Encountering art unexpectedly can be a powerful moment. Sometimes it meets us exactly where we are, even at a gathering, on a bottle of wine.
Making contemporary art accessible is not only about bringing more people into art-filled spaces but finding more occasions for art to meet people in their everyday lives. A thoughtful gift can introduce someone to an artist they may never have discovered, sparking a conversation before the cork is even pulled.
At Spier Wine Farm, contemporary South African art forms part of everyday life on the farm, with permanent installations, exhibitions and artworks from the Creative Block programme available for purchase. This long-standing connection to the arts has inspired a limited-edition gifting collection featuring the work of Southern African artists across a selection of bottle wraps and gift boxes.
The collection includes bottle wraps featuring the artwork of self-taught South African artist Paula Dubois, titled Swartberg & Rigger 4. Inspired by the dramatic Swartberg Pass, Paula’s flowing inkwork explores the relationship between humans and the natural world. Time spent among the ancient rock formations informed the patterns and textures to highlight our relationship with the landscape and our shared connection.
Also featured is Zemba Luzamba’s News of the day explores the memory of being informed of social, political and world news, long before the arrival of AI and the emergence of Generation Android. Born in the Republic of the Congo, Zemba studied Fine Art in Lusaka, Zambia, and moved to South Africa. His paintings interrogate and satirise social and political structures in Africa through bright, bold colours featuring figures framed in specific bar, office, home or undefined settings.
The two-bottle gift box features Blue by Tega Tefadzwa. Through works shaped by his own life experiences, Tega creates a universal visual language which invites the viewer to explore the stories of those who face profound challenges in their personal journeys. Blue explores the lived experiences of people migrating and the challenges they face to survive and make a living. The collaboration is an extension of the Creative Block Arts programme, established by the Spier Arts Trust in 2004. The programme supports both emerging and established artists by purchasing artwork created on small, standardised blocks. This initiative provides a reliable income stream for creators while curating a collection for a broader audience. To date, more than 29,000 Creative Blocks have been purchased of which 23000 have been sold to art enthusiasts around the world.
It is an approach that has also inspired one of our best-known wine ranges. The Creative Block wines take its name from the arts programme, but the connection is more than a shared name.
Individual creative blocks artworks can be hung together to form a larger work. In the cellar, our winemakers work in much the same way, combining grape varieties and vineyard blocks to create blends with its own character and identity. In both art and winemaking, the central idea is that the whole can become greater than the sum of its parts.
In art, a single colour changes completely in hue and saturation when blended with another. Equally, a grape varietal holds its own unique character, but when carefully blended, it reveals a depth that neither could achieve alone.
Where to find these gifts:
For a limited period and while stocks last, the gift boxes will be available exclusively at Spier Wine Farm and online, with the art wrapped gifts available from selected local retailers.
