Behind the Hat Artwork

Lerato Motau lives on Vilakazi Street in Soweto, the historical significance of which has inspired her and features in some of her work. Motau has had two solo exhibitions and her work has featured in a number of group exhibitions. Internationally, she was represented in exhibitions that showed in Beijing, China, Australia, Canada, India, London, Switzerland Austria and Finland. Despite a major learning barrier of dyslexia, Motau has obtained a Fine Arts and Teaching - Diploma from the Johannesburg Art Foundation in 1998. In 2004 she received an - NQ4 Certificate in Craft Enterprise from the Craft Council. In 2005, she qualified with an NQF4 Certificate in Basic Embroidery and also attended a handmade feltmaking workshop in the same year. Motau was the resident artist at the Greatmore Studios in Cape Town from September to November 2007. Her work is features in a number of corporate collections including; Nando’s UK, Absa, Pikit-Up, SA Breweries and Equity Africa in Jhb, First National Bank (FNB) as well as DBSA Deotswana in Botswana. Public Commissions include an embroidered public artwork for the Vaal Campus of the North-West University, a 17m Hand Embroidery at the Leonardo Hotel in Sandton, a BRT Station in Maraisburg, Johannesburg completed in 2011 and a public artwork situated on the corner of Vilakzi and Makgete Streets in Orlando West, completed in 2010 for the Vilakazi Street Development Project, all of which are in South Africa.