Bombay Sapphire shines light on local content creators' acts of creativity

Chef Nti

Francois Portier managing director West East South Africa for Bicardi

Exemplifying its ongoing mission to Stir Creativity, Bombay Sapphire®, has unveiled the works of over 100 young South African creators who have answered the call to participate in A Million Acts of Creativity. The content pieces were part of over 1,000 User Generated Posts tagging creators or the brand over the past year.

Fittingly held on World Creativity and Innovation Day on Wednesday, the artworks on display are the result of Cape Town based illustrator Russell Abrahams challenging his online community to draw the first thing they saw from a series of shapes he posted on his Instagram feed over the space of three weeks.

Said the visual storyteller behind illustration studio Yay Abe:
“As humans, we are able to break down the simplest shapes and our beautiful and creative brains magically translate these shapes into recognisable images. These doodles showcase just how different and creative we can be.”

Lerato Moloi and Thickleeyonce

Russel Abrahams

Bombay Sapphire, the world’s leading premium gin brand, believes that creativity opens up endless possibilities.

The brand has long championed creativity, collaborating with a host of local and international artists, designers and architects including knitwear genius Laduma Ngxokolo of Maxhosa and Thomas Heatherwick, who designed the iconic Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town and Bombay Sapphire’S gin distillery in Hampshire, England.

A Million Acts of Creativity takes its cue from Bombay Sapphire’S Stir Creativity campaign to encourage everyone to engage with their creativity and unlock their creative potential.

François Portier, managing director, West, East & South Africa for Bacardi said:
“We know that creativity is a force which stirs within all of us. A Million Acts of Creativity is our response to a survey which showed that 97% of South Africans wished they could be more creative. The results on display are proof that all we need is an opportunity to explore our passions and our abilities.”

The event saw an artistic crowd participate in a creative hackathon to highlight water scarcity.

Guests included Bombay Sapphire cultural leaders Lesego Legobane (aka Thickleeyonce), Chef Funi and Chef Nti Ramaboa, singer Bianca Le Grange, visual artist Seth Pimentel (aka African Ginger) and Bombay Sapphire content creators Tamara Moeng, John Baloyi, Cantara Farouk, Francesco Mbele, Chelsea Keta (SlimGirlSupreme), Nkuli Khanyile and Qondile Dlamini.

Meanwhile, Cameron Hawkins, Sub-Sahara Brand ambassador at Bacardi, and the team from Thirst Bar Services demonstrated how Bombay Sapphire provides the perfect canvas for creating cocktails.

To cap off the day, award winning TV personality and DJ Lerato Kganyago and visionary muso Zakes Bantwini held a virtual chat which was live streamed on Instagram.

To view the Million Acts of Creativity artworks curated by Russell Abrahams into an online zine, you can check out the highlights tab on the @aya_abe Instagram feed.

For further information about Bombay Sapphire and Stir Creativity, visit www.bombaysapphire.com (you need to be 18 or older to access the site).