Fak’ugesi Festival #POWERTOTHEPIXEL
Annual Poster Competition

Since 2015 led by Vincent Truter in developing the Fak’ugesi identity, Fak’ugesi African Digital Innovation Festival has worked with Southern African illustrators to bring our annual festival theme to life.

In 2018 we opened up to up and coming Digital Illustrators through an open call competition. In this we have met some extraordinary talent that we may not have encountered before.

2019 #OwnYourForce Poster

2019
#OwnYourForce
by Leigh Le Roux

Download the Artvive App and point it at the 2019 poster image Google Play Store or Apple App Store.

2018 #TapYourAfroSourceCode Poster

2018
#TapYourAfroSourceCode
by Sonwabo Vaylisa

2020 #POWERTOTHEPIXEL

In 2020 our them #PowerToThePixel we decided to highlight some very raw talent, choosing three finalists at the very beginnings of their careers.

2020 #POWERTOTHEPIXEL Poster

2020 #PowerToThePixel WINNER by Tolo LikaKheswa

Tolo LikaKheswa

#PowerToThePixel Motivation: My name is Tolo LikaKheswa and I am a visual artist from King Williams Town that utilises both digital and traditional methods of producing work for public murals and private commission. For this year's theme of the festival in line with the poster brief I focussed on the relationship between Art and Power. The pixel being a constant unit of how we pursue shape and colour in both digital and physical landscapes.

Art can be projected over many screens in the daily use of cellular and wireless devices. Technology gave the pixel the power to define an artwork's dimensions on a virtual reality that affects the physical in some way.

Power here also symbolizes the current or charge that keeps the circuit running for a pixel to bring attention to the central image on the screen hence the stylus on the hand above the screen is a Lightning bolt. Art holds the power of interpreting thoughts into visual representations that can be replicated on many mediums thus drawing the viewer's eye to the focal point of reference.

Here the pixel is drawing focus on Africa, the continent. In a world fastly moving towards a technological revolution, the pixel is an important factor in how we reflect, record and share information in the digital age. The power of the continent is also dependent on its technological advances in response to the challenges posed by the times. Innovations that incorporate both the richness of the continent which is rooted in its natural resources and the mental wealth driving its progression towards a productive social and financial economy. That is why the microchips around the tablet are green.I am aware of the fact that my submission is not setup as a vector image but my passion for creating overrides my circumstantial position, for this I apologise. I believe in development and strive to make progress gathering fundamentals that help in growing my skills in the trade and also play a part in assisting creatives at acquiring the necessary tools to improve their craft and support their family and community.

More about: Tolo LikaKheswa

#PowerToThePixel
Runner Up

Runner Up Poster

Keorapetse Tyrone Distele

#PowerToThePixel Motivation: What motivated me to create this illustration is well, the slogan #PowerToThePixel, to me that slogan helps express how indeed the power of the smallest unit. The Pixel has changed our lives as Creatives known and unknown all over the world as we knowit. This little square of colour has given us a gift of a child’s imagination and with that our wildest creations have since than digitally manifested to assist in giving the world an image and character which is all thanks to the Pixels.

As for the illustration I thought an image of a young African girl would best capture the feel of the youth and later generations as ‘Masters of Pixels’ in tune with their Roots, Culture and Technology. With the chance to reimagine themselves as creatives, innovators and inventors through Pixels. The image of a young girl also symbolises how Pixels have allowed us the ability to tap into our inner child to produce masterpieces with childish passion. We have gotten far as Africans on half a visionall seen though the eye of reality, all we need now is to unlock our imaginative eye and compete with the world African style, and Pixels will be our spirit bomb of explosive creative showcase to the world.

More about: Keorapetse Tyrone Distele

Runner Up Poster

Quentine Nyoni

#PowerToThePixel Motivation: I opted to use the skyline of the ghetto “Kasi” as the design element that is the foundation. The ghetto basically represents the People, The creatives, the drive and motive behind the movement. It also includes power lines that are heading towards the top, therefore communicating a powered up people all for one accord. The designer harnessed the colour scheme into a sunset design that is mostly used to communicate Africa.

I incorporated a well known design element of the Fist of power that is gathering up the energy from the people to directly feed the Pixel ,via the plug held firm by the fist of power. The pixel was communicated in a 8bit design style shown at the top of the whole design. Therefore igniting the Pixel, Power to the Pixel.

More about: Quentine Nyoni

#PowerToThePixel
Shortlisted Posters

Shortlisted Poster