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About us
Wona Collective is a feminist women-led arts collective, communications consultancy and design agency based in Lilongwe Malawi. Our vision as Wona is to have more documented stories of Malawians created by Malawians, particularly stories that are often erased or left untold: the stories of women and marginalised groups. To fulfil our vision, we use arts and media to create and curate this lost content.
OUR STORY
The series of fortunate events that established the collective.
Lerato Honde is a visual artist with a degree in Architecture. In 2019, she was exhibiting some of her work in Lilongwe.
Alinafe Malonje is a writer and storyteller with a degree in Economics and International Relations. in 2019 she visited Lerato Honde’s exhibition.
It was at this exhibition that the two spoke about their passions, their creative goals, the work of women in art and history, Malawi’s creative industry and their place in it. Through long conversations about everything and nothing, they began to realise how their crafts can complement each other, all the stories they could tell together, and the exciting opportunity they had in front of them.
A few months later they got to work on their first collaborative project, Seasons: an animated poetry collection. It was with this project that they realised a number of things:
- The power of collaboration
- The power of art to tell impactful stories.
- The lack of other women and marginalised groups in Malawi’s creative industry.
- The lack of documentation of stories, histories and lived experiences of Malawi’s women and marginalised groups
THE FOUNDERS
The women who, through a series of fortunate events, established the collective.
Lerato Honde
Co-Founder, Visual Artist, Designer
Lerato is a storyteller and designer specializing in visual arts, communications, and spatial design. Her work explores themes such as cross-cultural hybridity, identity, and self-worth.
ALINAFE MALONJE
Co-Founder, Writer, Designer
Alinafe Malonje is a designer and published writer. She works to assure that all her work, creative and otherwise, has a long-term sustainable impact.
THE TEAM
Our team of creative consultants and contributors
NKHUWEMI KUMWENDA
Illustrator, Visual Artist
Nkhuwemi is a curious multidisciplinary artist who uses her skills to create interesting and impactful illustrations.
GLORIA DZANJALIMODZI
Writer, Resource Mobilization Lead
Gloria is a writer, emerging feminist researcher, economic justice advocate and recovering perfectionist. She is fiercely passionate about social justice and sustainable development.
THEODORA
KHOFI
Writer, Strategic Communications Lead
Theodora is a writer and researcher, with a background in psychology and global health. Her interests are in utilising data-driven storytelling to impact development policy, programming and practices.