Mandilakhe Belem

Mandilakhe Belem is a visual artist. The first of three children, he was born in 1992 in Stellenbosch. His parents moved from Willovale in the Eastern Cape and settled in Kayamandi township, where he was brought up. He went to Ikaya Primary School, followed by Kayamandi High School, where he finished matric.

Mandilakhe’s passion for art started in primary school when he drew Dragon Ball Z characters to sell for lunch money. He attended art classes at Kuyasa, where he met art mentors who helped to improve his creative skills.

Mandilakhe is currently employed as a cartoonist and digital painter at a publishing company in Cape Town. He dreams of becoming a sculptor and traditional painter in the years to come.