For Lorato Botshabelo, a 25-year-old self-taught multimedia visual artist from Mahalapye, the story began with chalk and a classroom board in her primary school days. Raised in Selebi-Phikwe, she first discovered her knack for drawing when an Agriculture teacher would ask her to sketch farm implements for classmates. It was a quiet beginning, but one that hinted at the bold, creative path she would later pursue. “I never got the chance to take art seriously in junior and senior school. But I was always that person helping others in their art classes. I’ve always been drawn to creating. I think it’s just in me,” she shared in an interview with Arts&Culture. Her journey into art formally began in 2021 with tie-and-dye merchandise. By 2023, she was painting and exploring graphic design. A breakthrough moment came when she exhibited her piece, Phases, at the National Museum in November that year.
The artwork, inspired by the moon’s cyclical phases, struck a deep chord with viewers. “Phases captured my journey. It was about how we all go through moments of emptiness and fullness, just like the moon. The feedback showed me that I wasn’t just painting, I was connecting,” she said.
