, the couple’s broad vision inspired the gallery’s evolution to encompass contemporary art and form important connections with artists in the African diaspora.

Works by Southern Guild artists are in the collections of museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, LACMA, Art Institute of Chicago, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Denver Art Museum, Vitra Museum and National Gallery of Victoria. The McGowans’ pioneering vision earned them places on USA Art + Auction magazine’s ‘POWER 100’ list of the most influential players in the global art world, City Press newspaper’s 100 World Class South Africans and Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business.