Mphaku T-shirt

This one-of-a-kind graphic tee was designed by the learners of Mphaku Primary School + artist Tristan Eaton. When you wear this Mphaku t-shirt you’re not only empowering 288 learners but you’re continuing to grow dreams with Dreamfields in rural communities throughout South Africa. Go head, represent Mphaku + become a part of our team.

 MPHAKU PRIMARY SCHOOL 
Mphaku has 288 learners and 10 educators. 50% of students are orphans, and 30% live in children-run households. “Mphaku” is a word for food given to someone to eat on the way when undertaking a long journey.
School Motto: “Arise & Shine”
Mission: Working in partnership with the community to ensure that all learners receive the best education.
Art Eduction: When VC+ arrived at Mphaku, the school had brand new crayon color-pencil packs that were donated years ago but never opened... because they “didn’t really have a use for them. 

“Art is not taught until 7th grade because it is not viewed as a necessary class or subject...However, I see today how much art brings out in the kids – and how much they are able to bring out of themselves. I also see how I can use art in all of our classes for bettering our learners engagement.”– Trois Mamolo, principal

 TEAM LOGO 
+ Tristan Eaton / artist
Born in Los Angeles in 1978, Tristan began pursuing street art as a teenager, painting everything from walls to billboards in the urban landscape wherever he lived, including London, Detroit and Brooklyn. After growing up on comic books, graffiti and skateboard culture, Tristan designed his first toy for Fisher Price at 18 years old and began working as an artist full-time. He has since become a driving force in the world of ‘Art Toys’, designing the Dunny and Munny figures for Kidrobot.

Shortly after studying at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, Tristan founded Thunderdog Studios, of which he was the President and Creative Director for 10 years. Thunderdog Studios regularly designs and consults for clients such as Nike, Disney and Barack Obama on projects that span the globe across all mediums.

In 2012, Tristan moved back to his childhood home of Los Angeles to pursue his paintings and large scale mural projects full-time. Tristan’s work can be seen in galleries around the world and in the permanent collection of the New York Museum of Modern Art (MOMA).

artist’s note
The Sun, Tiger, Tree combo is awesome so I tried to bring them all together in a way that matched the comments and notes from the kids.

I also really like the original MPHAKU type that’s hand painted on the school, so I kept that instead of making a new type face.