Southern Guild has won the Innovation Award at the 2022 BASA (Business and Art South Africa) awards. In collaboration with BMW South Africa, Southern Guild was awarded the honour for the making of RICH magazine. The publication features exclusively original content detailing the life, art and creative process of the magazine’s eponymous artist, Rich Mnisi. The one-off magazine was published in conjunction with the unveiling of Mnisi’s first solo exhibition of collectible furniture with Southern Guild, titled Nyoka.

The magazine consists of 132 pages of specially commissioned work by some of South Africa’s leading Black creatives including Trevor Stuurman, Bradley Bdlovu, Kholeka Kumalo, Khensani Mohlatlole and Thando Ndabezitha. In an audacious acknowledgement of his ‘influencer’ status, Rich Mnisi is both the editor and subject.

RICH moves beyond the traditional medium of print magazines, it is a vibrant vehicle for storytelling, an authentic engagement with Mnisi’s Tsonga heritage and a catalyst for unique creative production. The publication demonstrates Southern Guild’s commitment to nurturing its artists and provoking new, genre-defying art forms.