Mieke van der Merwe graduated from the University of Stellenbosch in 2010 with a BA in Graphic Design. She is currently busy with her Master’s degree in Children’s Book Illustration and is also teaching second year drawing at Stellenbosch University. Mieke's research revolves around the need for transcultural children's picture books in indigenous languages and how the absence of these books affect children's perception of self, society and cultures other than their own. She has also participated in exhibitions in Cape Town at Salon 91 Contemporary, Woodstock Exchange, pop-up galleries and at Wolves in Johannesburg. In 2012 she had a solo exhibition at Gallery H in Ulsan, South Korea. Mieke's work mostly revolves around illustrating urban spaces and could be described as structural with room for humour.