At an exhibition at the Durban African Art Centre at the end of last year, Yanni Vosloo was captivated by a linocut of a black fish on a cobalt-blue background. "I stood there and thought: 'This would make a great beach towel'." Vosloo, merchandise director of Mr Price Home, was in the perfect position to turn a moment of inspiration into reality. Less than a year later, MRP Home is to launch a new range of beach towels designed by four artists from the African Art Centre.The towels form part of the MRP Colab Collection, an ongoing collaborative project between artists and the retail group."Art and functional design are explicitly linked," says Vosloo, "and in production it all costs the same, so choose the beautiful."Nozipo Zulu, assistant director of the African Art Centre, selected the artists. "As Yanni began explaining what he wanted, I immediately knew which artists would best interpret the brief. We wanted a mix of upcoming as well as more established artists. We also wanted to represent four different mediums."The artists are established painter Sibusiso Duma; Timothy Mlambo, whose speciality is painted wood sculpture and who was voted the centre's artist of the year last year; Mbaliyethu Mabuza, who works mainly in embroidery and appliqué; and Nontobeko Jilajila, with her distinctive wood-cut print work. It was Jilajila who had produced the lino cut that first caught Vosloo's eye."She is young and just entering the industry," says Zulu, "and has a unique way of carving lino - she simplifies it in a playful and pleasing manner. A year ago she was part of our outreach programme in which we teach art skills and she had started bringing us her work to sell. This is a huge step for her."Originally a project of the South African Institute of Race Relations, the African Art Centre has operated for the past 30 years as an autonomous, non-profit organisation. It is the oldest South African organisation involved in the development and promotion of black artists and craft workers. Many African Art Centre artists have achieved international acclaim and thousands more have experienced a dramatic improvement in their lives through the recognition of their talents.Watching the project developing was thrilling, says Zulu. "As an artist myself I saw how fine art and craft can merge into something new. It is projects like this that help the artists, but are also socially important."We want to bridge the gap, move towards combining tradition and modern trends and grow our customer base. People who buy art today have different needs. Interior decorators, for example, want to narrate a different story and add a different language to a room."In support of MRP Home's Design Doing Good programme, R10 of every beach towel sold will be donated to the African Art Centre to facilitate young artist development.The towel collection will be available in MRP Home stores from November 12...