Philiswa Lila- When Art Becomes Part of the Political Conversation

Philiswa Lila- When Art Becomes Part of the Political Conversation- In Day 1 | Part 1 of my Weavers' Forum 2026 reflections, I explore how art became part of the political conversation through the work of South African multidisciplinary artist, curator and scholar Philiswa Lila.Drawing on her powerful presentation, Behind the Needle, this episode reflects on the politics of making, the value of process over productivity, and how beadwork becomes a language for memory, identity, trauma and collective resistance. It also considers why the metaphor of weaving is central to the Weavers' Forum and what it teaches us about feminist organising, care and transformation.Sometimes the most radical work is not in the finished piece, but in the patient, deliberate act of weaving something new, together.