Peter Ziyo Sibeko was born in Orlando East Soweto, on the 22 July 1940. He comes from a family of nine, and is the third child. Sibeko dropped out of school when he was 15 to get a job to help his mother with the family finances. But even before Sibeko left school his teachers had noticed his natural artistic talent and encouraged him accordingly.
Sibeko is largely self taught and started drawing at the age of twelfe. He received encouragement and inspiration of his brother, Walter, and other fellow "township" artists: David Mbele mentored him and introduced him to charcoal and Solomon Sekhaolelo taught him oil painting. So he was able to develop his talent and become a full-time professional artist. (The broad term "Township Art" covered artists' work that depicted everyday scenes in the shanties and streets of the township. People about their daily chores, cleaning, cooking and just chatting were captured on board and paper in crayon, charcoal and pastel,- whatever came to hand.)
Since 1980, Sibeko's work has been included in important group exhibitions which have toured South Africa as well as many overseas countries. In 1989, he participated in an exhibition entitled "Soweto Images" which was on show in London. In the same year his talent was recognized in the USA and his work was included in an exhibition in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King held at the Athlone University in Atlanta, Georgia. Thereafter, Sibeko's work and recognition thereof spread almost worldwide. His first solo exhibition was held at the Friends of the Earth Gallery in Australia.
Sibeko has become a very well known and acclaimed artist and from 1986 till 2004 he was the owner and curator of the "Soweto Art Gallery" in central Johannesburg. Through his interest in South African art and artists, his gallery has become an important venue for young artists to exhibit their creative work and through his own initiative he has been involved in fund raising for underprivileged artists, the supply of art material, the holding of workshops, exhibitions, the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, donations to various organizations and helping many aids victims. He is also founder member of the F.U.B.A (Federated Union of Black Artists).
Sibeko's work is represented in many private collections in South Africa, Europe, Australia and the USA. Especially in the USA his work is very much in demand. The value of his work has therefore increased as he now sells his work in US dollars.
About his art:
Sibeko's work is a reflection of township suffering. His own experience with poverty left him psychologically scared and he found solace only through art. Sibeko explains why his work was a reflection of the township situation: "At times there was no food on the table, no clothes, so some of my paintings were about my mother, doing washing for people, she brought us up with the little bit that she got for doing domestic work. My paintings expressed life in Soweto, more especially the life we lived. But there were some good times when we would be happy, and we would show people dancing, etc."
Sibeko works predominantly in pastels, pencil, watercolors, charcoal and oils on mining sand (a mixed medium that he has developed with a huge amount of success). He portrays the South African township life of Soweto with a naïve and colorful atmosphere. His figures are stylized to fit into his abstract backgrounds of multicolored shapes and textures. The result is a composition that is balanced in a dynamic manner so as not to neglect the lively quality of his subjects.