SA R36,90 (incl. VAT) - JUNE 2017
CREATIVE DISRUPTION AT THE NATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL
GLOBAL GLOBALCREATIVE CREATIVEECONOMY ECONOMY
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2 / Creative Feel / June 2017
R24 R24BILLION BILLION
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OF OFTHE THECREATIVE CREATIVEINDUSTRIES INDUSTRIESAND ANDENTERPRISES ENTERPRISES ARE AREOWNED OWNEDBY BYBLACK BLACKSOUTH SOUTHAFRICANS AFRICANS
ARE AREOWNED OWNEDBY BYWOMEN WOMEN
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WHAT WHATISISTHE THESOUTH SOUTHAFRICAN AFRICANCULTURAL CULTURALOBSERVATORY? OBSERVATORY? The TheSouth SouthAfrican AfricanCultural CulturalObservatory Observatory(SACO) (SACO)isisaa‘Creative ‘CreativeEconomy EconomyThink ThinkTank’ Tank’ . Established . Establishedby bythe the Department DepartmentofofArts Artsand andCulture Culture(DAC) (DAC)inin2015, 2015,out outofofthe theMzansi MzansiGolden GoldenEconomy EconomyStrategy, Strategy,the theCultural Cultural Observatory Observatoryisisaastatistical statisticalresearch researchinstitute institutetasked taskedwith withcharting chartingthe theimpact impactofofthe thecultural culturaland andcreative creative industries industries(CCIs) (CCIs)ininSouth SouthAfrica. Africa.ItItisisaanational nationalorganisation organisationand andaaproject projectofofthe theDAC, DAC,hosted hostedby byNelson Nelson Mandela MandelaUniversity University(NMU) (NMU)ininpartnership partnershipwith withRhodes RhodesUniversity Universityand andthe theUniversity UniversityofofFort FortHare. Hare. The Themain mainpurpose purposeofofthe theCultural CulturalObservatory Observatoryisisthe thedevelopment developmentofofaacomprehensive comprehensivecultural cultural information informationsystem systemwhich whichcontinuously continuouslycaptures capturescultural culturaldata dataand andmonitors monitorsand andevaluates evaluates government governmentinitiatives initiativesininthe thesector. sector.
FOCUS: FOCUS:TRENDS TRENDS||ANALYSIS ANALYSIS||MAPPING MAPPING||POLICY POLICY||IMPACT IMPACT||RESEARCH RESEARCH VOICE: VOICE:We Weare arethe thecommanding commandingvoice voiceininthe theeconomy economyofofArts, Arts,Culture Culture&&Heritage Heritagesectors sectors and andCCIs. CCIs. KNOWLEDGE: KNOWLEDGE:We Weprovide providenew newknowledge, knowledge,insights insightsand andtools toolstotounlock unlockthe thepotential potential ofofthe theMzansi MzansiGolden GoldenEconomy Economywhile whilemonitoring monitoringand andevaluating evaluatingprojects. projects. WORLD WORLDCLASS CLASSRESEARCH: RESEARCH:We Wedevelop developworld-class world-classresearch researchand andstatistical statisticalinformation information on onthe thecreative creativeand andcultural culturaleconomy economyofofSouth SouthAfrica. Africa. ANALYSIS: ANALYSIS:We Weare areresponsible responsiblefor forfacilitating facilitatingthe themapping, mapping,analysing, analysing,monitoring monitoring and andevaluation evaluationofofthe theArts, Arts,Culture Culture&&Heritage Heritagesectors sectorsininSouth SouthAfrica. Africa. ENABLER: ENABLER:We Weare arean anenabler/ enabler/facilitator facilitatorofofaaprosperous prosperousSouth SouthAfrican AfricanCultural Cultural and andCreative Creativeeconomy. economy.
WHAT WHATDOES DOESTHE THESOUTH SOUTHAFRICAN AFRICAN MEASURING MEASURING &&VALUING VALUINGSOUTH SOUTHAFRICA’S AFRICA’S CULTURAL CULTURAL OBSERVATORY OBSERVATORY DO? DO? MEASURING MEASURING &&VALUING VALUING SOUTH SOUTHAFRICA’S AFRICA’S MEASURING MEASURING &&VALUING VALUINGSOUTH SOUTHAFRICA’S AFRICA’S CULTURAL CULTURAL&&CREATIVE CREATIVEECONOMY ECONOMY CULTURAL CULTURAL & & CREATIVE CREATIVE ECONOMY ECONOMY CULTURAL CULTURAL & & CREATIVE CREATIVEECONOMY ECONOMY Mainly Mainlyevidence evidencebased basedresearch researchinto intothe thecreative creative economy, economy,including: including:
CHAMPIONING CHAMPIONINGEVIDENCE EVIDENCE>> >>INFLUENCING INFLUENCING POLICY POLICY>> >>SHARING SHARINGINSIGHT INSIGHT>> >>INFORMING INFORMING DECISION-MAKING DECISION-MAKING>> >>ASSESSING ASSESSINGPOTENTIAL POTENTIAL >> >>BUILDING BUILDINGINTELLECTUAL INTELLECTUALCAPITAL CAPITALFOR FORTHE THE SECTORS SECTORSAND ANDTHE THEINDUSTRIES INDUSTRIES
Informing Informing decision-making decision-making Informing Informing decision-making decision-making Informing Informing decision-making decision-making Assessing Assessing potential potential Assessing Assessing potential potential Assessing Assessing potential potential Building Building intellectual intellectual capital capitalcapital Building Building intellectual intellectual capital capital Building Building intellectual intellectual capital
MEASURING MEASURING&&VALUING VALUINGSOUTH SOUTHAFRICA’S AFRICA’SCULTURAL CULTURAL&&CREATIVE CREATIVEECONOMY ECONOMY
WINTER SYMPHONY SEASON
CALL 031 369 9438 TO SUBSCRIBE & SAVE UP TO 20%
Making music together. THURSDAY, 1 JUNE 2017, 7:30PM, DURBAN CITY HALL
031 369 9438 • www.kznphil.org.za
Conductor:
Naum Rousine
Soloists:
Liebrecht Vanbeckenvoort, piano Nozuko Teto, soprano Violina Anguelov, mezzo-soprano Wayne Mkhize, tenor
WORLD SYMPHONY SERIES
Mthunzi Nokubeka, baritone
WITH OUTSTANDING SOLOISTS, CONDUCTORS
AND
Yale Glee Club Choir (USA)
Brahms
Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15
Beethoven
Mass in C major, Op. 86
THURSDAY, 8 JUNE 2017, 7:30PM, DURBAN CITY HALL
WINTER SEASON 2017
STAR
Choir:
Conductor:
Daniel Boico
Soloist:
Philippe Graffin, violin
Glazunov
Overture solennelle, Op. 73
Lalo
Symphonie Espagnole in D minor, Op. 21
Shostakovich
Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Op. 93
AN
INTERNATIONAL CHOIR, THE KZN
THURSDAY, 15 JUNE 2017, 7:30PM, DURBAN CITY HALL
PHILHARMONIC
Conductor:
Daniel Raiskin
Soloist:
Lukas Vondracek, piano
Weber
Overture to Euryanthe
THE
WINTER
WILL
PRESENT
SEASON
OF
ITS
RENOWNED WORLD SYMPHONY
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor, Op. 40 Dvorák
Symphony No. 7 in D minor
SERIES FROM 1 TO 22 JUNE 2017. THURSDAY, 22 JUNE 2017, 7:30PM, DURBAN CITY HALL Conductor:
Daniel Raiskin
Soloists:
DECODA Ensemble *
Van Dijk
Drop
Lutoslawski
Dance Preludes
Haydn
Sinfonia Concertante in B flat, Op. 84
Beethoven
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67
* DECODA is an affiliate ensemble of Carnegie Hall in New York
Bongani Tembe, Artistic Director
“The
KZN
Philharmonic
is
committed
to
Single tickets priced from R65 – R230 are available at Computicket. All concerts commence at 7:30pm at the Durban City Hall. Pre-concert talks are held
enriching the cultural life of South Africa’s diverse
from 6pm - 6:40pm. The City Hall precinct, including
audiences by presenting world-class concerts
surrounding parking garages, is patrolled by a
and implementing education and community
dedicated security team.
engagement programmes.”
Liebrecht Vanbeckenvoort
DECODA Ensemble
Nozuko Teto
SOME OF THE Mthunzi Nokubeka
Philippe Graffin
ARTISTS FEATURED IN THE KWAZULU-NATAL
Lukas Vondracek
Naum Rousine
PHILHARMONIC’S WINTER SEASON 2017
Daniel Boico
Violina Anguelov
The KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra
Wayne Mkhize
Daniel Raiskin
Cover image:
30 AN EXCITING YEAR FOR MUSICAL THEATRE The musical Annie came out tops at the annual Naledi
Mary Sibande, 2017. Commissioned by the National Arts
Theatre Awards by garnering four awards, including Best
Festival and used with permission
Production of a Musical. Three other highly acclaimed
cover story 38 CREATIVE DISRUPTION AT THE NAF Versatile and exciting young theatremakers
productions, Scorched, Suddenly the Storm and the musical TAU won three awards each at a glittering event held at the Lyric Theatre, Gold Reef City, on 5 June, writes Peter Feldman.
34 20 YEARS OF ENABLING THE ARTS
and artists will break new ground and excavate
In 2017 the National Arts Council (NAC) celebrates 20
forgotten histories this year in Grahamstown,
years since it was instituted, and over the years has seen
premiering a number of new works.
how the local creative community has come together to form a dynamic industry. Creative Feel spoke to CEO
contents of the NAC, Rosemary Mangope, about this important anniversary and their strategic plans for the future.
arts and culture 22 THE EVOLUTION OF KING KONG Fifty-eight years after it was first staged in 1959,
26
36 DR SAME MDLULI: TAKING THE ART WORLD BY STORM
an ‘evolution’ of South Africa’s most significant,
At 33, NAC Council member and Chairperson of the
influential and iconic ‘all African jazz opera’, King Kong,
Visual Arts Panel, Dr Same Mdluli has achieved what
will open at the Fugard Theatre in July before travelling
most people only dream of achieving in a lifetime. This
to the Joburg Theatre in September.
dynamic, bold and fiercely intelligent young woman
CALCULATED OUTPUT The South African Cultural Observatory (SACO) has just launched a ground-breaking and invaluable tool for South African event and festival organisers looking to quantify the economic impact of events – big or
is in the process of blazing trails for young artists and presenting them with opportunities that previously did not exist.
50 MBDA INSPIRING ARTS IN NELSON MANDELA BAY
small. The online calculator is free for use on the SACO
To find out more about Mandela Bay Development
website and will help organisers motivate for better
Agency’s (MBDA) role in the creative and cultural
support and understanding of their events through an
sector. Creative Feel spoke to Oyama Vanto, Project
economic lens.
Leader – Creative Industry for MBDA.
CHOOSE AMAZ!NG www.nationalartsfestival.co.za
52 CELEBRATING OUR NATURAL HERITAGE The South African Mint is one of the
contributors 18
ARTLOOKS & ARTLINES
Artlooks & Artlines is a monthly column
leading custodians and purveyors of South
by Ismail Mahomed, CEO of the Market
Africa’s heritage.
Theatre Foundation.
54 STIMULATING THE ART MARKET WITH CHOICE ART
20
LITERARY LANDSCAPES
Literary Landscapes is a monthly column written
Aspire Art Auctions’ Inaugural Cape Town sale
by Indra Wussow, a writer, translator and director of
on 27 March 2017 at the Avenue, V&A Waterfront
the Sylt Foundation.
56
BUSINESS & ARTS
attracted widespread interest.
62 GORGEOUS FOOD & INTERESTING ART
Business & Arts is a monthly column by Michelle Constant, CEO of Business and Arts
In an exciting new collaboration, Berman
South Africa (BASA).
Contemporary and Wishbone Café & Bistro Bar will be holding food and painting pairings, bringing
58
THE ART OF PERFORMANCE
contents 64
the textures and colours of artwork to life with
Dave Mann is an editor and award-winning
delicious food.
arts journalist.
BEYOND TEACHING
From 25 March to 31 May, Springs Art Gallery hosted the Ekurhuleni Human Rights Exhibition 2017 titled Beyond Teaching.
66 PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AT DEATH’S DOOR Luan Nel’s solo show Diction, held at CIRCA Cape Town from 29 March to 23 April 2017, was ‘a poetic bittersweet exploration into notions of language, visual cues and the everyday social media of conversations, debates, clashes and attacks, and ultimately our ability to negotiate a “safe” path through it all.’ Art lecturer and historian, Lloyd Pollak, reviews the exhibition.
lifestyle and entertainment 68 70
BOOK REVIEWS CINEMA NOUVEAU
EDITOR’S NOTE Tartuffe, unAfrican?
W
hen Sylvaine Strike brought Molière’s The Miser to The Market Theatre a few years ago I fell in love with her work, her interpretation and direction. Seeing Strike’s production of Molière’s Tartuffe at The Soweto Theatre recently, I once again experienced the same admiration for this young South African director and her team, their production of Tartuffe is just brilliant.
Tartuffe is an unsettling play about how a weak man is completely manipulated by a
dangerous one. It’s ironic how relevant and important a classical, French play like Tartuffe is in presentday South Africa where there’s a strong call for ‘a new post-colonial, post-Fanonian, curriculum must be considered for the decolonised creative.’ This 17th-century French political satire is as up-to-date as our #SaveSA march on 7 April 2017, the day after Tartuffe premiered at the Soweto Theatre. In 1664 (and again in 1667), Molière’s play was banned, not just because it mocked men of religion, but because it challenged the larger society of France. The hypocritical Tartuffe is the image of all who twist ideologies to suit their own ends; Orgon is the representation of all who let them. What Molière makes blindingly clear is that Tartuffe only has power because Orgon gives it to him. Both are – or should be – dangerous. But, for that, they need to credibly inhabit a credible world Sylvaine Strike
where the consequences of actions actually matter.
I so agree with reviews that remind us that ‘A play like this theatre classic Tartuffe, exploring the way in which people are easily manipulated by symbols of power and honeyed words, [has] a potent message at its core that is important in a time when the artist, cartoonist or satirist’s freedom of expression is not guaranteed; Tartuffe is as relevant now as it was then.’
10 / Creative Feel / June 2017
Lore
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For further information and direct orders contact +27 (0)12 677 2482/2460 or email numismatics@samint.co.za or coinworld@samint.co.za. www.samint.co.za
We love this!
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PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Lore Watterson; lore@desklink.co.za COPUBLISHER & PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Chris Watterson; chris@desklink.co.za DEPUTY EDITOR Tamaryn Greer; tammy@desklink.co.za DIGITAL CONTENT CURATOR Angelia Muller; angelia@desklink.co.za ADDITIONAL EDITORIAL CONTENT: Ismail Mahomed Michelle Constant Indra Wussow Lloyd Pollak Dave Mann SALES & MARKETING sales@desklink.co.za sales@creativefeel.co.za SALES & MARKETING COORDINATOR Zama-Africa Mkhize; zama@desklink.co.za DESIGN Leigh Forrest; leigh@desklink.co.za DISPATCH Khumbulani Dube SUBSCRIPTION & CIRCULATION subs@creativefeel.co.za Published by DeskLink™ Media PO Box 3670, Randburg, 2125 Tel: 011 787 0252 Fax: 011 787 8204 www.creativefeel.co.za www.desklink.co.za
A bird puppet for The Firebird under construction. This production of The Firebird, directed by Janni Younge and choreographed by Jay Pather, is a puppet and dance performance set to Stravinsky’s original score. Janni Younge’s Firebird draws on the symbolism and dramaturgy of Fokine’s original choreography (based on figures from Russian folklore) and reinterprets them in a contemporary South African setting, using larger-than-life puppets and African dance forms. ‘In designing these puppets I recognised that particular materials had great resonance with specific energies,’ says Younge. ‘So the paper became the signature material for the creative forces while sticks and rattan became the material representation of the sharper, harder qualities of the destructive power.’ The production showed at The Artscape and National Arts Festival in June and July 2016 before touring the US.
12 / Creative Feel / June 2017
PRINTING Raptor Print (Pty) Ltd © Copyright DeskLink™ Media The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher.
While every last effort has been made to check that the information in this magazine is correct at the time of going to press, the publisher and their agents will not be held liable for any damages incurred through any inaccuracies.
SNS_01_2017
EXPERIENCE A PASSAGE TO BOLLYWOOD at Joburg Theatre
A
Passage to Bollywood, an internationally acclaimed and vibrant theatrical extravaganza that has been touring internationally since 2015, will be coming to Joburg Theatre’s Mandela stage
from 21 June to 2 July 2017. Beautifully wrapped into 80 minutes, A Passage to Bollywood keeps you on the edge of your seat with its gripping plot, foot-tapping music and colourful costumes. A Passage to Bollywood tells the story of Sandy, a young
We’re searching for South Africa’s best artistic talent. Enter now.
village boy who moves to the big city of Mumbai to follow his dream. A classic Bollywood tale of love and friendship, the musical follows Sandy’s journey in Mumbai and focuses on the relationships he builds over time with the woman of his dreams, Leela, and the ‘Don’ Tejas Bhai, who takes him under his wing, almost like his big brother. Filled with romance and drama, the story takes on an unexpected twist to deliver a surprising end to the audience. Filled
www.sasolnewsignatures.co.za #SasolNewSignatures
with traditional Indian values and customs, and depicted through high energy dance routines, the show brings the true vivacity and enchantment of India to life. The musical showcases the artistry of Indian folk dance along with more modern genres of dance performed by a cast whose energy is electrifying. Tickets are available from R160 to R350 and can be purchased at www.joburgtheatre.com, via Webtickets or by calling Joburg Theatre’s Box Office on 0861 670 670. CF
est. in 1947
RULES The works of art must have been completed in the 12 months prior to the competition. All artworks must be ready and suitable to exhibit. The judges will select an exhibition of the best works.
30 YEARS
THAMI MNYELE FINE ARTS AWARDS
Presented and hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni, the annual national Thami Mnyele Fine Art Awards (MFAA) is a contemporary fine art competition that caters for artists of all ages, from all over South Africa, producing artworks in various media. In addition to the overall first prize, there are merit awards in a number of categories, as well as a special Ekurhuleni prize. A total amount of R160 000.00 prize money is awarded. In 2014 an additional prize for one of the Merit Awards Winners was introduced by Lizamore and Associates. This prize affords a mentorship programme as well as a solo exhibition. A competition of this nature serves as a platform where artists are encouraged to transcend limitations, and reconfigure and manipulate contemporary cultural social and political signs. It is the duty of dedicated artists to employ various media to express metaphors, and use their aesthetic sensibility to reflect the world we live in.
“ART MUST BECOME A PROCESS – A LIVING, GROWING THING THAT PEOPLE CAN RELATE TO, IDENTIFY WITH, BE PART OF, UNDERSTAND; NOT A MYSTERIOUS WORLD A UNIVERSE APART FROM THEM.”– THAMI MNYELE
SUBMISSION Works may be entered on 22, 23, and 24 August 2017 from 09:00 to 19:00 at the Coen Scholtz Recreation Centre, Mooifontein Road, Birchleigh North, Kempton Park. Satellite entry points are available at Boksburg Library on 22 August 2017, from 09:00 to 16:00, Springs Art Gallery on 22 to 23 August 2017 from 09:00 to 19:00 and Katlehong Art Centre, 203 Sontonga Street, Phooko Section on 23 August 2017 from 09:00 to 16:00. Entry fee: R50 per artwork entered. PRIZES First Prize R60 000.00 Ekurhuleni Prize R40 000.00 Multi and New Media Merit Award R15 000.00 Painting Merit Award R15 000.00 Art on Paper Merit Award R15 000.00 Sculpture Merit Award R15 000.00 Lizamore & Associates Mentorship Programme Solo Exhibition ADJUDICATORS Avitha Sooful, Mpho Makhubu, Andrew Tshabangu, Dr Same Mdluli and Sara Hallat. EXHIBITION The opening function of the Exhibition and Prize Giving Ceremony will take place on 23 September 2017 (18h00) at the Coen Scholtz Recreation Centre in Mooifontein Road, Birchleigh North, Kempton Park. The Exhibition will run from 24 September to 15 October 2017. MORE INFO Please contact the Visual Arts Curator at 011 391 4006/7 / 011 999 4286 / 011 999 4474 / 011 999 8726 or email: Plantina.Kodisang@ekurhuleni.gov.za Maria.Gule@ekurhuleni.gov.za Tshidiso.Makhetha@ekurhuleni.gov.za Thabo.Sekoaila@ekurhuleni.gov.za
First Prize Winner 2016 Mpho Makhubo Road signs (1 of 7) Pastel and acrylic on paper
Ekurhuleni Prize Winner 2016 Nzuza Sandile Untitled 2/2 Cardboard and relief
Direct from Nigeria, Kakadu the Musical will be having its South African premiere on the Mandela stage, Joburg Theatre, from 8 to 18 June 2017.
An Exchange of Rhythms at the Mandela Theatre
K
akadu the Musical, which premiered in Lagos on 9 May 2013, is a critically acclaimed, award-winning production with an eclectic blend of music ranging from Anglo-American pop and soul, Highlife,
Afrobeat to traditional Igbo and Yoruba folk and Juju music. It is the first musical production from Nigeria to be staged in South Africa. Kakadu the Musical tells the story of the thrillingly optimistic period following independence from British colonial rule in the city of Lagos, which was just as hedonistic as any European city of the 1960s. This year, the
‘We have only ever had productions from South Africa to
musical comes to life at the Mandela Theatre in Joburg with
Nigeria. When the National Theatre in Lagos was opened in
an unforgettable cast of characters as they journey from
1977, the amazing Ipi Tombi from South Africa performed at
Lagos City to Eastern Nigeria and back again in this inspiring
the opening and the beauty of that show complimented the
tale of love and war.
magnificence of the National Theatre. We expect that the
Uche Nwokedi (SAN), writer and executive producer
creativity and originality of Kakadu will be appreciated and
of Kakadu the Musical, heralds the musical’s tour to South
complimented by the magnificence of such a world-class stage
Africa as a project aimed at bridging the gap between Nigeria
like the Mandela. It is a good collaboration for the Playhouse
and South Africa, exporting our distinctive cultural values
and for the Joburg City Theatres,’ says Uche Nwokedi SAN.
and further denouncing xenophobia through beautiful music
All shows start at 19:30 daily, save for Sunday shows,
and enthralling drama. Nwokedi (SAN) and the Playhouse
which start at 14:00. Tickets are sold range from R180 to
Initiative will also be conducting a workshop at the Soweto
R350 and can be purchased online in advance at
Theatre on 13 June themed ‘An Exchange of Rhythms’ in
www.joburgtheatre.com or via telephone on 086 167 0670 or
keeping with the theme of the tour to South Africa.
011 877 6855. (Tickets will also be available at the door). CF
16 / Creative Feel / June 2017
Comfort, Art, Beauty, Cuisine and service excellence –
a pure delight
T
he beautiful and serene Casta Diva Boutique Hotel, nestled on the northern slopes of the Magaliesberg in Pretoria, is a place to escape
Boutique Hotel A unique venue, nestled high on the northern slopes of the Magaliesberg amidst peaceful and tranquil surroundings that offer stunning views and an unsurpassed setting of natural beauty and elegance in an oasis of peace and serenity in the city.
the madness of the everyday busy world.
If you are searching for a place to relax and
enjoy the natural beauty South Africa has to offer, book a room at this four-star boutique hotel and spoil yourself with some affordable luxury. Did you know that in the past years Casta Diva was rated by travellers on Trip Advisor within the top ten? Not only do they offer the most amazing accommodation, but there is also a true fine dining restaurant where your taste buds can enjoy a culinary adventure from breakfast to dinner. The à la carte menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner offer a selection of dishes sure to satisfy your hunger. The culinary team has just finished the design of some amazing game dishes.
Restaurant Guaranteed the true Decadent, Divine, Delightful fine dining experience, the perfect fusion between the magic of Casta Diva, fresh ingredients, a dedicated culinary team and the friendliest service of South Africa.
Be daring, hunt your game at Charisma! As they often collaborate with up-and-coming performers, you might be lucky enough to stay when they have a show in the intimate Vissi d’Arte Theatre/ Art Gallery. Casta Diva Boutique Hotel is the perfect place for guests who require a peaceful environment to ‘go home to’ and relax; the tranquillity of the property will soon have you forgetting about the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life and stress, without needing to take a long journey to get there. So indulge yourself… Visit their website today, www.castadiva.co.za, and book a room at Casta Diva Boutique Hotel. You could also like their Facebook pages to stay updated on the special events they offer – Casta Diva The Place To; Casta Diva’s Charisma; and Casta Diva’s Vissi d’Arte. Give yourself something special as winter tightens its grip on our country, visit Casta Diva Boutique Hotel – the one place where you can truly just… be. CF
18 / Creative Feel / June 2017
Photograph: Nina Lieska | Repro Pictures
Athi-Patra Ruga, Man in the Mirror, 2009, wool and tapestry thread on tapestry canvas, 138 x 96 cm
WINTER AUCTION IN JOHANNESBURG | 17 JULY Historic, Modern & Contemporary Art Inviting consignments | Entries close 19 May 2017 The Park House of Events on 7 | Hyde Park Corner | 7th Floor
enquiries@aspireart.net | +27 11 243 5243 | www.aspireart.net
Artlooks & Artlines Artlooks & Artlines is a monthly column written by Ismail Mahomed, CEO of the Market Theatre Foundation.
I
am often reminded that I have an obsession with
After a very successful season in London, the tour goes to
historical anniversaries. It’s quite strange because
Ohio (USA) and it collapses. The young chorister is offered
during my school years I considered history to be
a scholarship to study social work at Wilberforce University.
taught in an incredibly boring way. Essentially, it was
There she is lectured by WEB du Bois. Between being first
about learning facts, dates and biographies. Working in
attracted to Emily Pankhurst’s suffragette movement and
the arts sector with its enormous funding challenges, I
then being influenced by Du Bois’s Pan-African values, she
learned very quickly that a grasp of history and how it can
develops her own political values. After graduating with a
be contextualised could lead to funding opportunities to
BSc, she returns to South Africa and becomes a distinguished
produce several solo biographical plays.
activist for women’s rights and for youth education.
Now who would I think of casting for the role of a young South African woman from Kimberley who is selected
Mobilising her church, she establishes a school in Evaton, Vereeniging, the same place where the Wilberforce College was shut down by the apartheid government
“There she is lectured by WEB du Bois. Between being first attracted to Emily Pankhurst’s suffragette movement and then being influenced by Du Bois’s PanAfrican values, she develops her own political values”
in 1960. The College was an affiliate of the Wilberforce Institute in the US. Her stature grows significantly among religious, community and political leaders. Still inspired by her early introduction to Pankhurst’s activism, her Africanist values – influenced by Du Bois – and her own rising consciousness informed by the South African reality, she becomes one of the most significant women leaders of the political struggle. Given the opportunity, Charlotte Maxeke could easily have chosen to become a celebrated chorister. Instead, she set aside her aspirations and chose to work as a social worker. (There were hardly any opportunities for a Black woman with a BSc). Today, she is memorialised by having a hospital and a navy submarine named after. The school that she founded to give young people an opportunity that would change their lives, is her strongest legacy. The main block
to go on a choir tour to Europe to perform before Queen
at the Wilberforce College in Evaton is named after her. The
Victoria? The choir wears a Victorian costume for their
college in Evaton moves along quietly still contributing to
performances and the young chorister begins to express her
our educational landscape.
dismay at being treated like an African novelty in European
The Wilberforce University in the US is celebrating its
dress. The tour takes place at the same time that Emily
160th birthday; it is also the 120th anniversary of Charlotte
Pankhurst’s suffragette movement is gaining momentum
Maxeke as a student of WEB du Bois at the Wilberforce
in the UK. What Pankhurst has to say resonates with
University. It would have been the perfect time to tour a solo
the young African woman who finds herself attentively
play to Wilberforce University in Ohio and to celebrate the
listening to Pankhurst’s speeches.
life of a South African woman who started off by singing
20 / Creative Feel / June 2017
for her supper, but whose legacy continues to put food in a thousand more mouths. Now given this fascinating history, who in the US could I think of if I needed to join the dots to find some funding? Paula Caffey who was Voice of America? She gave me a biography of W E B du Bois as a farewell gift when I left the US Embassy. US cultural historian, Julialynne Walker, because the story would resonate with her and because of her passion for South Africa? My ex-boss at the US Embassy, Todd Haskell, because he now holds a significantly important post that advances educational exchanges? Or my other former colleagues at the US Embassy because USAID was
Charlotte Maxeke
instrumental in supporting the early years of Wilberforce
Emmeline Pankhurst being arrested
College? And who knows maybe... just maybe the young woman who I nominated to go on a US cultural exchange programme, who is now in the Arts & Culture Department in the Lekoa-Vaal Municipality, will be able to persuade her Council to fund the production. And then maybe... Just a small maybe, some funding could be found from the African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Africa and in the US. It is their 120th year of service in South Africa. The Wilberforce Institute is a project of the Church.
“Given the opportunity, Charlotte Maxeke could easily have chosen to become a celebrated chorister. Instead, she set aside her aspirations and chose to work as a social worker” Oh... And just in case I forget, I wasn’t going to write a history note for Creative Feel. I just wanted to know who
WEB du Bois
could play the role of Charlotte Maxeke. Could it be Thembi Mtshali-Jones, Philisiwe Twijnstra, Pretty Yende or Sibongile Khumalo? And who could I possibly get to direct the play? Lesedi Job? Nondumiso Msimanga? Thoko Ntshinga? The list is quite endless. I think it’s obvious that any government-funded arts agency would consider funding a solo play about a legendary South African. More importantly, I think that a play with such huge names performing and directing it is bound to be a box office hit! A little bit of history has often sorted out my arts funding dilemmas. Thanks to some legendary characters whose biographies make for good theatre. CF
Creative Feel / June 2017 / 21
Literary Landscapes Literary Landscapes is a monthly column by Indra Wussow, a writer, translator and director of the Sylt Foundation.
The Thai Island of Phuket SOURCE Indra Wussow
T
he sea is calm, as if it has been ironed, and the view
There is a deep sorrow I experience that speaks out of the sea
from my hotel room suggests another unspoiled day
and takes possession of my body, my soul.
in paradise. I am in Patong on the Thai island of Phuket and
Still, for most people I meet, the tsunami of 2004 seems nothing but a distant memory of an incident from another
it seems this paradisiacal landscape lost its innocence a long
time and space, something that has no relevance to their
time ago – on Boxing Day in 2004 when a huge tsunami hit
holiday-making today.
the shores of Thailand and killed so many people, destroyed so
Jet skis dash over the bay at enormous speeds and a
many people’s lives and so many towns. Did it not also kill our
cruise ship spits out its 4 000 guests into the island for
idea of the exotic paradise? Did it not became a paradise lost?
a day trip, making me think of David Foster Wallace’s
Each morning, my first glance at the sea is inevitably
brilliant essay, A supposedly fun thing, I will never do again.
accompanied by the memory of what happened, by the trauma
Wallace so masterly dissects the microcosm and the
of others. Pain and loss seem to have taken over the landscape
sociology of a cruise ship with such a stylistic verve and
secretly as if an invisible tablecloth has been thrown over it.
quasi-technological gaze. The cruise ship as the apotheosis
22 / Creative Feel / June 2017
of mass tourism is scrutinised with his own culture-critical
beloved brother, close to him in age, was one of the 230 000
impetus. I smile while I observe all these modern crusaders
people who died in the tragedy seven years ago. Or, as he
landing on the jetty to conquer the island for a day. Their
puts it so starkly at the end of this book, two people for each
major attraction will be another boat trip to a small island
word over the previous 304 pages. His is a story of grief, but
called ‘James Bond Island’ by marketers, as parts of Dr. No
also of hope and of the unexpected places that healing can
were filmed there. A cultural appropriation that clearly
be found in.
shows how mass tourism is another dreadful form of colonisation and ignorance. Right after the jetty lies the long communal beach of Patong. Thousands of holidaymakers roam the beach during the day. It is hot, humid and heavy rain is predicted. With their sunburned skins, the sun bathers look rather like
It is unlikely that any of the tourists here will ever read this moving memoir and those sunbathers that relax at the hotel pools use their bestsellers to claim their favourite lounger before breakfast. The main area of Patong feels like entering another form of an abyss – the world of tourism and entertainment in their most disgusting and brutal forms. There is an entire street called Bangla that after dark turns into a pedestrian zone for drunkards and crazy boneheads whose idea of a holiday means to get as much fun out of these days as possible – fun being a flexible concept. The Bangla offers cheap booze, ten shooters for 100 rand, a bucket of vodka with cola for 50 rand. The bars swell up with people as soon as the beach time is over. More than a few partygoers collapse after drinking too much. Those who are still fine discuss openly if they should look for cheap sex with Thai women in a massage salon (in fact, in the windows of most of the endless massage salons I see the sign ‘no sex’ to show this service is not on offer) or frequent one of the infamous ‘ping pong parties’. To visit one is a must for most male tourists and even for some couples. Ping pong parties were invented in the red light districts of Bangkok during the Vietnam War to entertain American soldiers on leave, and still exist today. They are a truly colonial and misogynistic affair. Thai women, who need to do this awful ‘job’ to support their families, are abused in a way I would not have thought existed until I saw it for myself. These so called ‘dancers’ squat on a stage surrounded by bawling men and press a ping pong ball or something else out of their vagina. I have
roasted chickens from a cooking show where the crispiest
never seen a more humiliating form of entertainment in
chicken will be rewarded. Mostly Northern European and
my life. Bread and circuses for a mass of ignorant tourists,
Russian, the tourists show off their burnt flesh as a trophy
colonialism in its worst form. I wonder how these men
of the perfect holiday. At home they will be envied. While I
behave at home and I am even more bewildered that there
absorb these ridiculous holiday scenes, I visualise one of the
are couples here to watch this spectacle too.
many videos that circulated on the internet after the horror
I hastily leave this hell’s precipice and walk back to the
of the tsunami. A lonely man on a beach contemplates the
beach, deserted by this time of the night, except for a small
retreating water while everyone else runs away. He must
gathering of six people who light two lanterns to release into
have been killed that day.
the sea. Quietly they stand and watch them disappear into the
Let Not the Waves of the Sea is Simon Stephenson’s
ocean and it feels suddenly as if the entire world comes to a
account of his journey following the loss of his brother in
standstill. A standstill that finds the time to mourn the loss,
the tsunami. In this profoundly moving memoir, Stephenson
commemorate the dead and celebrate life at the same time.
gives a glimpse into the grief behind the headlines. His
I rush away so as not to disturb. CF
Creative Feel / June 2017 / 23
Nathan Mdledle, Miriam Makeba and the cast
Joyce (Miriam Makeba) with Popcorn (Dan Poho)
THE EVOLUTION OF Fifty-eight years after it was first staged in 1959, an ‘evolution’ of South Africa’s most significant, influential and iconic ‘all African jazz opera’, King Kong, will open at the Fugard Theatre in July before travelling to the Joburg Theatre in September.
T
he original production of King Kong was seen by
strength, was known as King Kong. Dlamini became a legend
over 200 000 South Africans of all races during its
during his lifetime before his death, an apparent suicide,
1959 to 1960 tour of the country before a more
in 1957. After attaining fame and celebrity as a boxer, he
Westernised version toured to London’s West End
lost it all and became a bouncer for clubs and dance halls.
in 1961, leading to international fame for many of its cast
Gangsterism, drug dens, murder and a shebeen queen were
members. It featured some of the country’s most legendary
all elements of King Kong’s life that Matshikiza, who did
musical talents of the 1950s, including accomplished
the composition, Harry Bloom, who wrote the book, and Pat
composer Todd Matshikiza, songstress Miriam Makeba,
Williams, who wrote the original storyline and lyrics, used to
and instrumentalists Kippie Moeketsi, Sol Klaaste, Mackay
create a jazz opera that fascinated audiences the world over.
Davashe, Jonas Gwangwa and Hugh Masekela. The production is an incredible example of South African
Set in the then hub of South African cultural life, Sophiatown, the original production featured an all-black,
cultural heritage and was influential in the shaping of post-
72-strong cast, including some of the most popular singers
war R&B and jazz around the world. The iconic status of the
in SA at the time, Makeba who played the unforgettable
play and the historical memory it holds has made bringing
shebeen queen Joyce, Nathan Mdledle of the Manhattan
it back to SA stages complex. Securing the rights alone,
Brothers played the original King Kong, as well as a young
which were spread among several of its black and white
Caiphus Semenya, Sophie Mgcina, Letta Mbulu and
collaborators, as well as those original artists who were
Benjamin Masinga.
associated with the production and are still alive, has taken Fugard Theatre producer Eric Abraham 20 years. The collaborative jazz opera is based on the life of heavyweight boxer Ezekiel Dlamini who, due to his immense
24 / Creative Feel / June 2017
A carefully considered creative team has been brought together to bring this exciting ‘evolution’ of King Kong to life. British theatre director Jonathan Munby, who also worked with the Fugard on A Human Being Died That Night
Performing ‘My Man’s Back Again’
King Kong in 2014, has signed on, with Cape Town’s Mdu Kweyama as associate director. Oscar-nominated screenwriter, novelist and playwright William Nicholson, who wrote the screenplay for the film adaptations of Sarafina and Long Walk to Freedom, has revised the book; Sipumzo Lucwaba and Charl-Johan Lingenfelder are the musical directors; and Gregory Maqoma will do the choreography. The cast is yet to be announced. Munby, who has termed the 2017 rendition of King Kong an ‘evolution’ rather than a ‘revival’, has been working with Lucwaba and Lingenfelder to restore the authenticity of Matshikiza’s musical arrangements, which were altered for the 1960 West End run in order to appeal to ‘Western’ tastes. ‘All authenticity and originality is lost in an attempt to create a quintessential Broadway sound. There is, in many ways, a cheapening of it all. It is loud, it is bombastic and blown through the roof in terms of scale. It was Westernised in a way
“So we are not glossing over anything. I think the message at the centre of the piece is still very strong and resonant”
Miriam Makeba
Creative Feel / June 2017 / 25
Joyce (Miriam Makeba) dances with Lucky (Joseph Mogotsi)
now that feels offensive,’ Munby told the Daily Maverick. ‘I believe the original is a statement by its creators of what was possible. Back then, ten years into apartheid, it feels to me that it is a statement that is fairly subversive. And we have in a sense tried to mirror that all these years later. ‘It must have been really difficult the first time in terms of the inexperience of much of the cast in terms of acting. Those performers had no training and very little experience so they had to rely very much on music and movement in order to tell the story. That has changed now. Circumstances have changed. We have people who are actors, singers and dancers which really allows us to open up the piece. ‘So we are not glossing over anything. I think the message at the centre of the piece is still very strong and resonant. It feels to me like a cautionary tale, a kind of warning about responsibility, about following a man who makes these extraordinary mistakes in his life but what he doesn’t do is contain this power, this violence inside of him. That is what the story is about, a man who abuses that thing that is inside him and does not control it. If we do not control this innate power within us all, this is what it might
“We want to get away from any preconceived idea of what a musical should sound like, to get rid of all the ‘Broadwaydisation’, to stay true to the original and bring it to the 21st century”
lead to. ‘And we need to be absolutely respectful and understanding of where it came from and the circumstances
is a heightened stylisation of the boxing scenes and the use
that created it. But our first responsibility, I think, is about
of physical theatre. We have also composed new songs for
the connection between the moment and the audience, a
those moments where we feel that something is missing and
new audience, young people, have no idea. We have the
needs fleshing out. We identified three of those moments
responsibility of delivering a great piece of theatre. And
and were to compose songs from an old archival audio
if in the doing of that we can tell a story of the past that
recording Esme Matshikiza (Todd’s widow) found of Todd
is illuminating and touch on some subjects that are still
bashing out themes and ideas for the show on the piano.
resonant today then all the better. ‘We want to get away from any preconceived idea
‘In terms of performers, the music for the guys is easy to sing but the music for the women is hard. It is a jazz
of what a musical should sound like, to get rid of all the
sound. Musical theatre is written for a chest sound. If you
“Broadwaydisation”, to stay true to the original and bring
listen to “Back of the Moon” its register is very high and we
it to the 21st century. What we are staging in this new
don’t train female voices in musical theatre these days to
version are things that they could not do originally, which
sing up there.’
26 / Creative Feel / June 2017
Nathan Mdledle
Award-winning South African director, Mdu Kweyama,
“And we need to be absolutely respectful and understanding of where it came from and the circumstances that created it” Working on a musical ‘is not something I have done
who will be working alongside Munby, has worked
before, so this is an enormous opportunity for me to learn
extensively with companies like Magnet Theatre and with
and to grow my own skills. Working with someone as
playwrights like Mike van Graan. Kweyama’s work is known
experienced as Jonathan is amazing.
for his innovative mix of dance and physical theatre. As to his role in King Kong, Kweyama told IOL: ‘I am
‘For me this is about re-living my parents’ history, going through our photo albums, asking questions, reading up
involved in the casting and work-shopping ideas around
on life in Sophiatown – that kind of situation. I think being
physicality. Jonathan shares his ideas with me. I provide
truthful to the core characteristics of the people presented
input and feedback, but he does have a final say in
in the play is very important.’
everything that will be done in the show. ‘Nothing from the original has been taken out. Jonathan’s
Tickets for the show range from R130 to R280. Booking is through Computicket on 0861 915 8000, www.
idea is to make sure that everyone enjoys this musical –
computicket.com or at the Fugard Box Office on 021
whether you lived during the 1950s or not; South African or
461 4554. Friends of the Fugard members receive a 15%
not. King Kong won’t lose its values and originality in 2017.’
discount on tickets. CF
Creative Feel / June 2017 / 27
Scenes from the 2016 National Arts Festival
CALCULATED
OUTPUT
The South African Cultural Observatory (SACO) has just launched a ground-breaking and invaluable tool for South African event and festival organisers looking to quantify the economic impact of events – big or small. The online calculator is free for use on the SACO website and will help organisers motivate for better support and understanding of their events through an economic lens.
28 / Creative Feel / June 2017
T
he South African Cultural Observatory (SACO) – a national public research entity of the Department of Arts & Culture (DAC), hosted by Nelson Mandela
“The tool is based on a regional economic impact calculator developed specifically for cultural events in the United States, and adapted for South Africa with the assistance of the original modeller”
Metropolitan University, promoting capacity
building across the cultural domains – has empowered South African festival and event organisers to track the economic impact of their events. ‘We are pleased to announce the launch of the South African Festival Economic Impact Calculator (SAFEIC), a new and critical online tool to measure the impact of events on the South African cultural and creative economy,’ says Prof Richard Haines, SACO’s chief executive officer. ‘This free online calculator, developed by the Cultural Observatory, has been carefully and conservatively designed and tested to produce reliable and valid results for a wide range of festivals and events – provided the data inputted is accurate,’ says Prof Haines. The calculator ultimately reports on three key elements of economic impact: total spending on accommodation; total amount spent by the organisers in the host economy and the actual economic impact including the multiplier effect on the host economy. To mark the launch of this initiative, SACO hosted a workshop on 23 May 2017 to empower events and festival organisers as well as role-players across the creative and cultural industries with the knowledge and skills to use the SAFEIC. SAFEIC was developed by two experienced cultural economists: Prof Bruce Seaman from Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, and Prof Jen Snowball, SACO Chief Research Strategist, and an economics lecturer at Rhodes University. The tool is based on a regional economic impact calculator developed specifically for cultural events in the United States, and adapted for South Africa with the assistance of the original modeller. The SAFEIC is driven by data – and works best when accurate data is inputted. Sourcing the data is the most difficult part – but the calculator works either way. ‘Ideally, some information should come from a visitor survey, but
Creative Feel / June 2017 / 29
if a survey is not possible, SAFEIC uses default values and
‘The online calculator provides a free tool for cultural
provides guidance on things like average visitor spending
festival and event organisers to estimate the economic
to ensure the report developed, is as valid as possible,’ says
(financial) impact of their event on the economy of the town
Prof Snowball.
or city the event takes place in.
To run SAFEIC, a festival or event requires a minimum of seven pieces of information, including:
‘Of course, the financial value of culture is only part of the overall value, but it can be a powerful way of showing
•
the number of days the festival or event is run over;
local communities and sponsors how the cultural economy
•
the population of the host city or town (obtainable
helps to encourage regional economic growth and create
from Stats SA);
jobs,’ says Prof Snowball.
•
the total number of attendees;
•
the average visitor spend on accommodation per
of hosting cultural festivals and events, and can be effective
night (obtainable via visitor survey or data from SA
in communicating the value of the event to funders, local
Domestic Tourism);
residents and other stakeholders.
•
• •
the average visitor on items other than
Economic impact studies also show the financial benefits
‘Until now, the only way to estimate the economic
accommodation (also obtainable from a survey or SA
impact of an event was to run an expensive visitor survey
Domestic tourism);
and employ a researcher to analyse the data and calculate
funding or sponsorship received from outside the
the impact. Not all events have the budget to do that, so the
host town or city; and
SAFEIC offers a reliable way of estimating economic impact
earnings derived from tickets sales.
at no cost to the organisation.
30 / Creative Feel / June 2017
“Until now, the only way to estimate the economic impact of an event was to run an expensive visitor survey and employ a researcher to analyse the data and calculate the impact” ‘While it won’t provide the same level of detail as a
supports decision-making. ‘We are very proud of this SACO
survey and impact study done for that specific event, it will
product, which we are offering free to industry practitioners
provide a realistic estimate of what the economic impact is.
and researchers. It’s been a great collaboration of minds and
An added bonus is that the results can be used in feedback to
we are excited by its potential impact on the industry,’ he
communities and sponsors,’ she adds.
said. The SACO is hosted by Nelson Mandela Metropolitan
Haines says the calculator would unlock both an understanding of the impact of events and reporting that
University in partnership with the universities of Rhodes and Fort Hare. CF
Creative Feel / June 2017 / 31
An exciting year for
THEATRE The musical Annie came out tops at the annual Naledi Theatre Awards by garnering four awards, including Best Production of a Musical. Three other highly acclaimed productions, Scorched, Suddenly the Storm and the musical TAU won three awards each at a glittering event held at the Lyric Theatre, Gold Reef City, on 5 June, writes Peter Feldman.
Earl Gregory in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
32 / Creative Feel / June 2017
“The Naledi Theatre Awards, which is in its 13th year, applauds theatre excellence and is the biggest event on the Gauteng theatre calendar”
Lilla Fleischmann in Annie
S
outh African theatre in all its facets was celebrated
acknowledged when Tiaan Slabbert was given an award for
on the night with entertainment, heartfelt speeches
Best Supporting Actor. Pay Back the Curry, an acerbic look
and surprises in the field of musical theatre where
at South African society, written by the celebrated Mike van
an Afrikaans production, Altyd in My Drome, walked
Graan and performed by comedian Daniel Richards, earned a
off with two awards, including Best Director for its creator, Neels Claasen. Two international musicals, Shrek The Musical
Best Newcomer Award for the versatile Richards. Veteran South African playwright Paul Slabolepszy
and the classic Singin’ in the Rain, were also honoured with
received an award for Best New SA Script for Suddenly the
two awards each.
Storm, and Ameera Patel (Best Supporting Actress) and Ilse
I See You, a hard-hitting South African play about police
Klink (Best Lead Performance in a Play: Female) won awards
corruption and brutality, which was produced by the Market
for their contribution to Scorched. Another Afrikaans play,
Theatre in collaboration with the Royal Court Theatre
AS, won recognition for the Best Cutting Edge Production,
in London, won favour with the judges with two awards,
while musical daredevil Bryan Schimmel, who has received
including Best Lead Performance in a Play: Male going to
no fewer than nine nominations in his career, won the Best
Desmond Dube.
Musical Director award for his work on Annie.
The Naledi Theatre Awards, which is in its 13th year,
The judges also took note of the groundbreaking African
applauds theatre excellence and is the biggest event on the
musical, TAU, which won in the categories Best Ensemble
Gauteng theatre calendar.
and Best Original Choreography for Nhlanhla Mahlangu.
Porselein, a bold, abrasive, in-your-face Afrikaans
Greg King was honoured for his work (with Shanti
production that did not hold back on its punches and
Naidoo) on Shrek the Musical in Best Costume Design and
hammered home its message in no uncertain terms, was
again for Best Set Design for Suddenly the Storm.
Creative Feel / June 2017 / 33
The World Impact Award went to legendary icon, Johnny Clegg, who is about to embark on his farewell world tour after 40 years in the industry
Pay Back the Curry, an acerbic look at South African society, written by the celebrated Mike van Graan and performed by comedian Daniel Richards, earned a Best Newcomer Award for the versatile Richards.
Ilse Klink (Best Lead Performance in a Play: Female) for Scorched
“The process of seeing, analysing and assessing all professional productions staged in Gauteng during each year is a full-time job which is not always acknowledged” For the first time two nominees in the Best Lighting Design category shared an award. They were Hlomohang Mothetho (TAU) and Wesley France (Suddenly the Storm). Four special awards were also given on the night. The Lesedi Spirit of Courage Award to Erik Holm, who is confined to a wheelchair after breaking his neck in a diving accident; the Executive Director’s Award to POPArt for their innovative and exciting work in Maboneng; the Lifetime Achievement Award to Haccius Mokokapasi, who has been a stage manager for over 50 years at various theatres; and the World Impact Award to legendary icon, Johnny Clegg, who is about to embark on his farewell world tour after 40 years in the industry. An exciting line up of presenters and entertainers were assembled on the night, including nominee Lilla Fleishmann, the star of Annie, who performed ‘Tomorrow’, Earl Gregory from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat who sang ‘Close Every Door to Me’, and award winning Daniel Richards who delivered a sketch from comedy Pay Back the Curry. The Kings of Harmony performed a moving tribute to the departed, and the cast of Sarafina executed an emotive and rousing finale. Naledi Executive Director Dawn Lindberg says, ‘We made a strong statement in support of LGBTQ rights with a special arrangement of John Lennon’s “Imagine”, led by Timothy Moloi and ten of our very best voices in harmony.’ As always, the Naledi’s featured a host of celebrity presenters from the theatre industry that included Carolyn Steyn, Michael de Pinna, Mbongeni Ngema, Vanessa Frost,
professional productions staged in Gauteng during each year is a full-time job which is not always acknowledged. ‘Lack of sufficient financial support from government
Sello Maake Ka Ncube, Marah Louw, Zak Henrickse, Jade
and commercial sponsors is a constant battle, but Naledi is
Bowers, John Kani, Tumi Morake, Kate Normington, Denise
proud to be internationally recognised as the benchmark of
Goldin and the CEO of M-Net, Yolisa Phahle.
excellence in South African live theatre.’
Lindberg says of this year’s awards: ‘The standard of excellence gets higher and higher each year, making the
Judges are: Renos Spanoudes, Welcome Msomi, Sello
judges’ job of selecting winners almost tautological; all the
Maake ka Ncube, Maishe Maponya, Peter Feldman, Helen
nominees are winners in our eyes!
Heldenmuth, Fiona Gordon, Gregory Goss, Johan van der
‘The panel sees over 100 productions each year, with
Merwe, Annelize Hicks, Jenni Newman, Matthew Counihan,
over 300 nominees on the list of excellence. Judging takes
Rudi Sadler, Tiffany Higgo, and Lance Maron.
place over a weekend with everyone on the panel allowed
A special panel for Theatre for Young Audiences partners
space to debate and discuss each and every one of the 27
with ASSITEJ SA. It comprises: Gerard Bester, Allison Green,
categories. The final votes are by secret ballot and verified by
Kgomotso Christopher, Omphile Molusi, Dorianne Alexander,
Zeridium. The process of seeing, analysing and assessing all
Lakin Morgan-Baatjies and Renos Spanoudes. CF
Creative Feel / June 2017 / 35
20 YEARS OF ENABLING THE ARTS In 2017 the National Arts Council (NAC) celebrates 20 years since it was instituted, and over the years has seen how the local creative community has come together to form a dynamic industry. Creative Feel spoke to CEO of the NAC, Rosemary Mangope, about this important anniversary and their strategic plans for the future. Creative Feel: Broadly, would you say the NAC’s operations over the past 20 years have given substance to its mandate? Rosemary Mangope: To an extent yes. The NAC was established as a grant disbursement entity. Over the years it has done well in terms of this particular element. However, the mandate is much broader than just grant funding. In the last three years an enhanced organisational strategy has introduced substantive elements of arts promotions in order to breathe life into the full mandate. CF: What difference do you think the NAC has made to the lives of artists and, in turn, to the South African arts, culture and heritage landscape? RM: As much as we cannot quantify the difference made, we can say that many artists have been enabled due NAC funding and ancillary support. We have partnered with the South African Cultural Observatory to conduct research, thus enabling us to respond in a more scientific manner.
36 / Creative Feel / June 2017
CF: Tell us more about the NAC’s role in facilitating social transformation, nation-building and social cohesion. RM: This is an important deliverable for the NAC. It is reflected as one of the focus points in the ten points mentioned by the Minister of Arts and Culture. A concerted effort to promote social cohesion and nation building has resulted in partnerships and flagship projects being created and funded. CF: What is the NAC’s role in creating a platform for South Africa’s arts and culture for international audiences and/or investors? RM: Creating a strong platform for exposing artistic excellence locally, in Africa and the globe is a key factor for the NAC. Several institutional partnerships have been forged in this regard. Over the years our artists have been exposed to many countries including France, the UK, Canada and Senegal, to mention a few. In terms of investments, formations such as the Forum of Chief Financial Officers have embraced the NAC and opened performance platforms for artists. Exhibitions, festivals and performances are funded regularly as a means of exposing the work to investors. CF: What is the NAC’s role in stimulating the local economy? RM: We are in nascent stages of real economic quantification. The reality is that the sector offers project related work which is unlike traditional ‘work’. The fact is that there is a huge scope for cultural and creative industries to make meaningful economic stimulation. CF: What are the NAC’s objectives over the medium to long term? RM: To reimagine the role of the NAC in the sector through focus on growing the creative and cultural sector. CF: How does the NAC plan on remaining relevant in the uncertain local and global economic environment? RM: The NAC has identified climate change and environmental sustainability as well as digitisation as integral to staying relevant. To this end, we have partnered with local and international institutions to promote projects in these fields. Currently we are hosting Sholeh Johnston, of the world-renowned Julie’s Bicycle, to work with us on elevating the profile of organisations and individuals supporting work in climate change.
Creative Feel / June 2017 / 37
DR SAME MDLULI taking the art world by storm At 33, NAC Council member and Chairperson of the Visual Arts Panel, Dr Same Mdluli has achieved what most people only dream of achieving in a lifetime. This dynamic, bold and fiercely intelligent young woman is in the process of blazing trails for young artists and presenting them with opportunities that previously did not exist.
B
orn and partly raised in Botswana, Dr Same Mdluli and her family went into exile in the United States during apartheid. They returned to Botswana in 1994, and in 1996 moved back to South Africa,
where she matriculated from the National School of the Arts in Johannesburg in 2001. From there, Mdluli went on to study fine art at the University of Johannesburg. ‘I then did a Master of Arts in Arts and Culture Management at Wits until 2010. Thereafter, I enrolled for a PhD, which I completed last year,’ she says. Mdluli’s doctoral thesis, for which she received funding from the National Arts Council (NAC), focuses on ‘socalled rural artists and the way in which they were featured and received in the (white) art market during a particular period,’ and attempts to interrogate why these artists have,
“One of the challenges young artists face is the lack of professional spaces to showcase their work and talent. This means they do not have the means to make a sustainable living from their craft and skills”
according to her, since ‘disappeared from view’. As a result, she says, there has been very little research done on these artists and their individual artistic repertoires. ‘My hope is that my research will encourage other scholars to start engaging in further research about these artists and other black artists in general. The South African
I wanted to challenge this misconception but it also became a means to better myself through education.’ Mdluli, who started drawing from an early age because
art historical landscape has not paid much attention to many
she enjoyed the quiet time and space it offered her, was
of these artists,’ she says.
appointed as a member of the NAC’s Visual Arts panel in
She pins down her motivation for her PhD reading in art
2014. The role of the panel is to assess and recommend
history as partly political and partly personal, in that she has
funding fairly and appropriately to projects, as well as to
‘always felt that there is a misconception that art is reserved
award bursaries to artists who would contribute positively to
for a selected few and therefore elitist.’ She adds: ‘In a sense
the overall visual arts and cultural landscape.
38 / Creative Feel / June 2017
‘My role on the panel, like the other three panellists, is to give some advice on why certain projects and bursaries are important to support. I’ve been studying art since high school and have worked in the industry for about ten years. This has equipped me with the skills and insight to offer advice on both the historical and current contemporary landscape of visual arts, both locally and internationally,’ says Mdluli. She has recently started up Sosesame Gallery in Melville, Johannesburg, which opened with its first exhibition in late April. On describing the reasons behind establishing the gallery, Mdluli says: ‘One of the challenges young artists face is the lack of professional spaces to showcase their work and talent. This means they do not have the means to make a sustainable living from their craft and skills. ‘The gallery comes at a time when we are all having to rethink many social, economic and political issues. It is thus an initiative that is an attempt to address some of these issues by providing a space where young (and older) artists can present their work.’ Sosesame Gallery, according to Mdluli, is run with the sensibilities of a cooperative. She serves as the curatorial director along with her three partners, who serve in other roles. ‘At the moment, we are trying to attract as many
“She pins down her motivation for her PhD reading in art history as partly political and partly personal, in that she has ‘always felt that there is a misconception that art is reserved for a selected few and therefore elitist’”
dynamic young and more established artists as possible,
such as video or installation work will all depend on the
mainly because we would like to steer the curatorial focus
feasibility and resources the gallery is able to generate,’
modelled around a mentorship programme. We found that
says Mdluli.
this was one of the successful aspects of the first exhibition
Having already done so much, there’s no doubt this star
we put together, where painter Johannes Phokela, for
of South African arts and culture will only shine brighter in
example, mentored two of the artists participating.’
the years to come. CF
In the coming years, the gallery aims to acquire adequate funding so it can extend its scope in showcasing
For more information on the Sosesame Gallery please visit
diverse artistic mediums. ‘The extension to other mediums
http://www.sosesamegallery.co.za/
Creative Feel / June 2017 / 39
AT THE NAF
Featuring new works from theatrical firebrands alongside Festival favourites such as the Gala Concert, visitors to this year’s Festival can expect a thrilling mix of new and familiar in a programme that both reflects and challenges South African society. ‘Creative disruption has served as the backbone for building this year’s core programme – and the response has been extraordinary,’ says National Arts Festival Executive Producer Ashraf Johaardien, who has been working with the 20-member Artistic Committee to put together this year’s programme. The National Arts Festival is made up of a number of programmes and events, including the curated Main; the open-access Fringe; and the Arena, which gives award-winning works a platform at the continent’s biggest cultural event. ‘A number of the works selected for the Main programme refuse to sit quietly in any one genre – and that will be the first clue that something is in flux,’ says Johaardien. ‘Multi-sensory, immersive works that cut across disciplines signal a desire by the artists to engage audiences in new and unconventional ways. Other works will disrupt dominant historical narratives by offering new lenses for looking at the past and reclaiming stories previously relegated to the margins.’
CREATIVE DISRUPTION
‘Despite a tough arts funding environment, the programme we’re able to offer still represents the cutting-edge of performance excellence in South Africa. Our artists, institutions and producers are doing amazing things in every corner of the country, and the programme that Ashraf and the Committee have shaped, will once again be a celebration of the best of this,’ says Tony Lankester, the CEO of the National Arts Festival. CF
The National Arts Festival runs from 29 June to 9 July 2017. For the full programme, visit Sandile Mkhize in Phakama Dance Theatre’s ...On the Line
40 / Creative Feel / June 2017
www.creativefeel.co.za or www.nationalartsfestival.co.za
FILM
Disruption, Dissension, Decency, Disobedience & Defiance This year’s Film Festival highlights film’s role as a disruptor of mainstream society’s narrative.
S
ocial critique has always been currency for film and documentary makers, and the Film Festival line-up includes movies about conflict and war (John Pilger’s The Coming War On China, Wolfgang Staudte’s The Murderers
Among Us); resistance (Michael Verhoeven’s The White Rose); and politics, freedom and dissension (Akong – A Remarkable Life; The Hidden Sky by Argentinian director Pablo Cesar). Tribute will be paid to Freddy Ogetrop, a film librarian at the Cape Provincial Film Library, with a screening of some of the treasures he collected over 40 years at the library, including the very rare film by Marcel Ophuls, A Sense of Loss. Marcel Ophuls’ work ranges over French collaboration with the Nazis in Sorrow and the Pity to the search for the Gestapo’s Butcher of Lyon in Klaus Barbie. In A Sense of Loss, he turns his attention to the struggles in Northern Ireland against British occupation. The resistance had recently garnered world attention with the Bloody Sunday massacre. With Bernadette Devlin charismatically representing the new face of Republicanism and Ian Paisley emerging as a spokesman for grassroots Unionism, Ophuls also focuses on the emotions that give his powerful film its title, voiced by a couple grieving over
Kim Ki-duk’s Pietá
the death of their baby Powerful new South African cinema includes Kalushi: The Story of Solomon Mahlangu, Meg Rickard’s Tess, Daryne Joshua’s Noem My Skollie, and Sifiso Khanyile’s Uprize!. In Kalushi, director Mandla Dube seeks to tell the story of Solomon Mahlangu, a 19-year-old street hawker who is beaten by the police during uprisings. After living in exile, he joins the liberation movement and becomes an international icon of South Africa’s liberation. Sihle Mthembu described the film as ‘a meeting of history and cinema’. Tess is described as award-winning filmmaker, director and screenwriter Meg Rickard’s finest work and was awarded Best SA Film and Best Actress for the lead role played by Christia Visser at the Durban International Film Festival in 2016. Tess is based on a novel by Tracey Farren called Whiplash. It tells the harrowing story of a 20-year-old prostitute who numbs her life with prescription drugs and has her life turned upside down by rape and an unwanted pregnancy. Khanyile’s Uprize! explores the world that shaped the students of 1976 and how the students transformed that world. The film looks at the political, social and cultural conditions that shaped the 1976 Soweto Students Uprising, and how those ideas were transformed into liberatory actions. CF
Daryne Joshua’s Noem my Skollie
Creative Feel / June 2017 / 41
THEATRE Blood Wedding by the Drama Department of the University of Pretoria
Expect the unexpected
Versatile and exciting young theatremakers and artists will break new ground and excavate forgotten histories this year in Grahamstown, premiering a number of new works, including a thought-provoking new play by 2017 Standard Bank Young Artist for Theatre Monageng ‘Vice’ Motshabi.
S
tandard Bank Young Artist Monageng ‘Vice’ Motshabi’s
I Turned Away and She Was Gone. Nominated for four Fleur
brand-new play Ankobia is set in Pelodikgadile, a land
du Cap and two Naledi awards, the show poetically explores
where history is forbidden. He uses sound, silence
the passage and cycles of life of three generations of women
and text to explore the pain of not being allowed to
– mother, daughter, grandmother – and the relationship
remember – and what happens when children are reminded of
we all have with our past, present and future selves. In this
our past. The voices of those who used to fight for land, truth and
captivating and accessible reworking of the ancient Greek
rights have been muted and, using a new invention called ‘the
myth of Demeter and Persephone, Reznek takes the audience
joy machine’, people’s memories are kept in check.
on a journey of discovery of the bonds that connect mothers
The past exposed is also examined in Nadia Davids’ What Remains. Directed by Jay Pather, dance, text and movement
and their children. NewFoundLand is the latest play by multiple-award-
combine to tell the story of the unexpected discovery of a
winning theatremaker Neil Coppen and focuses on the
slave burial ground and a city haunted by the memory of
intertwining lives and dreams of two South African men.
slavery. When the bones emerge from the ground everyone
Coppen’s play has been described as a hallucinatory and
in the city – slave descendants, archaeologists, citizens,
unusual exploration of sexuality, love and loneliness in
property developers – are forced to reckon with a history
contemporary South Africa, and asks the question, ‘is
sometimes remembered, sometimes forgotten.
forgetting a way of healing, or an ultimate form of denial?’
South African legend Jennie Reznek returns to the National Arts Festival with her acclaimed one-woman show
42 / Creative Feel / June 2017
The Arena Theatre programme promises some incredible new works from previous winners of the Standard Bank
(Oakfields College’s 4), a focus on black women (Gender Unit of the Western Cape’s The Citizen, Sol Plaatjie University Drama Group’s Lerothodi La Sebukwabukwane), moral dilemma and identity (University of the Free State’s Soverign, AFDA’s Zenith and AFDA Cape’s The Couch); as well as sex and sexuality (Market Theatre Laboratory’s Pop iCherri and Rhodes University’s Cult Clit). Tshwane University of Technology’s Molora uses a highly physical performance vocabulary to express the textual nuances in Yaël Farber’s adaptation of the Greek classical tragedy, The Oresteia. There are works with a lighter, funnier touch too with Ben Voss and John van de Ruit co-writing Mamba Republic, a rapid-paced satirical sketch-comedy that takes a look at all that is wrong in South Africa. British stand-up comedian Stephen K Amos
Ovation Awards, which reward productions on the Festival Fringe. Look out for the irrepressible Roberto Pombo and Joni Barnard in KidCasino; Jade Bowers’ Black; and Hungry Minds Productions’ Reparations.
Stephen K Amos will be doing two shows in Grahamstown
Left to right: A scene from Twelfth Night. Phoebe Fox as Olivia second from right PHOTO Marc-Brenner Shaun Oelf in What Remains PHOTO John Gutierrez
The Fallist movement and other protests last year put student activism firmly onto the news agenda and into the centre of conversation in South Africa. Each year, universities and colleges are invited to participate in the National Arts Festival and the 2017 Student Theatre line-up
and there are two other UK acts on the Arena programme
is as wide-ranging and complex as the issues faced by young
too: athletic comic duo The Pretend Men in the Fringe
South Africans – there’s revolt and contestation (University
smash hit, Police Cops; and Louise Reay, fresh from the
of Pretoria’s Blood Wedding, Wits Theatre/Wits School of
Brighton Fringe with It’s Only Birds, ‘a comedy in Chinese for
Arts and Theatre and Performance Division’s MMU), dance
people who don’t speak any Chinese at all.’ CF
Creative Feel / June 2017 / 43
TARTUFFE
the story of...
…A
wily opportunist who affects sanctity and gains complete control over Orgon, a rich bourgeois who in his middle years
has become a bigot and a prude. To the great despair of his family and staff, Orgon has been brainwashed into believing Tartuffe’s rhetoric to the point where Orgon feels morally obliged to break off his daughter’s engagement to her greatest love, Valère, and marry her off to this impostor; banishes his son; and signs off his worldly possessions to Tartuffe in the interim. Orgon’s family and staff try to make him aware of Tartuffe’s sinister motives, but it appears to be too late! In 2012, the Fortune Cookie Theatre Company’s critically acclaimed production of Molière’s The Miser was sold out and won four Naledi Awards. Now in 2017, Sylvaine Strike and the Fortune Cookie Theatre Company have taken Molière to the next level. As the director, Strike states that, ‘Written in 1664 and regarded at the time as an audacious attack on the bigotry of ostensibly religious men in positions of power, Tartuffe remains the most pointed critique of hypocrisy, exploring the sweet power of deception and the tragic gullibility of man. ‘I am deeply privileged to have had the opportunity to create a Tartuffe for South African audiences. As with The Miser, a reinvention of this great classic was the key. It began with selecting a cast who could meet the challenge of the physicality required for my vision. The language of Molière had to live in the bodies and not just the mouths of the actors. By the same token, I chose a version of the play that most closely resembled Molière’s original text, written in Alexandrine verse (so popular in his time), reminiscent of Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter as we know it. The great challenge was to deliver rhyme with ease, while subtly underplaying obvious rhythms that can entrap characters. The actors were required to work on several different layers simultaneously: I focused on refining the heightened physical, vocal, emotional and comical techniques of their delivery, to ultimately produce a company that used the same vocabulary to tell this story.
From left to right: Craig Morris (Tartuffe), Neil McCarthy (Orgon), Vanessa Cooke (Dorine), Vuyelwa Maluleke (Mariane) and Khutjo Green (Elmire)
‘The atmosphere in the rehearsal room was electrifying. Soon enough, our space became an incubator that gave birth to the signature style that is bold and clear in our Tartuffe. ‘The image that came to me when conjuring up a setting for this play was a garden abundantly full of life that is gradually deprived of oxygen and sunshine – much like our global garden can feel these days – and so reflecting Orgon’s household, whose characters are brimming with a love for life, but is stifled, splintered and almost irreparably shattered by Tartuffe’s self-serving corruption. ‘I have loved challenging the gender-specific roles that Molière has penned, believing the universality of the work allows females to play male roles and vice versa in a more contemporary society. Casting a female to play the role of Cléante was a very important decision, which has informed the moral tone or the voice of reason in this version of the play. Traditionally played by an older man, Cléante (Camilla Waldman) offers his wisdom in relentless monologues; hearing these words uttered by a woman gives a new and different gravity to the need for transparency and truth.’ Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière (15 January 1622 – 17 February 1673) was a French playwright and actor. He is considered one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature. Among Molière’s best-known works are The Misanthrope, The School for Wives, Tartuffe, The Miser, The Imaginary Invalid and The Bourgeois Gentleman. (Tartuffe can still be seen at the Joburg Theatre from 31 May to 25 June and at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival after its National Tour in Soweto, Durban and Cape Town.) CF Creative Feel / June 2017 / 45
MUSIC
Traditional, innovative & experimental It’s an exciting year for music on the Festival’s Main stages as Featured Artist, Neo Muyanga, leads the charge through a programme filled with tradition, innovation and experimentation. Another exciting programme highlight is Standard Bank Young Artist for Music, Abel Selaocoe.
N
eo Muyanga’s solo work, Solid(T)Ary Work, promises a survey of the tradition of protest song in the global south: moving swiftly between the chanted chorales of
Soweto and Salvador to the laments around the squares of Tahrir and Meskel, the presentation is a musical contemplation of modes of resistance in a world hit by flux. Muyanga will also present a collection of songs and music with a trio comprised of Andre Swartz, Peter Ndlala and Eastern Cape-born artist Msaki.
Neo Muyanga
Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra
46 / Creative Feel / June 2017
“The heart merely becomes numb as we move on to the next #trending issue without a chance to mourn or the time to heal” Msaki, recently nominated for a South African Music Award (SAMA), also performs with her band the Golden Circle in Platinumb Heart, an exploration of trauma and its ability to ossify, alienate and elude one into thinking one is coping. ‘The heart merely becomes numb as we move on to the next #trending issue without a chance to mourn or the time to heal,’ says Msaki. The Standard Bank Young Artist for Music in 2017, Abel Selaocoe, celebrates a much-anticipated return visit to South Africa after an extended time spent playing on top international stages. Selaocoe’s Festival offering will explore the virtuosity of the cello and his diverse musicianship, ranging from Debussy’s poetic and vivid Cello Sonata to James MacMillan’s spiritual reflective music – ending with foot-stomping klezmer and African inspired pieces. Off the back of the release of their debut number 1 charting collaboration, Kahn Morbee and Karen Zoid will
Karen Zoid and Kahn Morbee
present only one concert of We Could Be Divine, their new collaboration and a song writing process Kahn describes as ‘organic and effortless’. Another Festival favourite is the Gala Concert; taking
The debut production by the award-winning Charl du Plessis Trio, Baroqueswing, returns from sold-out
place on the closing weekend of the Festival this year,
tours in Europe and the Far-East to perform in a series
it will feature the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra,
of Grahamstown concerts with famous melodies from
conducted by Richard Cock, with soloists Abel Selaocoe
Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Bach’s Air on a G String and
(cello) and Patrick Goodwin (violin). The CPO also presents
‘Musette’ and ‘Minuet’ from Notenbüchlein für Anna
the Symphony Concert, conducted by Bernhard Gueller with
Magdalena, among others.
soloist Luis Magalhães (piano). Double-platinum-selling a cappella group The Soil will
The National Youth Wind Orchestra’s Children’s Concert is a great way to introduce children to music and the
present two concerts. Defined as ‘Kasi Soul’, their music is a
orchestra with a relaxed and interactive concert of popular
blend of contemporary township style and an eclectic mix of
classics and South African favourites – children can meet the
urban contemporary, fusing beat box and soul.
musicians from the National Youth Wind Orchestra, and a
Ragtime Plus is an informative and highly accessible
few familiar (or unfamiliar) instruments. CF
programme about ragtime music. Presented in France and Switzerland to great audience and critical response, it’s an ongoing and ever-evolving project that changes as creator,
Don’t forget that you can find the incredible Standard Bank
Liza Joubert, finds different pieces and new information to
Jazz Festival programme in the May issue of Creative Feel or
present to different audiences.
online at www.creativefeel.co.za
Creative Feel / June 2017 / 47
‘Curious, furious and poetic’ Bringing together different aesthetics, contexts and languages, the dance programme at this year’s National Arts Festival interrogates and celebrates
DANCE
questions of identity, culture, spirituality and sensuality. At the top of the bill is 2017 Standard Bank Young Artist for Dance Thandazile Radebe.
Dada Masilo’s Giselle PHOTO Stella Olivier
“A curious, furious and poetic game of different aesthetics, contexts and languages, oscillating between perception and attribution, between history and that which is current and urgent”
KonKoriti performed by Vincent Mantsoe. PHOTO Val Adamson
F
rom brand-new works by well-known
and production of sound, and the placing of this “dance-theatre”
choreographers and dancers, to reinterpretations
work in a design environment that evokes the “slow rhythms of
of classic works, the 2017 programme represents
growth and decay” around us, becomes the basis of a work that
a ‘curious, furious and poetic game of different
tackles the volatility of the imploding present.’
aesthetics, contexts and languages, oscillating between
Dada Masilo’s Giselle will make its South African debut
perception and attribution, between history and that which is
in Grahamstown, thanks to a partnership between the
current and urgent,’ says Gregory Vuyani Maqoma, convenor
University of Johannesburg and the National Arts Festival.
of the Artistic Committee’s dance panel.
Masilo says she has aimed ‘to create a work that is not about
Thandazile Radebe explores her fascination with the
forgiveness, but about deceit, betrayal, anger and heartbreak.
idea that, as human beings, we are required to have names.
The Willis ancestors literally call Giselle to join them. They
In Sabela, she excavates the tensions between names and
are not a group of sweet, sad girls, but rather something
numbers, bodies and biometrics, space and passwords.
more terrifying… They have been had. They are heartbroken.
‘Through our names we want to find out how it feels to be
And they want revenge. Giselle does not forgive.’
infinitely more complex than we are,’ she says. ‘Through
Vincent Mantsoe’s solo work KonKoriti has been
our names we want to be free from ourselves and transcend
described by dance critic Adrienne Sichel as ‘cathartic’,
through each other until we are one.
‘deeply poetic, uncannily intuitive’. Named after a song
‘Sabela seeks to encourage consciousness of one’s
about pride and arrogance that his grandmother used to sing
rightful existence in the space of life no matter where you
to him, KonKoriti explores physical power and selfishness.
are or who you are... It seeks to reaffirm that in us lies an
Mantsoe is strongly inspired by spirituality and deep cultural
answer for why we are here. Sabela seeks to instil hope in the
influences as he wrestles with the preservation of tradition
modern world...’
in the contemporary.
The Forgotten Angle Theatre Collaborative will present
In a powerful collaboration created through a residency
With Nothing But Silence They Turned Their Bodies to Face the
at Dance Space in Johannesburg, Unmute Dance Company
Noise, choreographed by PJ Sabbagha and Athena Mazarakis
(Cape Town) and Tumbuka Dance Company (Harare), have
in collaboration with the company. ‘...Noise is a response to
united to present Breaking Borders. Moved by the acts of
the historically dense present: a sociopolitical moment that
xenophobia in South Africa, the artists have been working
is laden with the compacting of intercepting, unresolved and
together with the intention of breaking the borders
recurring patterns of oppression. In this world premiere of
between their countries, to connect and look to the future
...Noise, “bodies” emerge at the centre of this historically charged
together. The work starts with the question, ‘Who am I as
present. The interplay of live performing bodies, the dialogue
an African person?’ CF
Creative Feel / June 2017 / 49
VISUAL / PERFORMANCE ART
Combining the historic and the contemporary
D
ineo Seshee Bopape’s Sa Koša Ke Lerole is a travelling museum that celebrates the contribution
The work of this year’s selected performance and visual artists exquisitely combine the historic and the contemporary. Spearheading the Performance Art programme is 2017 Standard Bank Young Artist Award winner for the genre, Dineo Seshee Bopape. The 2017 Standard Bank Young Artist for Visual Art, Beth Diane Armstrong, explores scale, materiality, process and change in her award-commissioned solo exhibition, in perpetuum.
Khanyisile Mbongwa, Umnikelo Oshisiwe – Ibandla Lomlindo
of chorale music to the rich cultural history of South Africa. Bopape says, ‘Having grown up with
chorale music in both ears, as my father was in the choir and my mother a conductor and director for many years, it evokes my first ideas of positive representation while acting as a nostalgic memory of a community held within the music.’ In Excerpts From The Past, Sethembile Msezane taps into the red-hot conversation about colonial conquest of land in Africa in a performance narrated by sound clips from the colonial and apartheid eras and our current context. Khanyisile Mbongwa’s performance art piece Umnikelo Oshisiwe – Ibandla Lomlindo explores the nuanced and complex relationship between waiting and mourning: ‘To wait is to stay where one is, to be left until a later time, to defer until a person’s arrival, or remain in readiness for a purpose. To mourn is to feel or show sorrow for death, feel regret or sadness about loss or disappearance of someone, to grieve or lament for the dead,’ says Mbongwa.
NEONS Never Ever Oh Noisy Shadows PHOTO Philippe Weissbrodt
Beth Diane Armstrong’s in perpetuum deliberately
Abantu beMendi explores the rich and complex
denotes ideas of repetition, an on-going, eternal and
meanings that the Mendi story has acquired through
everlasting cycle – a forever and ever. Armstrong’s
the arts. The story of the Mendi has been immortalised
narrative refuses to settle for simple and basic answers
in poetry, most notably in Ukutshona kukaMendi, by
to her questions, instead she continues to exhaust, push
SEK Mqhayi. The exhibition comprises major works by
and challenge her material forms. This serves to not only
Buhlebezwe Siwani, Mandla Mbothwe and Hilary Graham;
orientate herself in the world around her but so too her
rare photographs and documents; poetry; underwater
audience, who are invited to engage and perceive and then
footage of the Mendi wreck; and footage of the ceremony at
re-engage with spaces around them.
sea that paid tribute to the families of the men who died in
Francois Knoetze’s exhibition Virtual Frontiers uses virtual reality panoramas and immersive sound pieces
the sinking of the Mendi. Sabamnye noMendi Centenary Commemoration is a
to tell stories of the past, present and imagined future
creative interdisciplinary and multimedia interpretation of
of Grahamstown. In Footprints, curated by Thembinkosi
the sinking of the SS Mendi. This evocative live performance,
Goniwe, Andrew Tshabangu both contributes towards and
conceptualised and curated by Mandla Mbothwe, goes
subverts Johannesburg’s iconography.
beyond the theatre walls and into the public space to
One of South Africa’s most respected artists, Mmakgabo
investigate and creatively interpret SEK Mqhayi’s poem
Helen Sebidi makes a welcome return to Grahamstown.
about the sinking of SS Mendi just off the Isle of Wight in
In They Are Greeting, a series of paintings, prints and
1917, a tragedy in which more than 600 black South African
sculptures, Sebidi continues the dialogue between tradition
troops drowned
and the contemporary, the material and the spiritual, Africa and the West. The multidisciplinary exhibition Abantu beMendi and
Two exhibitions pay tribute to South Africa’s musical heritage in September Jive; SA Musical Graphics is a fascinating selection of album sleeves that offer a reflection
the performance art piece Sabamnye noMendi Centenary
on the country’s social history through the lens of the music
Commemoration explores the centenary, in 2017, of the
industry; and My Favourite Sounds, which combines 47
sinking of the SS Mendi, a ship carrying black South African
portraits of musical personalities shot by Dwayne Kapula
troops to the Western Front during the First World War.
with online interviews. CF
Creative Feel / June 2017 / 51
MBDA inspiring Arts in Nelson Mandela Bay To find out more about Mandela Bay Development Agency’s (MBDA) role in the creative and cultural sector. Creative Feel spoke to Oyama Vanto, Project Leader – Creative Industry for MBDA.
Creative Feel: How is the MBDA involved in the creative sector? Oyama Vanto: To answer this question, one needs to look at the MBDA’s overall mandate to be able to place the role and function of the creative and cultural sector within the bigger picture: ‘Our aim is to project-manage regeneration of the Port Elizabeth CBD with a view to promoting economic and tourism development against the backdrop of urban renewal.’ When we talk about the creative and cultural sector, this includes arts, culture and heritage. These are the lifeline and soul of a place and its people. What we do is create opportunities for this sector to also engage in urban renewal programmes that aim to bring people back to the city. There are many activities through which this is done. These include exhibitions, public art, performing arts, local film screenings, dialogues, and campaigns. These activities are done through partnerships with already existing creative and cultural projects and activities. CF: What can creatives in the Bay look forward to? OV: On the 25th May at Athenaeum we started an ‘Express Yourself’ live art programme. The idea is to allow artists in the city a space to collaborate, create and engage on national issues. The programme will include performances, exhibitions, book launches, presentations and debates. There will be public art as part of the Vuyisile Mini and Baakens Valley upgrade planned for 2017/18, an outdoor Mr Oyam Vanto - MBDA Creative sector project leader
52 / Creative Feel / June 2017
film screening at Trinder square in June 2017 as well as an
international sport programmes unique to Nelson Mandela Bay such as Iron Man, and now potentially World Iron Man, on the creative and cultural industries’ front the city has not done extensive work yet. There are attempts to correct many errors here and the best place to start from is the creative and cultural industries’ policy of Nelson Mandela Bay. The funding and the application of this policy is critical. The city has an amazing cohort of fantastic, brilliant and global artists. What makes the creative industry a contributor in the overall GDP is the domino effect that is set off by investing in the sector, which drives sustainable development and creates inclusive jobs. An indication of this is a recent set of UNESCO guidelines on how to measure and compile statistics about the economic contribution of the cultural industries.
Investing in the Arts workshop on 2nd June 2017 at Tramways building, in association with the DAC (National Department of Arts and Culture), focusing on Mzansi Golden Economy. CF: What are the highlights to date? OV: The internationally known ‘Route 67’ public art journey which features 67 brilliant public art pieces is by far the most significant and well-known intervention by the MBDA. The statue of Zola Nqini at Uitenhage Market Square is equally iconic in that area. The upgrade of the city’s heritage asset,
“The City has an amazing cohort of fantastic, brilliant and global artists. What makes the creative industry a contributor in the overall GDP is the domino effect that is set off by the investments which are made into the sector to drive sustainable development and create inclusive jobs”
the Campanile, is about to reinvigorate creative culture in the inner city. The Garden of Remembrance memorial at
We have what it takes because of the talent we have, the
Donkin Reserve is a must see tourist and cultural attraction.
ability to host big international festivals, the beginnings of
We have created relationships with other institutions and
an arts grant by the municipality, the oldest running theatre
departments to explore a more focused approach in giving
in Africa, amazing landscapes, interesting heritage(s), and a
support to local filmmakers, and have rekindled the cultural
city that recognises the impact the sector has in job creation.
relationship Nelson Mandela Bay has with Göteborg, Sweden. We have supported the development of the Nelson
CF: Final thoughts?
Mandela Bay Arts Council and have allocated an office space
OV: Nelson Mandela Bay has all the ingredients for a
for the organisation at Athenaeum. A public art mural was
vibrant coastal city with exceptionally talented artists and
done in honour of Sonia Payi, a seven-year-old rape and
rapidly growing independent festivals and events. All that
murder victim. The mural was done as a campaign against
the city needs is to integrate these into the daily lifestyle.
women and child abuse and is the initiative of a local artist.
Further investments into infrastructure and turning old buildings into studios, working spaces, exhibitions spaces,
CF: Can Nelson Mandela Bay make it big in the arts?
galleries, performance spaces, networking spaces and
OV: Nelson Mandela Bay is the leading city and economic
creating spaces is vital to the role that the MBDA and city
hub of the Eastern Cape. While the city boasts some
needs to play. CF
Creative Feel / June 2017 / 53
Celebrating our
NATURAL HERITAGE The South African Mint is one of the leading custodians and purveyors of South Africa’s heritage.
T
he South African Mint has a long history in producing high quality currency coins for South Africa and the export market, and is also one of the foremost purveyors of South African natural
heritage; and the proud home of the world’s first gold bullion coin (the Krugerrand). Established in 1892, the Mint’s sole purpose was
2016 Collectable Currency Proof Set
to produce currency for the country. This expertise later extended to the production of collectable commemorative coins and in 1967, investment coins in the form of the Krugerrand. Today, the South African Mint boasts a wide variety of collectable coins that celebrate South Africa’s cultural and natural heritage, in precious and nonprecious metals like gold and silver, as well as metal alloys. The detail and care taken to produce these superior collectable coins render them as works of art in themselves. The coin ranges are produced in limited quantities, using world-class manufacturing practices and South African-sourced raw materials.
2016 South African Inventions R2 Crown Coin
“In 2016, the South African Mint introduced a new theme: South African Inventions, to celebrate South African innovations that have been adopted the world over”
2016 Man and Biosphere collection
2016 Bird and Flowers of the Kogelberg Biosphere
The Mint draws on its expert skill in researching the subject matter, and superior design and craftsmanship, to create a new coin series. As a leading preserver and narrator of South Africa’s history, culture and natural surroundings, the South African Mint partnered with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) in 2015 on their Man and the Biosphere Programme to commemorate the country’s biodiversity. The Man and Biosphere coin range later inspired the Mint’s first-ever coloured coins, in the form of the sterling silver bird and flowers of the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve. Coin collections such as the 24-carat gold Natura range launched in 1994, which celebrates the country’s wildlife, has become one of the Mint’s most sought-after
“The Natura range has featured creatures like the leopard, the blackbacked jackal and the rhinoceros”
coin collections, winning many international awards. The Natura range has featured creatures like the leopard, the black-backed jackal and the rhinoceros. In 2016, the South African Mint introduced a new theme: South African Inventions, to celebrate South African innovations that have been adopted the world over. The first invention to be featured was the Dolos. Dolosse were developed by an East London engineer in 1963 to protect harbour walls and dissipate the energy of breaking waves. Their unique design ensures that they form an interlocking yet porous wall. CF These and other collectible coins can be found at the South African Mint’s retail store in Centurion, corner Old Johannesburg Road and Brakfontein interchange. Contact: (012) 677 2470 or email: Coinworld@samint.co.za for more information www.samint.co.za
2016 Natura Hyena collection
Creative Feel / June 2017 / 55
Aspire Art Auctions’ Inaugural Cape Town sale on 27 March 2017 at the Avenue, V&A Waterfront attracted widespread interest. Emma Bedford, Senior Art Specialist and head of Aspire’s Cape Town office, noted: ‘We have achieved several ground-breaking records with historical and contemporary works, proving that our vision of developing the market is not only achievable but enthusiastically supported by collectors, hungry for exciting new developments in the industry.’
J
H Pierneef’s A view across Fisherman’s Cove,
Gallery and Museum in Tulbagh. The diamond-shaped
Seychelles sold for an astonishing R4 547 200,
Black Rose Africa, fiercely bid up to R477 456, confirmed the
reaching over four times the previous record for
importance of this artist whose works have been acquired
a non-South African subject. His Vrystaat Reën
by international collectors such as Philip Johnson, leading
achieved R2 046 240, four times its low estimate. Two early and rarely before seen, large-scale drawings by William Kentridge were met with a flurry of bidding.
Modernist architect and former curator at MoMA, New York, and Sophia Loren. Gerard Bhengu’s Veld Fire achieved R181 888, six
Grande Jeté (1987), purchased from Kentridge’s 1987
times the low estimate – a testimony to the increasing
Standard Bank Young Artist Award exhibition, realised R2
sophistication of the market and its appreciation for rare
273 600, while Room Service (1986) sold for R2 046 240.
works of supreme quality. Louis Maqhubela’s compelling
Repatriated from Europe by Aspire for this sale, an
Exiled King, a definitive, early work, sold for R341 040; at
exquisite Karoo landscape, Kammanassie River, Oudtshoorn, by pioneering South African impressionist painter, Hugo Naudé, sold for an impressive R704 816. Pieter Wenning’s
Mary-Jane Darroll, Senior Art Specialist,
By Riversideweg, Nuweland, acquired a century ago by the
confirms: ‘We, at Aspire Art Auctions,
owner’s grandfather, the illustrious Dr WMR Malherbe, who established the law faculty at Stellenbosch University,
continue to pioneer the Artist Resale
sold for a remarkable R397 880, proving that impeccable
Right, affirming our commitment to the
provenance attracts interest. Experienced auctioneer and Senior Art Specialist, Ruarc Peffers, commented, ‘The success of this auction reflects the
development of the industry and support of emerging and established artists.’
new vision, committed to and focused exclusively on fine art, that Aspire Art Auctions brings to the market.’ Amadlozi artists fared well. Improving on the previous
more than three times his previous record, this is a long-
record set by Aspire Art Auctions in its inaugural sale of
awaited and well-received recognition of this significant
October 2016, Edoardo Villa’s key work, Vertical Composition,
artist. Albert Adams’ Untitled (Four Figures with Pitchforks),
set a new record at R1 818 880. Similarly, the Skotnes market
his first appearance at auction, sold for R136 416. This
was affirmed with Ravine Wall selling for R795 760.
important artist is being honoured with a solo exhibition at
Works by the still underrated Christo Coetzee sparked interest – including those benefiting the Christo Coetzee
56 / Creative Feel / June 2017
the Rupert Museum, curated by the former Director of Iziko South African National Gallery, Marilyn Martin.
Mohau Modisakeng, Ditaola XV, 2014. Inkjetprint on Epson Ultrasmooth dibonded aluminium composite, 198 x 149 cm. PHOTO Nina Lieske, Repro Pictures Contemporary art exceeded all expectations. David Brown’s Hanging Man sold for a record price of R227 360, three times his previous record, while Steven Cohen’s
William Kentridge, Grande Jeté, 1987. Charcoal and pastel on paper, 149 x 101.5 cm. PHOTO Nina Lieske, Repro Pictures
a record price of R107 996 while Nandipha Mntambo’s Praça de Touros IV (triptych) sold for a record R125 048. Mary-Jane Darroll, Senior Art Specialist, confirms:
Chandelier sold for R176 204, seven times his previous record.
‘We, at Aspire Art Auctions, continue to pioneer the
Mohau Modisakeng, who is representing South Africa at
Artist Resale Right, affirming our commitment to the
the Venice Biennale 2017, achieved a record of R204 624 for his
development of the industry and support of emerging and
photograph, Ditaola XV. Another major contemporary artist,
established artists.’
Moshekwa Langa, doubled his previous record when his mixed media composition, she thought of him often, sold for R102 312. Joachim Schönfeldt’s sculpture, Maquette 5 made R159
Aspire’s next auction, to be held in Johannesburg on 17 July 2017, offers many a treat for art lovers – from landscapes and urban scenes by JH Pierneef, Maggie
152 while newcomer to the secondary market, Senzeni
Laubser, Hugo Naudé and Ephraim Ngatane, through
Marasela’s work, Untitled (from the Covering Sarah series),
powerful early sculptures by Edoardo Villa and delightful
acknowledging Sarah Baartman, sold for a record R51 156.
paintings by Walter Battiss and Robert Hodgins to
Award-winning photographer, Mikhael Subotzky’s Cell 508, A Section, Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison, achieved
sensational works by contemporary artists like Athi-Patra Ruga and Mohau Modisakeng. CF
Business & Arts Business & Arts is a monthly column by Michelle Constant, CEO of Business and Arts South Africa (BASA).
A
month or so ago, Ismail Mahomed and I were
should not always be linked to leadership but rather that we
offered places on the King’s College Leading
need to dig more deeply into a systemic world of politicians,
Culture in the 21st Century course in London,
technicians, educators and the private sector. It’s pretty
through the British Council. Spending time with
obvious, of course, but I appreciated being given time – time
19 cultural practitioners from countries as diverse as Russia,
to question and challenge ideas that often slide by – time
China, Malaysia and Ethiopia was an affirming experience.
that often seems unavailable in a rapidly changing and
It was learning through affirmation. Through the diverse
socially mediated society.
individual stories and experiences, it became quite clear we
Price suggested further that a cultural leader is required
are mostly on the right track when it comes to ensuring that
to keep ambivalence open for longer, resisting decisions,
culture is a participant in the drive for more equal societies;
holding the paradox for longer, and living with the problem.
to ensuring, as Southbank Creative Director Jude Kelly
Create space for indecision and possibilities, he suggested,
put it, ‘the arts act as a solution and not a problem, inside
arguing the need for collective and personal curiosity. It
systemically unjust societies.’
is this focus on ‘process’ in decision-making, the ‘making’ of decisions intrinsic to the creative practice. I recently
“One of the speakers, Senior Research Fellow at Robert Gordon University, Dr Jonathan Price, questioned whether there was any difference between cultural and civic leaders, asking whether cultural leaders should also be civic leaders?”
visited the UJ Gallery for an exhibition of artist made books. Academic David Paton had skilfully curated Booknesses and the 250-piece exhibition was part of philanthropist Jack Ginsberg’s collection of 3 000 artists’ books. The exhibition wove a journey, both literally and figuratively, highlighting the making of the art book even more than the final book itself. The processes, the choices that the artists made highlight, in many ways, the idea of living with the problem that Price talked about. Whilst the final product or book was ‘quietly’ exhibited – each work talks to an extensive process, a macro and micro world of making. Each book represents artistic practice at its best, with a focus on the journey, as opposed to the finished product. It is not often that I have had such a visceral response to an exhibition. My instinct was to rush home, to make paper as opposed to simply buying it, to pull out scissors and thread, to understand how
It’s an interesting debate and crafts a good question as
laser-cutting really works, to be lost in the bejewelled shades
to the role (both via expectation and intrinsically) of the
of water colours, to climb into the mind and choices of the
cultural and creative practitioner, or the artrepreneur, in
artists. Ultimately to appreciate the time, time, time it must
broader society. As Price noted, leadership often spoke to
have taken to make each treasure that could possibly be
the ‘the fallacy of the strongman’, suggesting that crisis
found under the glass vitrines. CF
58 / Creative Feel / June 2017
hunter-gatherer an exhibition by Kai Lossgott
Absa Gallery | 21 May to 15 June Left: space age. Kai Lossgott. Fragment from ‘postconsumer wastebooks’, from ‘project carbon’. Gold and silver aluminium foil papers and paperboard, foiled polymer film, laminated paper, bull clip. 22 cm x 17 cm. Image courtesy of the artist. Top: horse. Kai Lossgott. 2017. UV print on kitchen towel paper, from the ‘destinies for hire’ series. 297 x 420 mm. Bottom: hunter-gatherer. Kai Lossgott. 2016. Production still from performance with wearable postconsumer plastic sculpture. Schillerallee, Berlin. Photo: Kim H
In a human-made era of global social and ecological challenges, when that which we call ‘the environment’ is urban for almost all our planet’s human inhabitants, the artist asks what it means to be human. Kai Lossgott has looked for answers in the places that seem to be the most overlooked due to their familiarity – the ecology of the city, and the household objects we discard. In hunter-gatherer, the minute, jumbled and discarded fragments of urban life suddenly attract attention through slow and careful re-arrangement. Through changing their location and context between street, the transparent pockets of the ‘hunter-gatherer’ body-suit, and the floors of cultural institutions, these discarded objects, many of which cannot decompose, become temporarily useful in a game about composition. Since the first industrial revolution, what we have called ‘nature’ now refers to something made by human beings. This is a retro sci-fi about the habits of our ancestors and the potential futures in store for us. The artist is fascinated by the shifting value placed on the same objects over time, in their journey from a supermarket shelf to the chaos of the dump, back to the order of the anthropological museum display. This exhibition speculates that practice of collecting, hoarding and abandoning
define the human relationship with ‘things’, and perhaps our identity as a species. As a human being and a consumer, enquiring into the world as an African artist, Lossgott is ultimately concerned with knowledge itself. He wants to know how our inherited world-view may be reshaped when we realise through shifting contexts that we are not looking at the universe, it is looking at us.
Lossgott was the overall winner in the prestigious L’Atelier art competition in 2015, and was awarded a six-month art residency at the Cité internationale des Arts in Paris. This is his first solo exhibition since his return from France. hunter-gatherer is hosted by the Absa Gallery, and runs from 21 May 2017 to 15 June 2017. The artist will do a walkabout in the gallery on Friday 26 May, and Friday 2 and 9 June 2017 between 13:00 and 15:00.
Creative Feel / June 2017 / 59
The Art of Performance Dave Mann is an editor and award-winning arts journalist.
Painting is personal: South African graffiti as an intimate art form
Nausea NVS PHOTO Cale Waddacor (@graffitisouthafrica)
G
Erons, Gasr PHOTO Cale Waddacor (@graffitisouthafrica)
raffiti can be many things. To old, suburb-
of cans knocking against each other in your backpack as you
dwelling folk, it’s likely a sign of a deteriorating
traverse the city by night; graffiti is intimate. It’s carried out
neighbourhood. To marketers, it’s a hip, youth-
in silence, often after dark and always concerned with the
oriented tool for pushing product, and to greasy
surface on which it’s being carried out upon. In cities like
property developers, it can even be a tool for gentrification.
Johannesburg for example, which is made up of a seemingly
Graffiti is an undeniably artistic medium, however, and an
endless collection of buildings, metal, dust and concrete,
intricate one too.
graffiti is arguably one of the few art forms that sees its
To me, graffiti is personal. And this, in part, is due to the
artists truly interacting with their environment.
fact that I used to write graffiti during my younger years in
Rather than being the faceless, directionless mass
Cape Town, but it’s also the nature of graffiti that makes it a
that many make it out to be, graffiti is an art form that’s
personal art form – a performative one. From the slow hiss
hierarchical in nature. It contains levels. There’s bombing –
of aerosol paints – the many smells they produce and the
the tags, outlines and chrome and black lettering carried out
high, whiny headaches they can give you – to the shrill rattle
illegally and at speed – and then there’s the commissioned
60 / Creative Feel / June 2017
side of it which sees larger pieces and murals spreading throughout the city, painted legally, carefully and during the day. There are laws too. Strictly speaking, a mural covers a piece, which covers a throwup (quick pieces comprising one or two colours and an outline), which covers a tag. Never the other way around. To put a tag up over a mural or a piece is hugely disrespectful (and in some circles, can quickly see your own pieces and murals meeting the same fate). Similarly, public walls, trains, electricity boxes, and other city-owned property is an artist’s playground. Residential walls, religious or historical buildings, and most natural surfaces like trees and large stretches of rock face, are strictly off limits. These rules and guidelines exist for a reason. Most of the time, graffiti writers get a bad rap for
“From the slow hiss of aerosol paints – the many smells they produce and the high, whiny headaches they can give you – to the shrill rattle of cans knocking against each other in your backpack as you traverse the city by night; graffiti is intimate”
Nausea NVS PHOTO Cale Waddacor (@graffitisouthafrica)
what they do, and having a few kids who are new to the art
The execution was unrefined at first, mostly carried out
form haphazardly running around their neighbourhoods
with Ducospray and Sprayon cans as artists made the most
and scribbling all over their neighbours’ houses doesn’t help
of small and ineffective nozzles that clogged themselves
graffiti much in the way of a moral code.
up constantly. The style was mostly influenced by two
To provide a brief history, local graffiti is still a relatively
small, but valuable imports: graffiti books like Subway Art
young medium. To go back a few years, around the 1980s
and Spraycan Art by American documentarians like Henry
to be more specific, would find you at the origins of South
Chalfant and Martha Cooper.
African graffiti. Back then, graffiti came in the form of
The artists of the time (widely considered heroes now)
protest art (a form it repeatedly takes), calling for the
went by the names of Gogga, Mak1one, Falko and more,
downfall of the apartheid regime through thick, roller-
and most, if not all of them, took to graffiti as a form of
painted letters on inner city walls. From there, it moved into
resistance. When I started writing graffiti around 2007,
more of a mainstream artistic movement, taking its lead
graffiti had become largely mainstream with white kids
from the hip-hop scenes in New York and further abroad.
from the suburbs filling up the scene, but it was an active
Creative Feel / June 2017 / 61
“In this way, graffiti is less of an act of vandalism than it’s an act of performance art. Graffiti, like public performance art, disrupts. It’s a medium that jumps out at you, suddenly and without warning”
Town’s trains are like roving urban galleries. The southern line in particular, which reaches from Simon’s Town through to the Cape Town CBD, carries with it an incredible amount of graffiti. I’ve never painted a train myself, but I’m told that putting your mark up on the steel carriages of the Metro Rail is no easy feat, with armed night guards patrolling all reaches of the yards. There are stories of bullets just grazing artists’ ears as they run, others being caught and swiftly thrown into holding cells. In short, it’s risky business putting your work on a train. And yes, the act of painting over a form of public transport is undeniably illegal, but really, what other type of artist would risk that much to ensure their work is seen? The upshot of managing to paint one of these trains, however, is that you can be sure your piece will stay up
Gmok PHOTO Cale Waddacor (@graffitisouthafrica)
Tyke, Zesta, Page33 PHOTO Cale Waddacor (@graffitisouthafrica)
one nonetheless. The writing on the wall, then, came by way
for a good amount of time. The cleaning of graffiti from
of Toe, Disk, Cros, Sure, Bzar, Wer, and many more, all of
Cape Town’s trains, otherwise known as ‘buffing’, is an
them taking notes from the writers before them, and further
irregular practice. My guess is after spending all that
developing the local style. It was a time before platforms like
money employing night-time security, they don’t have any
Instagram could be used to showcase your work. Back then,
leftover to actually clean the trains. That and the fact that
few websites dedicated to South African graffiti existed and
the trains are in use far too much for them to be taken out
Flickr was the online meeting point of choice. Everyone,
of circulation all that often for a good scrub. A great deal
from newbies to established writers, would take to Flickr to
of the city’s working population takes the train into work
share their latest piece, hunt down new spots, and share tips
daily, meaning a great deal of eyes see the train’s graffiti too.
and tricks. Still, if you wanted to really see the city’s latest
It’s not just on the trains either. The some 40 kilometres of
offerings, there was (and still is) no beating Cape Town’s
vibracrete wall that stands on either side of the tracks from
southern train line.
Simon’s Town to Cape Town station is filled with graffiti, old
While Johannesburg’s public train system is almost spotless and Durban’s gets repainted on the regular, Cape
62 / Creative Feel / June 2017
and new. In this way, if you are on a long train ride without a book or a phone or any other form of entertainment,
you need only look out of the window to see a host of new artworks on either side of you.
When I eventually gave up spray cans for the keyboard, and traded in crudely scrawled tags for bylines, I remember
This isn’t something that’s limited to Cape Town’s
a friend of mine saying that what I do now – writing – isn’t
train tracks, however. Durban, for all its natural greenery,
all that different from what I did then – graffiti writing. ‘It’s
is alive with new graffiti. This is most evident on the
pretty much the same thing,” he told me, “you’re just trying
large overpasses that trace the seaside or further into the
to get your name seen by as many people as possible.’ I
city along its narrow alleyways. Joburg can probably be
figured he was right, really, that graffiti writing, like most
considered the city with the most thriving graffiti scene.
public professions, is carried out primarily for the eyes of
The work is everywhere, there’s just no escaping it. You’ll
others, and ultimately, for your own validation or survival.
see it on your way to work by car or on foot, you’ll see it
This all changed when, during a long drive between the
up on the backs of overhead road signs, on powerstations,
Eastern and Western Cape, I saw an old, dilapidated
down side roads, along highways, in the CBD, the suburbs –
building. Inside it, shining through frameless windows
everywhere. It’s not just the larger cities either. Hell, I even
in the harsh afternoon sunlight, was a perfectly painted
saw some good work in Nelspruit a while back and Nelspruit,
piece. I cannot describe this building existing in any other
Mars PHOTO Cale Waddacor (@graffitisouthafrica) certainly, isn’t a place that’s known for its love of alternative
location than in the middle of nowhere. It was the type of
art forms.
endless stretch of road that, if you were to stop on it, your
This is perhaps my favourite thing about graffiti. The
car had either broken down, or you desperately needed to
way it forces its way into the public eye. Not commonly
relieve yourself. But this artist had stopped here to paint a
appreciated in contemporary art galleries or other white cube-
piece for no one other than themselves. They had painted
like spaces, and forced to be actioned out illegally; it spills out
purely for the joy of it.
onto the streets, over stop signs, along endless stretches of
While a piece like that disrupts no public space and
wall, onto the trains or highways and into further reaches of
garners no attention other than the odd driver with an eye
the city. In this way, graffiti is less of an act of vandalism than
for gleaming chrome and flexed letters, it’s still a piece of
it’s an act of performance art. Graffiti, like public performance
art. Furthermore, it’s a piece of art created solely because the
art, disrupts. It’s a medium that jumps out at you, suddenly
artist wanted to create it that day, standing there in the heat
and without warning, as if to say ‘Hey, I know you didn’t come
and the still Eastern Cape surrounds, and painting. And in
here to see any art, but you’re here now and you’re gonna
that way, graffiti – for me at least – will always be one of the
engage with me whether you want to or not.’
most sincere forms of art I know. CF
Creative Feel / June 2017 / 63
Gorgeous food
&
interesting art
In an exciting new collaboration, Berman
T
he pairing of food with art has a longstanding tradition. Both have been used to articulate status. Throughout the centuries, paintings of prestigious artists were placed on walls for the
eating conveniences of the rich and powerful as an indication
Contemporary and Wishbone CafĂŠ &
of their status and to impress guests. Being confined for long
Bistro Bar will be holding food and painting
diners to engage with the paintings.
pairings, bringing the textures and colours of artwork to life with delicious food.
64 / Creative Feel / June 2017
periods of time provided a perfect opportunity for captive Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper is an example of the sacred pairing of food and art. Painted high up on the wall of the dining room in the Convent of Santa
Maria delle Grazie in Milan, the painting looks down onto the
black and white deco associated with traditional bistros but
refectory table so that when the Abbot blessed the monk’s
with a modern twist. The interior incorporates coppers, dark
meal, he was presided over by the higher authority of Christ.
greys and natural woods to create a warm and inviting setting
Artists have often used artwork as currency to pay for their supper. Picasso would pay with a doodle on a serviette
in which to pair gorgeous food with interesting art. At the Wishbone Café & Bistro Bar, everyone from
or an unsigned drawing. Dalí was known to pay for large
executives down may savour the inspired cuisine and have
groups of dining friends with a check with a drawing on the
time to enjoy the visual treats, which will include paintings and
back to ensure it was never cashed.
sculptures. To ensure fresh and varied visual stimuli, artworks
Contemporary galleries are known to hold food and
will be changed regularly. An official launch party will be held
painting pairings, emulating the textures and colours of
to launch each new exhibition. These dates will be available via
the paintings. A contemporary version of pairing food and
Berman’s newsletter, visit www.candicebermangallery.com to
artwork is currently found in the collaboration of artists
subscribe and information will also be available on the website
and eateries in many world-class restaurants. Houston’s
www.bermancontemporary.com.
Restaurant CINQ showcases works from Pablo Picasso to
The Wishbone Café & Bistro Bar opens with three South
Jean-Baptiste, and the Casa Lever restaurant in New York
African artists from Berman Contemporary: Stefan Blom,
City displays a range of Andy Warhol’s. Ten of London’s
Marcus Neustetter and Roberto Vaccaro.
top restaurants also feature artists. Some of the artists
If Stefan Blom’s work was to have a flavour, it would be
showcased have even gone on to win prestigious art prizes.
best described by the following dishes from the Wishbone
Damien Hirst’s Cock ’n Bull, an installation of a chicken and
Café menu. For the main course, sherry chicken liver toast
a cow preserved in formaldehyde occupies pride of place in
made up of chicken livers sautéed with shallots, garlic and
the Tramshed restaurant. The theme of chicken and bull is
thyme with sherry and cream sauce on toast. San Pellegrino
cheekily paralleled in the chicken-and-steak menu.
Terme sparkling water. And for dessert, crème brûlée: vanilla,
Hence, the collaboration between the upmarket Wishbone Café & Bistro Bar and artists hosted under
custard and caramel served with lavender shortbread. If Marcus Neustetter were given the task of pairing
Berman Contemporary travelling gallery space. Berman
his work with food and wine, he would pick Texan-style
Contemporary was conceived by and is managed by Candice
smoked chicken wings, dry rubbed and hot smoked, served
Berman who also owns the well established Candice Berman
with blue cheese or ranch sauce and celery. To drink, a
Fine Art Gallery, situated in the Riverside Shopping Centre,
Cederberg Bukettraube wine with apricot and floral notes
Bryanston. Unlike the Candice Berman Fine Art Gallery, which
that has a fresh sweetness. And for dessert, a berry centred
occupies a physical space, Berman Contemporary functions
dark chocolate fondant served with vanilla ice cream and
as ‘a conceptual exhibition space’. Acclaimed artists will be
additional berries.
hosted at various locations in 11 Alice Lane in Sandton – an
Robert Vaccaro’s food pairing would include: for the
exciting development not seen anywhere else in South Africa.
main course, roasted lamb shoulder with crushed potatoes,
Berman explains that Berman Contemporary ‘strives to bring
aubergine, green beans, confit tomatoes, herbs de provence
the art to the people, uplift and enrich areas in which we
and jus. As an accompanying wine, Diemersdal Pinotage
participate, using collaborative partners.’
with its complex dark berry and plum profile. For dessert, an
It’s situated on a brand-new site, surrounded by interesting and cutting-edge architecture. The interior has elements of
apple tarte Tatin with caramelised apple served with salted caramel and vanilla ice cream. CF
Creative Feel / June 2017 / 65
Ekurhuleni Human Rights Exhibition 2017:
BEYOND TEACHING The Springs Art Gallery serves the community of the Ekurhuleni through a programme of internal and external exhibitions, workshops and art classes aimed at promoting visual literacy and making the visual arts accessible to everyone. From 25 March to 31 May, Springs Art Gallery hosted the Ekurhuleni Human Rights Exhibition 2017 titled Beyond Teaching.
B
eyond Teaching showcased art created by students
Human Rights Exhibition is to serve as an educational
from the Ekurhuleni Art Development School
event, as well as providing a creative outlet for students to
and Art as Healing programme. The Springs Art
know their rights. Through the exhibition’s conceptually
Gallery Visual Arts Development Programme was
and aesthetically unique collaborative artwork approach,
launched by the Arts Culture and Heritage Directorate as
students were in a position to connect with viewers on an
a three-month course in the early 2000s in Tembisa. The
emotional and personal level. The exhibition aimed to open
programme has now expanded to and is presented in various
both internal and external dialogues to promote human
regions within Ekurhuleni, at art centres, community halls,
rights issues, the rights of children in particular.
library activity rooms, places of safety, special needs schools and correctional services. The programmes play a critical role as incubation and a
The Human Rights Exhibition is a unique developmental and educational project aimed at particular sections of the community like schools, youth groups,
mentoring processes from which future fully-fledged artists
writers’ forums, poetry and book clubs, researchers,
and photographers will originate. The programmes have
educators and individuals. The opening programme
identified numerous aspiring creative minds, who have gone
included live music performance by KwaTsaDuza Jazz
on to become full-time practising artists.
Orchestra, spoken word artists, fashion features and a
The exhibition and artworks addressed the topic of children’s rights and provided an opportunity for students to examine the topic from various points of view, by using
showcase of fun-filled art activities for children, including painting, drawing and drumming. Since its inception, the Ekurhuleni Art Development
different sizes and art mediums including painting, collage
School project has demonstrated its vast potential and
art, drawing, printing, etc. The purpose of the annual
commitment to promoting awareness and appreciation of
visual arts and encouraging the creation of art. The project is aimed at empowering unemployed, out of school youth
SPRINGS ART GALLERY
through art. It also provides a valuable support base for those whose schools don’t offer art as a subject, or those who
GENERAL OPENING HOURS: Mon – Fri 9:00 – 16:00
are interested in forging an arts career but do not necessary
Sat 8:00 – 12:00
have funds to pursue this ideal.
Closed Sundays and Public Holidays
Over the years, the project has identified many aspiring artists who went on to become full-time practising artists
CONTACT DETAILS: Springs Art Gallery
and joined institutions like Artist Proof Studio (APS),
Library Building
University of Johannesburg (UJ) and Vaal University of
Corner 5th Street and 6th Avenue | Springs CBD | Ekurhuleni
Technology (VUT).
Private bag x58 | Springs 1560
The Art as Healing classes focus on using art and art materials as a healing tool for traumatised and mentally
t: 011 999 8726/ 7
disabled youth. The programme aims to promote social
f: 086 656 9135
integration through, as an example, Art Therapy for disabled
w: www.ekurhuleni.gov.za
students at special needs schools. The Art as Healing Classes form an essential part in various communities, helping disadvantaged people through exploring various art media. This in turn helps unearth talent while healing the soul of the nation. CF
For exhibition bookings, please contact nomcebos@ekurhuleni.gov.za
PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST at death’s door Luan Nel’s solo show Diction, held at CIRCA Cape Town from 29 March to 23 April 2017, was ‘a poetic bittersweet exploration into notions of language, visual cues and the everyday social media of conversations, debates, clashes and attacks, and ultimately our ability to negotiate a “safe” path through it all.’ Art lecturer and historian, Lloyd Pollak, reviews the exhibition.
L
Memoriam
ong before I ever met Luan Nel, I was reminded daily
with images and memories as I pieced together the jigsaw
of his existence. In 1995 I was given a swooningly
puzzle of my hazily remembered former life. I tinkered with
beautiful set of cards portraying shipboard romances
photographs, altering and distorting them, and thereby
and gorgeous couples, dancing and pitching the
I created a new visual language. It is this language that
woo on the swish Deco ocean liners of the 1930s. I had these
my paintings speak, a broken language that reflects the
ultra-stylish images laminated, and stuck them to my fridge,
profusion of unrelated facts and images one trawls up whilst
and thus when I finally met Nel at his exhibition Diction at the
surfing the web where all continuity between the various
Everard Read CIRCA Gallery, I was already a keen devotee.
elements is irreparably ripped asunder.
Diction is inspired by a concatenation of events triggered
‘Gallery-goers complained that Diction lacked a thematic
in 2011 when Nel fell off the open staircase at the home he
nub and was too fragmented, but that was exactly what I
shared with Neil Pendock, his partner for the past 26 years.
sought. My aim was to reflect the disjunction we experience
His skull cracked open and Pendock saved his life by holding
in cyberspace where you see the Sistine chapel, a money-
his head together until the ambulance arrived. The prognosis
saving special on Kentucky Fried Chicken, a scientist
was grim: the brain surgeon stated Nel was unlikely to
pontificating about global warming, massacres in Syria and
survive the operation, and if survive he did, he would be
breakdancing, all in rapid succession.’
unable to recognise anybody, speak or move. ‘I spent a month in intensive care and another in high
And indeed the paintings, like a shuffled deck of cards, seem unrelated: a carefree lyrical cloudscape, views of the
care before moving into a normal ward,’ Nel recounted. ‘I
snowy Himalayan peaks and a study of the delicious monster
suffered severe memory loss and during my long, lonely
are all juxtaposed. A seascape, a close-up of breaking
period of recuperation, I overcame my technophobia and
waves and a vignette of Edwardian ladies-in-waiting
mastered my laptop so as to maintain my contact with my
bowing deferentially to his Majesty, all coexist in close and
friends and the outside world. Gradually I filled my profile
confusing contiguity.
68 / Creative Feel / June 2017
Slip One work alone alludes to Nel’s fall, Slip, which portrays the fearful staircase. The burst of light directly beneath it is associated with neardeath experiences, and it represents how the nigh fatal fall heightened Nel’s sense of the fragility and preciousness of life. Below the different constellations dimly glow. The purple and deep
Fisticuffs
pink circles and rings that so enliven the painting, evoke eternity and planetary orbits. Slip addresses chance, the random, and the arbitrariness of life in a universe governed by chaos theory where a butterfly fluttering its wings in Patagonia can result in devastating tornado in the Hindu Kush. Astrological signs combine with stellar configurations like the Centaur to invoke fate, and underline the artist’s inability to solve the enigmas of existence.
“And indeed the paintings, like a shuffled deck of cards, seem unrelated: a carefree lyrical cloudscape, views of the snowy Himalayan peaks and a study of the delicious monster are all juxtaposed”
Nel’s childhood was spent in Alberton, a soulless, parochial, Reef town where strict
Despite his problems, Nel presents an indestructibly
conformism was de rigeur. The artist, a self-
resilient persona. He is a buoyant, twinkly-eyed soul, a
proclaimed ‘limp-wristed moffie’, was raised by a
gifted raconteur of spicy yarns with a mischievous wit that
homophobic father who vainly attempted to transform Nel
immediately endears him to everyone. Something of his
into a virile Afrikaans mansmens. Trauma inevitably resulted,
raffish sass informs Fisticuffs, his portrait of Nelson, which
and Nel became guileful and devious, leading a double life
was actually modelled on photographs of a young Laurence
merely to survive.
Olivier, effortlessly assuming the role of this haughty,
Memoriam with its goose and lance-like bars impaled
aristocratic grandeur, oozing wealth and privilege. However,
in its plumage and beak and the figure of an unknown
his swaggering braggadocio is undermined by the blood
man looming behind it, would seem to express this sense
dripping out his upturned patrician nose, suggesting that
of persecution and victimhood, though Nel places a very
perhaps this august national hero harboured a penchant for
different interpretation upon it.
rough trade. CF
Creative Feel / June 2017 / 69
Book Reviews Recently published
Traces and Tracks: a thirty-year journey with the San | By Paul Weinberg | Publisher: Jacana | ISBN:9781431424313 Traces and Tracks: a thirty-year journey with the San documents the history and life of the San in Namibia, Botswana and South Africa. It depicts Paul Weinberg’s intimate perspective on the lives of modern-day San over the past 30 years. In 2013 and 2014, Paul embarked on visits to communities that he had previously encountered. In these trips he reconnected with many people whom he had known, and acquainted himself with new voices in these landscapes. ‘My work has over the past 30 years sought to work against an essentialised mythologised view of the San. But for those who have grappled with the story of the modern San, it is neither monolithic nor one dimensional. My journey has brought me into contact with a range of exceptional people from NGO activists to development workers, from journalists and filmmakers to academics who work with the San, and like me, have grappled to answer questions for a fragile culture and attempt to tell their story.’
Song for Sarah | By Jonathan Jansen
Turning Point | By Theuns
Making Africa Work | By Greg Mills,
with Naomi Jansen | Publisher:
Eloff | Publisher: Tafelberg |
Olusegun Obasanjo, Jeffrey Herbst,
Bookstorm | ISBN:9781928257295
ISBN:9780624080275
Dickie Davis | Publisher: Tafelberg |
South Africa’s beloved Professor
Living in South Africa isn’t easy –
ISBN:9780624080275
contemplates the stereotypes and
with crime, unemployment, poverty,
Sub-Saharan Africa faces three big
stigma so readily applied to Cape Flats
racism, state capture, unrest at our
challenges over the next generation.
mothers and offers this endearing
universities… Tempers flare. People
It will double its population by 2045.
antidote as a praise song to mothers
take their anger to the streets. As a
By then more than half of Africans will
everywhere. Tracing his mother’s early
country we are at a crossroads and the
be living in cities. And this group of
life in Montagu and the consequences
future is uncertain. How do we make
mostly young people will be connected
of apartheid’s forced removals, Jansen
sense of what is happening around us,
through mobile devices. Properly
unpacks how strong women managed
and how can we help build the society
harnessed and planned for, these are
to not only keep families together,
we would like? Theuns Eloff’s fresh,
positive forces for change. Without
but raise them with integrity. To add
fact-based analysis tells us how South
economic growth and jobs, they could
a balance to his own recollections,
Africa really works – and how we can
prove a political and social catastrophe.
Jansen has called on his sister,
all pitch in to make it better. Eloff is
Making Africa Work is a practical
Naomi, to offer her own insights and
currently non-executive chairman
account of how to ensure growth. It’s
memories, adding special value to this
of the FW de Klerk Foundation, the
a handbook for dynamic leadership
touching personal memoir.
Dagbreek Trust and a listed company.
inside and outside the continent.
70 / Creative Feel / June 2017
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CHURCHILL DIRECTOR: Jonathan Teplitzky STARRING: Brian Cox, Miranda Richardson, John Slattery, Julian Wadham, Ella Purnell Churchill follows Britain’s iconic Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the days before the infamous D-Day landings in June 1944. As allied forces stand on the south coast of Britain, poised to invade Nazi-occupied Europe, they await Churchill’s decision on whether the invasion will actually move ahead. Fearful of repeating his mistakes from World War I on the beaches of Gallipoli, exhausted by years of war, plagued by depression and obsessed with fulfilling historical greatness, Churchill is also faced with constant criticism from his political opponents, General Eisenhower and Field Marshal Montgomery. Only the unflinching support of Churchill’s brilliant, unflappable wife Clementine can halt the Prime Minister’s physical and mental collapse and help lead him to greatness.
72 / Creative Feel / June 2017
7-9PG A
AT CINEMAS 7 JULY Creative Feel / June 2017 / 73
encore Hartley Ngoato is Managing Director of Ngoato Attorneys and Chairperson of the National Arts Council.
Past achievements include: HR Executive Director of Henkel South Africa, Sub-Saharan Countries; Associate Attorney – Edward Nathan Sonnembergs; HR Manager – Zeuna Stärker, Auto Tube Manufacturing; Marketing Director – Lawyer Power; Executive HR Manager – Maxiprest Tyres Group of Companies
What is it that you love about the arts?
Describe a defining moment in your life.
Music, any artist and genre of music that speaks to me in
The death of my father.
that particular moment and situation. Visual art, painting, something that speaks to who I am.
What projects will you be busy with during 2017 and
Literature, poetry.
into 2018? Moving towards obtaining goals I set in my business
Name one artist you would love to meet.
specifically in the following industries: Tourism; Legal;
Tsepo Tshola (Sankomota).
Agriculture; Arts and culture.
What are you reading at the moment?
Name one goal you would like to achieve in the next
Not any book in particular, but general literature, whether it
twelve months.
be short stories or current news.
Restore order, compliance and greater support to arts and culture constituency. CF
What is in your car’s CD player? Nathi. If you could change one thing about yourself, what
In the recent number of months the NAC has
would it be?
undergone major changes at governance level which
Timing – knowing and doing things at the right time!
have culminated in the appointment of a new Council by the Minister of Arts and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa.
Name one thing you think would improve the arts and
This follows an open and rigorous selection
culture industry in South Africa.
process. Mr Hartley Ngoato, has been appointed the
Deliberate, aggressive development and support to local
Chairperson for the next four years. In addition to Mr
arts industries.
Hartley Ngoato, the new Council is now made up of:
What is your most treasured possession?
Ms Jabu Dlamini
Ms Avril Joffe
My bike – VTX 1800 Honda Cruiser.
Ms Thandiwe Mclean
Ms Erica Elk
Mr Pheni Ngove
Ms Nakedi Ribane
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Dr Same Mdluli
Mr Moshe Apleni
Losing your mind.
Ms Maria van der Spuy
Mr Zolani Mkiva
Mr Edmund Mhlongo
Ms Thoko Nogabe
Ms Mmathebe Moja
Mr Sekgothe Mokgoatsana
What is it that makes you happy? Success, success and success!
74 / Creative Feel / June 2017
e
Creative Feel / June 2017 / 75
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