5 Minutes with… Nosipho Maketo-van den Bragt
Undercover artist Nosipho Maketo-van den Bragt kept her passion for the arts hidden, practising law before moving into the creative industry. The now co-founder – alongside her husband Rob Van den Bragt – and chief executive officer at Chocolate tribe always had a love of the arts, and it wasn’t long before the people around her noticed it.
With an interest in all things visual effects and animation-based, it’s no surprise that Chocolate Tribe covers this remit in South Africa’s city of Johannesburg, working with the likes of Disney and Netflix to create authentic representations of the region. As a passionate advocate for creating a more inclusive industry for all, alongside the VFX company, Nosipho also created AVIJOZI to educate the younger generations about the wonder of the industry and opportunities within it.
To hear more about carving a unique path into the creative scene, as well as how she believes South Africa’s unfiltered authenticity will continue to be a strength on the global stage, Nosipho speaks to LBB’s Nisna Mahtani.
[Netflx - iNumber Number: Jozi Gold poster]
LBB> You began your career practising law before getting into the creative space. How did that shift come about?
Nosipho> I’ve always been an artist, but an undercover one. I come from one of those families where school was very important and so was choosing the right career and career path. I enjoyed my time working in law because it helped me with being CEO here at Chocolate Tribe, it gave me gravitas and a formal understanding of the business and legal side of things.
My journey however, wasn’t ‘straight and narrow’, I started practising law and actually, the partner of the law firm said to me at the time – and I thought it was a backhanded compliment – “You don’t belong here, you should be in the creative space doing other things.”
At the time, I was offended, but upon reflection, I realised that the way I approached life was more ‘out of the box’ than the way a lot of attorneys look at things from inside the box. So it clicked and like I said, I’ve always been fascinated by writing and loved film, so it’s been about discovering this.
LBB> Would you describe yourself as a creative person and if so, how does this creativity transpire?
Nosipho> I think all of us are born creatives and it’s almost taken out of us, so my journey was discovering the creative child in me and going back to her. At a younger age, I remember I used to draw, I loved fashion – I still do – and it’s not about choosing one or another career. I’m still a legal advisor for Chocolate Tribe, but it also allows me to go into these wonderful places, magical places, in animation and VFX.
I feel like I’m blessed to be able to use my left brain and my right brain as and when I wish to do so. Right now is also a great time for creatives because there is a huge exploration into what creativity is. Years ago, it was quite specific or segmented from the rest of the world, you either had it or didn’t. But now, there’s such an opening and interplay, an interwoven understanding of who’s a creative and what creativity is. For me, I really think that all of us are creative and just need to find something that we’re truly passionate about to express it.
[Netflix - iNumber Number: Jozi Gold teaser]
LBB> Are there any pieces of work which initially made you want to get into the field and can you share a little bit about them?
Nosipho> I’ve always been fascinated by animation. My very first ‘oh my god’ moment was when watching Disney’s ‘The Lion King’. It’s a story which related to me because it was an expression of Africa and music that I knew and resonated with. It featured artists and people whom I was aware of growing up and so it was an impressionable film.
In terms of other mediums, I’m a Van Gogh fan, I love going to art galleries and I enjoy David Griessel's work, where he creates these really detailed pieces using a pen. I sometimes struggle to pin down one thing because I see art everywhere, in artwork but also in writing, speaking and listening to the people around me.
I love reading and so one of the people I admire is Shakespeare, even now I don’t think there’s any author, writer or screenplay artist who has captured the imagination of generations as Shakespeare has. Aldous Huxley is also one of my favourites, very cerebral, deep stuff, and I do spend my time in the world of books.
LBB> Hearing that, are there any specific book recommendations you have at the moment?
Nosipho> Right now, I’m reading ‘The Diary Of A CEO’ by Steven Bartlett. I think what I love about what he writes is that – and this is for both business and one’s life – a lot of books are unnecessarily long and that they could be shortened. I think it’s beautiful because the message is very succinct and clear, the story is very engaging and it’s about learning how to elevate yourself and lean into certain spaces, and expanding beliefs.
Other than that, of late I’ve not been reading fiction, but John Grisham is one of my all-time favourites, that leans into the legal side of my brain. In terms of films, I recently saw ‘Blue Eye Samurai’ which was fantastic, and I’m now watching the Guy Ritchie series ‘The Gentleman’ which is also brilliant.
[Disney - Surf Sangoma official trailer]
LBB> You mentioned that you brought people from all walks of life into the company, part of which comes from the fact that you initially started in a different industry. How has this impacted company culture and the output you create?
Nosipho> The big vision of Chocolate Tribe was to create something that would integrate women, people of colour and previously disadvantaged communities. For me, starting the company, I felt like I found a box of amazing tricks and mesmerising things, and I wanted to show it to everybody. I couldn’t believe people didn’t know about the industry and I wanted to bring people in.
In the bigger context of South Africa, unemployment rates are at almost 45%, mainly among young people. A lot of the youth are sitting at home with degrees, diplomas, and not able to do anything. So for me, the creative space was such a logical and even organic answer to say, ‘Everybody can do something!’ There are so many facets that you can plug into and become part of the ecosystem.
Besides Chocolate Tribe, I also founded AVIJOZI - which is animation and VFX in Josie (Johannesburg) which is the vehicle I’m using to open up the space to people from all walks of life. To share the wonder and the magic of the industry. We go in road shows to schools and some kids can’t believe this is an actual job, so it’s fulfilling and destigmatises the notion that it’s an artsy-fartsy thing, as opposed to a technical space.
LBB> From your perspective, what is South Africa particularly good at within the creative space and how does your work reflect this?
Nosipho> That’s a wonderful question because I think South Africa is at the tip of the iceberg. There’s so much going on and what I love about South African creativity across the board is that it’s very unapologetic – we say it as it is. It’s all very self-assured in identity, and visa vies the global space.
The creative space is very vibrant, colourful and in my view, it will be the next best thing coming out of Africa in the future. We’ll see lots of interesting stories, and infusions of the different cultures and because of all the different cultures, we have this freshness and cornucopia of things.
Not to have a sense of hubris or arrogance, but I think Africa and South Africa in particular, are the next frontiers when it comes to new, fresh stories and making interesting stories which change the narrative of ‘nothing good comes out of Africa’. That’s a huge burden, that people think that it doesn’t have much going for it, so as creatives, we have a responsibility to reflect the current times, and create hope through the stories we tell.
[Disney - Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire trailer]
LBB> What are some of the works that reflect this sense, and make you proud to have worked on them?
Nosipho> We worked on the Disney Anthology ‘Surf Sangoma’, part of ‘Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire’ [exploring 10 futuristic storylines centred around Afrofuturism]. We’re also doing ‘iNumber Number: Jozi Gold’ with Netflix, which features the first CG creature on a Netflix show in Africa. Additionally, 'The Kitchen' won a British Independent Film Award (BIFA) award for visual effects, and we were the VFX company, so that was really big.
What this work does is show the world that Africa is doing it, with or without the international accolades or invitations to big stages. In general, Africans and South Africans are going for that authenticity in representing who we are, and in a world constantly trying to disconnect from what is natural and real, we do the opposite. Creating work about the human, lived experience is writing those untold stories into the narrative.
LBB> You’re passionate about supporting the next generation. For those who want to get into the space and haven’t yet, what advice would you give them?
Nosipho> I’d want to loosely talk about something that Obama said, which revolves around young people gunning for or focused on prestige work, rather than ‘How can I do this better?’, taking something on and crushing it.
That’s the key message, and obviously, I’ve paraphrased what Obama said but there’s a rush to want to lead something or be ‘head’ of a department, rather than pace yourself, learn the process, why things are important and fail forward, to make those mistakes and be able to learn from them.
Learn what animation is, learn what VFX is, talk to people, be conscious and listen in. Keep that energy and enthusiasm, because that’s why companies look for young talent, for that energy and fresh perspective. The other thing is to be more agile, be flexible and learn.
