Kate Otten Architects, together with renowned textile artist Frances van Hasselt, was honoured to present threads at La Biennale Architettura 2023 in Venice, curated by Professor Lesley Lokko OBE. This celebrated global platform invites leading voices to explore architecture’s role in shaping our future.
Created in collaboration with The Herd Designs, threads weaves Johannesburg’s layered history into an immersive architectural installation. Van Hasselt’s exquisite mohair tapestry forms the centrepiece – a handwoven cloak mapping the city’s social and geological landscapes, where gold mines, green spaces, and water courses are rendered in texture and colour.
Together with intricate beadwork evoking the night sky above the Vredefort Dome, threads reclaims the narrative of gold as an African artefact. This tactile, collaborative work celebrates craft, materiality, and the making of place, inviting viewers to experience Johannesburg’s story from multiple perspectives.
August 12, 2025
