Creative Feel March 2016 by Creative Feel

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SA R36,90 (incl. VAT) - March 2016

Always & Forever

A TRIBUTE TO LUTHER VANDROSS

THE MANDELA AT JOBURG THEATRE 31 MARCH TO 3 APRIL - FOUR SHOWS ONLY! The king of croon himself, Luther Vandross, will be celebrated by South Africa’s own ‘man with the velvet voice’, Timothy Moloi in this non-stop nostalgia journey of musical delight. After a sell-out inaugural concert in Johannesburg in August 2015 to rave reviews from media and audience alike, The CoLab Network is thrilled to be able to re-stage Always & Forever - A Tribute to Luther Vandross, this time at the Joburg Theatre for four performances only from 31 March to 3 April 2016. Vocalist extraordinaire Timothy Moloi is backed by some of South Africa’s best live musicians and vocalists Tia Herman, Lelo Ramasimong and Kurt Herman along with the 17-strong Voices Unlimited Gospel Choir. The music director is star-on-the-rise Llewellyn George who also penned the musical arrangements done especially for this show and will lead a dynamite seven-piece live band. The audience will thrill to the portrayal of unforgettable hits including ’Superstar’, ‘Always and Forever’, ‘Endless Love’, ‘Power of Love/Love Power’, ‘Dance with My Father’ and many more.

ALWAYS & FOREVER A Tribute to Luther Vandross is an ideal evening for young and old to celebrate in the magic of this music icon’s legacy.

Performances run from Thursday to Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 3pm.

Ticket prices range from R150 to R250. Bookings can be done online at www.joburgtheatre.com or by calling 0861 670 670. For group bookings of ten or more tickets, contact the Theatre’s ticketing office on (011) 877 6815 / 6853 or book through the following options: Tickets for JOBURG THEATRE remain available from www.joburgtheatre.com and 0861 670 670, but from 1st January we have introduced the following exciting new options: • Option 1 – BOOK WITH WEBTICKETS at www.webtickets.co.za – patrons can book and pay online; this is ideal for patrons who are already registered with Webtickets. • Option 2 – BOOK ONLINE / PAY INSTORE – patrons can book tickets on www.joburgtheatre.com and pay at any PICK ’N PAY store. • Option 3 – BOOK AND PAY INSTORE – patrons can book and pay at selected PICK ‘N PAY stores (For a full list of stores http://www.webtickets.co.za/pnpoutlets.aspx). • Option 4 – BOOK AND PAY ON YOUR PHONE – patrons can book and pay via the Nedbank App on your Smartphone.

WORLD SYMPHONY SERIES SUMMER SEASON 2016

Making music together. 031 369 9438 • www.kznphil.org.za WITH OUTSTANDING SOLOISTS AND STAR CONDUCTORS, THE KZN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA WILL PRESENT THE SUMMER SEASON OF ITS RENOWNED WORLD SYMPHONY SERIES 2016 FROM 18 FEBRUARY TO 31 MARCH.

SUBSCRIBERS ENJOY A 25% DISCOUNT AND THERE ARE FURTHER DISCOUNTS FOR PENSIONERS AND STUDENTS

THURSDAY 18TH FEBRUARY 2016, DURBAN CITY HALL Conductor: Wolfram Christ Soloists: Pieter Schoeman (violin) Anmari van der Westhuizen Joubert (cello) Weber Oberon: Overture Brahms Double Concerto Brahms Symphony No. 2 THURSDAY 25TH FEBRUARY 2016, DURBAN CITY HALL Conductor: Wolfram Christ Soloist: Olga Kern (piano) Rachmaninoff ‘The Rock’, Op. 7 Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 1 Dvorák Symphony No. 7 THURSDAY 3RD MARCH, PLAYHOUSE OPERA THEATRE Conductor: Alexei Ogrintchouk Soloist: Alexei Ogrintchouk (oboe) Mozart Symphony No. 24 Dvorák Wind Serenade Bellini Oboe Concerto Haydn Symphony No. 104 THURSDAY 10TH MARCH 2016, DURBAN CITY HALL Conductor: James Ross Soloist: Farida Bacharova (violin) Beethoven Overture to Fidelio Mendelssohn Violin Concerto Ives Symphony No. 2

Bongani Tembe, Artistic Director “The KZN Philharmonic is committed to enriching the cultural life of South Africa’s diverse audiences by presenting world-class concerts and implementing education and community engagement programmes.”

Single tickets priced from R55 – R220 are available at Computicket. All concerts commence at 7:30pm. Pre-concert talks are held at the Playhouse Alhambra Room at 6:15pm. The City Hall precinct, including surrounding parking garages, is patrolled by a dedicated security team.

THURSDAY 17TH MARCH 2016, DURBAN CITY HALL Conductor: James Ross Soloists: David Salleras (saxophone) Christopher Duigan (piano) Stephane Pechoux (percussion) Gershwin An American in Paris Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue Yoshimatsu Cyberbird Concerto Gershwin Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture THURSDAY 31ST MARCH, PLAYHOUSE OPERA THEATRE Conductor: Daniel Boico Soloist: Daniel Gortler (piano) Mussorgsky Night on Bald Mountain Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1 Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2 Subscription bookings are available telephonically from the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra offices on 031 369 9438

James Ross

Anmari v d Westhuizen Joubert

David Salleras

Olga Kern

Christopher Duigan

Daniel Boico

Alexei Ogrintchouk

SOME OF THE ARTISTS FEATURED IN THE KWAZULU-NATAL PHILHARMONICâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S SUMMER SEASON 2016

Wolfram Christ

The KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra

Stephane Pechoux

EDITOR’S NOTE All these years later

The Constitutional Court, Johannesburg, South Africa

ometimes Creative Feel simply follows its own

is an arts magazine, not a political magazine, we thought it

organic growth path, as with this March issue.

would be unconventional to share this accomplishment by

The cover was easily decided, with Hugh Masekela

looking at the Constitutional Court Art Collection (CCAC),

performing at RMB Starlight Classics and we

specifically the latest contributions and acquisitions.

are proud to once again be part of this sold-out show at

Talking to the curator of the CCAC, Stacey Vorster, we

Vergelegen Wine Estate.

found out about the challenges of keeping and growing this

Featuring Hugh Masekela in Creative Feel is always rather special for the magazine. I was quite nervous when I first

collection on the Hill. In this issue we are also sharing the Ichikowitz Family

managed to secure a one-on-one interview with him some

Foundation’s very interesting It’s A Fine Line exhibition,

years back. He had a reputation for being difficult and not

taking place at Constitution Hill in time for Human Rights

easy to talk to, but he was charming and very generous with

Day, 21 March. Looking at all these images on the Hill one

his time. We reminisced about the occasion when we first

cannot but agree:

met in a big crowd at the ‘homecoming’ concert at the Ellis

‘Human Rights are rights inherent to all human beings,

Park Arena in May 1991. Just about 25 years ago and a time

whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national

of great emotions, the South African musicians who had

or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other

been so celebrated overseas were coming back from exile to

status. We are all equally entitled to our human rights

live and perform in their own country once again. Now all

without discrimination. These rights are all interrelated,

these years later, Masekela calls himself a ‘very lucky man’

interdependent and indivisible’.

and still asks ‘Where is the music?’ South Africa has come a long way since those concerts

Year after year, the CCAC continues to grow through the generous donation of work by internationally celebrated

and one of the greatest achievements has been the

artists, giving expression to the idea of human dignity

embracing of the South African Constitution. This May

informing South Africa’s unique Constitution.

we are celebrating 20 years of the adoption of one of the world’s most progressive constitutions. Since Creative Feel

Lore

100 95 75

25 5

You’l love this!

PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Lore Watterson; lore@desklink.co.za 0 COPUBLISHER & PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Chris Watterson; chris@desklink.co.za DEPUTY EDITOR Tamaryn Greer; tammy@desklink.co.za DIGITAL CONTENT COORDINATOR Nokwanda Shabangu; nokwanda@desklink.co.za ADDITIONAL EDITORIAL CONTENT: Natalie Watermeyer Nondumiso Msimanga Ismail Mahomed Michelle Constant Indra Wussow Mary Corrigall Emma Bedford SALES & MARKETING sales@desklink.co.za sales@creativefeel.co.za SALES & MARKETING COORDINATOR Oupa Sibeko; oupa@desklink.co.za DESIGN Leigh Forrest; leigh@desklink.co.za FINANCIAL DIRECTOR Debbi Smith; debbi@desklink.co.za DISPATCH Khumbulani Dube

BUY ONLINE NOW Ever embracing technology and the digital realm (but remaining entrenched in print), Creative Feel has some exciting news: copies of the magazine (both current and back) can now be safely purchased from creativefeel.co.za/shop. Subscribing is now even easier and subscriptions can be purchased directly from the online shop.

SUBSCRIPTION & CIRCULATION Debbi Smith; debbi@desklink.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 PRINTING ColorPress (Pty) Ltd © Copyright DeskLink™ Media The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher.

All print copies purchased come with a free digital copy, the download link to this will be emailed to you following your purchase. Magazines will be delivered/posted to you or can be collected from our offices in Randburg. 100 95 75

8 / Creative Feel / March 2016 25 5

Cover image: Hugh Masekela. Photograph by Brett Rubin

EGOLI PLACE OF PEOPLE

Egoli, which was recently restaged at the Market Theatre as part of their 40 year celebration, is a

cover story 30

A LUCKY MAN

In celebration of Hugh Masekela’s participation

in Rand Merchant Bank Starlight Classics at

Vergelegen Estate in the Cape Winelands,

Creative Feel’s Nondumiso Msimanga caught up

with this ‘very lucky man’.

protest play about the real and metaphorical prisons of the people who lived and died in Johannesburg’s gold mines. In reviewing the piece for Creative Feel, Nondumiso Msimanga spoke to Steven Sack about his personal memories of this revisted play.

POPART

As ImpACT Award winners for Theatre 2015, POPArt co-founders Orly Shapiro and Hayleigh Evans are

contents thrilled about this recognition and what it means for the future of their theatre.

arts and culture 29

LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL TALENT ON SHOW AT SPLASHY FEN 2016

Splashy Fen is set to wow music-loving fans both old

NEW STORIES FROM THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT ART COLLECTION

Year after year, the Constitutional Court Art

and new with a star-studded line-up of international

Collection (CCAC) continues to grow through the

and local music acts, that will put the iconic music

generous donation of work by internationally

festival on the map.

celebrated artists, giving expression to the idea

ANOTHER STAR TURN FOR RMB STARLIGHT CLASSICS

Gregory Maqoma, international multiple-award winning dancer and artistic director of Vuyani

of human dignity informing South Africa’s unique Constitution.

A FINE LINE

Ivor Ichikowitz, founder of the Ichikowitz

Dance Company (VDC), is set to make a solo

Family Foundation, spoke to Creative Feel’s Lore

appearance at Rand Merchant Bank Starlight

Watterson about the Foundation’s work and the

Classics at Vergelegen Estate in the Cape Winelands

upcoming exhibition It’s A Fine Line, showing at

this March.

Constitution Hill.

10 / Creative Feel / March 2016

STELLAR SA ART ON AUCTION

The next sale of South African Art at Bonhams will

Julia Donaldson is counted as one the most successful children’s authors, with some 190 books

take place on 16 March in London.

published and popular titles translated into 22

BOSHOFF THE INSIDER/OUTSIDER

different languages. While the author was on a recent tour to South Africa, Creative Feel’s Lore Watterson

Mary Corrigall examines Willem Boshoff’s exhibition

had the opportunity to meet her and to chat about

Reaping the Whirlwind.

MAGGIE LAUBSER PAINTING TELLS MANY A TALE

Strauss & Co’s upcoming auction on 14 March at the Vineyard Hotel in Cape Town offers many

A GRUFFALO IN TOWN

writing books, children and, of course, grandchildren.

lifestyle and entertainment

contents exceptional works by major South African artists.

SACCADES AND OTHER SURFACES

BOOK REVIEWS CD REVIEWS NUMETRO

contributors 20

ARTLOOKS & ARTLINES

this month’s cover photographer Brett Rubin’s

Artlooks & Artlines is a monthly column

striking aesthetic subverts the expected.

by Ismail Mahomed, Artistic Director of the

National Arts Festival.

Drawing inspiration from architecture and nature,

70 71 66

DESIGNED TO IMPRESS

BUSINESS & ARTS

University of Johannesburg’s Faculty of Art, Design

Business & Arts is a monthly column by

and Architecture (FADA) demonstrated a range of

Michelle Constant, CEO of Business and Arts

art and design drawn from the department’s

South Africa (BASA).

LITERARY LANDSCAPES

Literary Landscapes is a monthly column written

by Indra Wussow, a writer, translator and director of

the Sylt Foundation.

The annual show of student work from the

eight disciplines, with the FADA Gallery devoted to the work of finalists for the 2015 Dean’s Award.

AND THE NEW MENTORS ARE...

The seven new mentors in the 2016–2017 Rolex

Arts Initiative are globally respected artists.

Creative Feel / March 2016 / 11

2Year ANNIVERSARY

15-20 march 2016

FESTIVAL

Come join us and celebrate 2 years of amazing Live Music at The Orbit â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Home of Jazz! We have prepared a fantastic music program for you with some of the best and most exciting Jazz musicians on the South African scene. Book early as space is limited and follow us on our social media pages and our website for updates.

THE ORBIT

celebrates two years of

Looking forward to seeing you then. The Orbit Team. Dates / Times

7:00 pm

8:00 pm

8:45 pm

9:45 pm

Tue 15 March

Africappella & Titi Luzipo

Wed 16 March

Thandi Ntuli

Benjamin Jephta

Thur 17 March

Cameron Ward

Newskool Sextet

10.15 pm

Fri 18 March

Steve Dyer

Siya Makuzeni

Uhadi Feat. Sibongile Khumalo

Sat 19 March

Mkizwana Ensemble

Marcus Wyatt

Herbie Tsoaeli

Sun 20 March

Nduduzo Makhathini

Afrika Mkhize

Feya Faku

*Note that on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday the first show is starting at 8pm and on Friday, Saturday and Sunday the second show is starting at 8.45pm.

arch is Anniversary Month at The Orbit â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Home of Jazz, and we are celebrating in style with some of the very best and well-

established jazz artists on the South African jazz scene (see line-up). The last two years have been punctuated by some amazing live musical moments on The Orbit

Each artist performs a set of a minimum 1 hour to 1 h 15 minutes.

stage, but have also seen the growth and development of a number of young, talented artists, many of whom have already left a significant print on the South African jazz landscape through the recording of some truly exciting and refreshing music. They are, without doubt, the new generation of musical talents that will carry further the South African jazz language. A language anchored in a strong cultural heritage with a unique and recognisable voice internationally that deserves our full support, and as we attempt to give our favourite art form a meaningful space at the centre of society, where it belongs. Come celebrate these wonderful artists with us at The Orbit in Braamfontein, JHB, from 15 to 20 March 2016,

BOOKINGS & TICKETS

MAKE A RESERVATION

and as we witness the South African jazz renaissance! The Orbit Team. Proud to be promoting South

+27 (0) 11 339 66 45

info@theorbit.co.za

+27 (0) 81 53 42 86

www.theorbit.co.za

81 De Korte Street, Braamfontein, Gauteng FOLLOW US

12 / Creative Feel / March 2016 twitter.com/jazzorbit

facebook.com/theorbitjazzclub

The Orbit - Jazz Club

African Jazz.

Maggie Laubser, Birds and Boats R700 000 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; R900 000

Auction of Important South African & International Art, Furniture, Decorative Arts & Jewellery Monday 14 March 2016, The Vineyard Hotel, Newlands, Cape Town Preview 11 - 13 March, 10am - 5pm 021 683 6560 | 078 044 8185 | ct@straussart.co.za | www.straussart.co.za

The global leader in the South African art market

ROMANCE, Rest and Rejuvenation…

n the northern slopes of the Magaliesberg you will find the best kept secret in Gauteng, hidden amongst two hectares of lush sub-tropical

gardens: Casta Diva Boutique Hotel. With 27 elegantly decorated guest rooms, this oasis in the city offers more than just accommodation to her guests. You will find several romantic spots to have a dinner for two this Valentine’s Day. If you simply want a little break from everyday life during the romantic month, book a room and enjoy the peace and tranquillity offered by the spacious garden and beautiful scenery. With á la carte menus Casta Diva’s Charisma Restaurant offers a selection of mouth-watering dishes. If you keep an eye on their Facebook page [Casta Diva’s Charisma Restaurant] you might find a night when there will be live entertainment on the grand piano. Often hosting classical concerts on a Sunday afternoon, this is more than just a restaurant. It is a place to unwind, enjoy good food and spend time with good friends. There is also an intimate Theatre/Art Gallery – Casta Diva’s Vissi d’Arte – where there are often shows by local artists. These events are updated on the Facebook page [Casta Diva’s Vissi d’Arte] and are focused on the development of artists and their craft. So, spoil yourself or a loved one and take a break during the month of love to enjoy the things which are important in life – love and happiness. Visit their website at www.castadiva.co.za and view the rooms to find the one that will ‘fit just right’. Casta Diva, the place where you can break away, breathe and simply just… be. CF

14 / Creative Feel / March 2016

AJE – the South African Association for Jazz Education – is a section 21 non-profit organisation and has been round since 1992. SAJE’s mission is to assure the growth of jazz in South Africa and

the development of jazz and jazz education in urban and

Nomfundo Xaluva

rural areas; to build the jazz arts community by advancing education and research; to promote skills development and

Carlo Mombelli. Photograph by Reza Khota

performance; to develop new audiences and to document, preserve and archive our South African jazz heritage The SAJE Jazz Conference is a biennial event focusing on jazz research, education, performance, improvisation, composition, discussion, skills and audience development. It is the only conference of its kind in Africa and offers a unique forum for musicians, academics, educators, students, jazz fans, and those in the media and arts, to engage with the latest sounds and ideas in jazz. Along with paper presentations, workshops, performances and jam sessions, there are opportunities for discussion, networking, information exchange, and professional development.

SAJE JAZZ CONFERENCE: SOUTH AFRICAN JAZZ

Shaping the Future The theme of the 2016 Conference is ‘South African

The 13th SAJE Jazz Conference will be

Jazz – Shaping the Future’. There is an exciting line-up

hosted by Wits Music, The Wits School

of jazz educators and musicians from Southern Africa as well as from Italy, Holland, Germany, Austria, France

of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand

and Brazil. South African musicians include: pianist

in Johannesburg, from Thursday 31

Nduduzo Makhathini (Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz 2015); bassist Carlo Mombelli; pianist Kyle Shepherd (Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz 2014); vocalists Nomfundo Xaluva, Lindiwe Maxolo and Amy Campbell; and saxophonist Mike Rossi. International educators/musicians

March to Saturday 2 April 2016 – with evening performances at The Orbit and Wits Great Hall.

include drummer Dejan Terzic (Germany), vocalist Susanna Stivali (Italy) and accordionist Guilherme Ribeiro (Brazil). The Conference is open to everyone. Daily events run from 09:30 till 17:30 over the three days at Wits Music, 8th floor, University Corner – entrance is through the Wits Art Museum (WAM). There are three-day passes and one-day passes available and SAJE members receive a substantial discount. Please visit the Conference website for more information about the Conference schedule and registration: www.sajejazzconference2016.weebly.com Evening concerts will take place at The Orbit Jazz Club and Bistro on Thursday 31 March and Friday 1 April. For bookings call 011 339 66 45/ 081 534 2867 or email info@theorbit.co.za The final concert will take place at the Wits Great Hall on Saturday 2 April at 20:00. Tickets at the door. CF

Nduduzo Makhathini. Photograph by Victor Dlamini Kyle Shepherd

WHAT’S ON @ WITSTHEATRE

UNMUTE Dance

Company Wins

BRAAMFONTEIN

Cultural Affairs Award

MARCH & APRIL 2016 Division of Music (Wits School of Arts) OTHER WOMEN OF BROADWAY (Shelly Simon, voice and Kevin Greenberg, piano) The Atrium | Tuesday 8 March @ 19h00 FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA A selection of American Art Songs (Christian Bester, baritone, Laetitia Orlandi, piano and Rudolf van Wyk, horn) The Atrium | Tuesday 15 March @ 19h00

he annual Western Cape Cultural Affairs celebrate individuals and organisations in the Western Cape who make a positive contribution in the Cultural Affairs sectors over the years.

august

IL VERO VIOLINO (Antoinette Lohmann, violin and John Reid Coulter, harpsichord) The Atrium | Tuesday 22 March @ 19h00

Unmute Dance Company received an award in the

category: Best Project: Disability in the Visual, Performing and Literary Arts. Unmute Dance Company, an associated company of

ELECTRIC DAWN ALBUM TOUR (Alastair Penman, saxophone and electronics) Wits Theatre | Tuesday 5 April @ 19h00

Artscape, is the only fully-fledged integrated performing arts organisation currently active in the Western Cape, the first of its kind on the continent. The company was born out of deaf dancer Andile Vellem’s search for his voice as a

MOTSWAKO Showcasing the best of the Wits School of Arts’ Classical and Jazz Student Musicians.; The Music Room Tuesday 12 April @ 19h00

choreographer. Unmute brings artist with mixed abilities and disabilities together using physical dance theatre, seeks to inspire the inclusion of differently abled people in society through the arts, while addressing society’s mind-set on their view of persons with disabilities.

FIRST-YEARS IN CONCERT The first-year music students of 2016 perform for friends, lecturers and the public on the open stage, The Atrium | Tuesday 26 April @ 19h00

‘Artscape is privileged and honoured to be associated with a professional company like Unmute who constantly confront the societal mind-set through the medium of dance to force people to see the abilities of persons with disabilities,’ explains Marlene Le Roux, Artscape’s Chief Executive Officer.

Details are subject to change

Marlene le Roux, received the award at the ceremony on behalf of the company. ‘This definitely is not only an indication of the sterling work they do but is recognition

ENQUIRIES: 011 717 1376 | catherine.pisanti@wits.ac.za

from a very high level to confirm that all their hard work and efforts are well noted. We wish to congratulate them on a job well done and wish them even greater success in the future.’ CF

THE SOUTH AFRICAN SALE Wednesday 16 March 2016 New Bond Street, London

JACOB HENDRIK PIERNEEF (1886-1957) Free State Landscape (detail) 51 x 61.7cm Â£60,000 - 90,000 (ZAR 1.3 - 2 million)

bonhams.com/southafricanart

ENQUIRIES +44 (0) 20 7468 8213 sapictures@bonhams.com

Hannelie Coetzee

Lizamore dps.indd 2

Carol Hamman

Wilma Cruise

2016/02/10 9:26 AM

In February 2016 Johannesburg bases contemporary art gallery, Lizamore & Associates, launched a new contemporary sculpture garden - Lizamore@Clairvaux in the Western Cape. Finding it’s home on the Clairvaux wine estate alongside the well-known Ceramic Factory, Lizamore@Clairvaux will host sculptural exhibitions with the idyllic scenery of Robertson as a backdrop. The Robertson Wine Valley is concentrated along the Breede River Valley and the foothills of the surrounding Langeberg and Riviersonderend mountains. Located in the wine valley, Clairvaux is a beautiful fifthgeneration family farm in Robertson. The farmhouse is a well-known landmark in Robertson and features in many books including ‘Great Houses of the Western Cape’.

Participating artist, Hannelie Coetzee says that there is a need for more outdoor sculpture parks in South Africa, as they give artists the opportunity to express themselves in mediums and sizes that is often not suited for the limitations of a traditional gallery space. “ To me, sculpture is embodies thoughts and concepts in a way that two dimensional pieces often struggle to convey. Sculpture creates an intimate and personal experience for viewers, as they can interactively experience it” says Coetzee. “Furthermore, placing sculpture outside, gives the viewer the opportunity to experience the artworks in shifting and changing weather conditions. As the work settles into these outdoor spaces they weather and are often ever changing – even if it minimally changes.”

Lizamore@Clairvaux is the brainchild of curator and director of Lizamore & Associates, Teresa Lizamore. “I have envisioned a sculptural project for a number of years” says Lizmore. “When this opportunity arose to open a sculpture garden on the beautiful Clairvaux estate alongside Ceramic Factory, it was one I could not miss.” The combination between the scenic mountain range views, the beautiful Clairvaux estate and contemporary sculpture is an idyllic experience for any day visitor. Lizamore@Clairvaux aims to introduce contemporary sculpture to the Boland region and offer tourist and weekend visitors not only the opportunity to view sculpture but also investment opportunities. “Curating sculpture is an ongoing passion of mine, as it allows me to create interactive spaces that the viewer can engage in.” The sculptures relate to everything around it; the weather, the light, the vegetation and the changes in the landscape it creates - this is an active relationship between viewer, sculpture and environment.

Lizamore@Clairvaux will host quarterly exhibitions. Visitors can expect to see works by acclaimed South Afircan artists, such as Strijdom van der Merwe, Hannelie Coetzee, Usha Collen Maswanganyi and Ruhan Janse van Vuuren, amongst others, when they visit the estate.

The aim with the placement of sculpture is to highlight and flatter both the sculptural qualities and the gardens natural beauty. By viewing a sculpture in a natural environment, one is able to highlight elements of the sculpture like, material (surface, colour, texture) and space (line, form, volume, openings and frames and focus). Gardens and sculptures become equal partners in creating a new living environment for the viewer - this is completely opposite to the idea of a clean, white cube gallery. Teresa Lizamore adds that this space offers investors the opportunity to view bigger pieces outside in a space that is, at times, much better suited for a piece than a traditional gallery.

Ruhan Janse van Vuuren

20 / Creative Feel / March 2016

ape Town Opera’s 2016 season gets off to a thrilling start with Salome which includes two highly acclaimed American singers, Alan Glassman and Richard Fink, and rising star, British soprano Allison Oakes. Conductor

Gérard Korsten has been enticed back to South Africa to lead an international cast and the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra. British dramatic soprano Allison Oakes plays the title role, fresh from a very successful debut at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, where she stepped in at short notice for an ailing Catherine Naglestad. Reviewer James Karas praised Oakes for her ‘superb voice’ and ‘outstanding performance’. Oakes recently notched up considerable success with her first Isolde in Dortmund, a role that she will be covering at the Metropolitan Opera in forthcoming seasons. Tenor Allan Glassman has captivated audiences throughout America and Europe for decades with his vibrant timbre and committed interpretations of roles. A regular at the Metropolitan Opera, Glassman triumphed in his signature role as Herodes in a production of Salome starring Karita Mattila in 2004. Since then, he has become a seasoned and admired Herodes and has played

Allison Oakes

SALOME

A stellar international cast joins Cape Town Opera for this sensational opera on 15, 17 and 19 March.

the diabolical role at the San Diego Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Opera San Antonio, and Dallas Opera. Playing virtue to Herod’s vice is GRAMMY award-winning dramatic baritone, Richard Paul Fink, as Jochanaan, or John the Baptist. This big-voiced baritone’s repertoire comprises some of the most challenging roles of the baritone canon. Fink has appeared internationally in most of the renowned theatres, including the Metropolitan Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera and Sydney Opera.

Allan Glassman

Richard Paul Fink

Conductor Gérard Korsten is currently Principal Conductor of the Symphonieorchester Vorarlberg Bregenz. Born in South Africa, Korsten began his career as a violinist and was a member of The Chamber Orchestra of Europe until 1996 when he left to concentrate on conducting. During his impressive conducting career, he has appeared in the most notable opera houses and concert halls around Europe. Salome is Matthew Wild’s first production as Cape Town Opera’s Artistic Director. Wild is committed to bringing international artists to Cape Town to conduct, design and perform with Cape Town Opera, to enhance audience experience, expose the company’s singers to world-class excellence and raise the profile of the company globally. CF

Gérard Korsten

Creative Feel / March 2016 / 21

Artlooks & Artlines Artlooks & Artlines is a monthly column written by Ismail Mahomed, Artistic Director of the National Arts Festival.

Deepak Pandit performs with the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra for The Symphony of Ghazal at Artscape Theatre

he Symphony of Ghazal concert presented at the

music; and almost throughout his own compositions Jagjit

beginning of February at the Artscape Theatre with

Singh celebrated the human spirit with the same force that

the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra and featuring

Ghalib reflected on it.

Indian violinist Deepak Pandit under the baton of

Jagjit Singh grew up in the colourful but poor districts of

Brandon Phillips was a magnificent showcase of the Orchestra’s

rural Rajasthan. His parents put him through school hoping

skill and virtuosity. The concert honoured Jagjit Singh, one of

that it would secure him a well-paying career in government

India’s greatest contributors to the genre of Ghazal: a blend of

administration. Singh, however, had other plans for himself. He

poetry and music compositions.

studied classical music and like most musicians who needed to

Anyone unfamiliar with Jagjit Singh’s biography may think that it is a story-board for a Bollywood movie. It has all the elements of melodrama: the love; tragedy and even more

pay their bills, Jagjit Singh kicked off his career and paid off his debts by composing and singing commercial jingles. At the music studio where he worked, he fell in love with

tragedy that is at the heart of Bollywood films. Jagjit Singh’s

Chitra Singh. She became his life partner, soulmate, muse

musical career interwoven with the Indian film industry is

and musical accompanist. Their music took them right into

however far from being melancholic or melodramatic.

the heart of Ghazal lovers in India and amongst Indians

His music has traces of influences from many genres,

across the diaspora. It didn’t take long before their names

continents and eras. The poetry of 18th century Sufi mystic,

became as popular as Ravi Shankar’s name amongst non-

Mirza Ghalib, was one of the early influences in Jagjit Singh’s

Indian music fans of world music.

22 / Creative Feel / March 2016

At the peak of their singing career, the duo was struck

was a serious blow for arts activists. Over his 23-year

with a family tragedy. Their 19-year-old son died in a motor

career, Jagjit was a highly respected and die-hard activist,

accident. Saddened with grief, Chitra Singh ended her

fighting for recognition for the arts. During his lifetime, the

musical career. For a full year, Jagjit Singh did not perform or

government of India had awarded him a National Order and

compose any more music. With the loss of his son and with

honoured him on a postage stamp after his death.

Chitra Singh’s withdrawal from her career, the muse had simply gone.

Symphony of Ghazal at the Artscape Theatre, two days before the 75th anniversary of Jagjit Singh’s birth,

It took a whole year of mourning before the King of

was a remarkable tribute to a great man, an outstanding

Ghazal could return to his career. His fans across the globe

musician, a passionate philanthropist and a committed

waited in anticipation. In September 2011, tragedy struck

arts activist.

again. On the day that Jagjit was to perform in a major

Hats off to local Cape Town concert promoter Nisaar

concert in Mumbai with Pakistani Ghazal singer Ghualm Ali,

Pangarker who brought the celebrated Indian violinist

he fell into a coma and died two weeks later. His death was a

Deepak Pandit and a small troupe of Indian musicians

huge blow for fans looking forward to a unique duet between

to perform in the concert accompanied by the Cape

two great maestros from the sub-continent.

Philharmonic Orchestra. This was a memorable concert. It

Beneficiaries of his generous philanthropy for various community causes also mourned his death. His death

honoured the music of Jagjit Singh just as it should be – with grace, dignity and skilful playing. CF

Creative Feel / March 2016 / 23

Business & Arts Business & Arts is a monthly column by Michelle Constant, CEO of Business and Arts South Africa (BASA).

attended the performance of a fantastic outfit,

the orchestra attempted, flailed, sometimes failed and only

BombSheltaBeast, at the Orbit in Braamfontein.

on occasion, managed to close the stable door before the

Featuring twelve members of the music fraternity,

horses bolted.

including jazz statesman Marcus Wyatt; Standard Bank

What struck me about both events, was tempered by

Young Artist for Jazz, Siya Makuzeni; Pitch Black Afro (yes,

an earlier experience of participating in two workshops

he is still around) and Nick Welch (more commonly known

on Social Cohesion and Nation Building, hosted by the

as the comedian Pule), BombSheltaBeast represents the best

Department of Arts and Culture. In particular I was

of ensemble work in music. I loved every minute of their

impressed by speakers from the SA Council of Churches, the

insane, utterly quirky fusion of Gypsy-AfroPunk. Throw in

Gender Commission, and the Sowetan newspaper.

a drummer with some impressive ‘drum ‘n bass’ rhythms, the power of a few good jazz horns, guitar, double bass and ridiculous outfits, and you have a team of performers who have an eye on the audience and a firm grasp on new opportunities. Yes it is a massive outfit, but the potential is also massive, as counter-intuitive as that may appear. The venue was packed, the audience appeared smitten and one could see a tribe of Beastie Boys and Girls taking root. The power of cultural ensembles and what we can learn from them was highlighted both by the BombSheltaBeast experience and by the Conduct an Orchestra event that

It becomes quite clear that the role of the conductor is to support the orchestra through guidance, focus, discipline and trust

BASA partnered with, at the Mozart Festival. The former saw Wyatt, as he described it, conducting by ‘herding cats’, and doing a pretty remarkable job: getting people to work together whilst maintaining their individual and powerful

As one speaker said, ‘We cannot subcontract who we

musical chops. Indeed it is the quintessential problem

are to others; we need to get down and work, to find ways

solving skills of the arts (in this case, musicians), their

to master a collective commitment, collective wishes

ability to listen, and respectfully ‘hear one another’, that

and dreams, as well as be prepared to make a collective

merits noting.

sacrifice for the country.’ It is in the work of the orchestra or

In the Conduct an Orchestra event, hosted by maestro

BombSheltaBeast that we see these words taking seed and

Richard Cock, it becomes quite clear that the role of the

demonstrating a true form of Nation Building. Notably, in

conductor is to support the orchestra through guidance,

both projects, there are different identities, races, genders,

focus, discipline and trust; supposedly much like a CEO or

generations, different musical ‘languages’, but importantly

Director of a company. The lesson from this for business

one goal. Indeed, if we all follow this rather excellent model

remains that it highlights the skills of teamwork, leadership

that the arts offer us, it could make all the difference to our

and, once again, discipline and trust. The difficulty of

country, our sense of self, and the nation we want to be.

keeping time, of creating a unified and cohesive sound, was

This promises to be a trying year but the sector we work in

demonstrated as all of the business members who conducted

promises plenty of answers. CF

24 / Creative Feel / March 2016

Enrolment for ACT | UJ Conference Opens The fourth instalment of the ACT | UJ Conference, #creativeintersections – an interactive experience – takes as its starting point the stimulating nature of the creative sector, which by its nature pursues alternative ways of thinking and doing things.

lthough this approach can appear disorganised

advancing and inspiring the creative sector,’ says Pieter

and incoherent to outsiders – and therefore

Jacobs, CEO of the Arts & Culture Trust (ACT).

difficult to engage with for those who sit on

The programme will consist of three streams:

the edges – this focus on unconventional

presentations, interactive workshops and interdisciplinary

thinking is ultimately what builds the intrinsic value of

brainstorming sessions (referred to as Hatchery sessions).

the creative industries.

The Hatchery session asks groups to develop or grow an

An interdisciplinary approach thus lies at the heart of the

interdisciplinary idea, project or solution and encourages

conference, which aims to stimulate new ways of thinking.

collaboration and co-operation across disciplinary boundaries.

The conference will follow an interactive approach, based

It also allows delegates to gain individual experience working

on studies done on conferences that reveal that people take

on a project proposal and with a standard intellectual property

more away from immersive, experiential experiences than

contract that can serve as a reference for personal projects

from ‘lecture-type’ programmes.

following the conference. The Hatchery culminates in the

Conference delegates will thus be able to engage

return of the Pitch Perfect Battle during which delegates are

actively and practically in crossing the boundaries of

able to pitch their idea or solution to a panel of judges to stand

academic disciplines. These ‘intersections’ will highlight

a chance to secure a grant for implementation. A structured

new mediums, theories and connections, with discussions

skill swap over cocktails will be hosted by community-based

centring on interdisciplinary activities, intercultural

collective, Nightowls, who will demonstrate the value of

dialogue and innovative technologies.

moneyless bartering and knowledge sharing.

As with previous years, the 2016 ACT | UJ Conference will

Enrolment is open for registration on

present an invaluable chance for people working at different

http://www.creativeconference.co.za/enrolment/ and via

levels and in different contexts in the sector to meet and

the Creative Feel website with tickets available at R350 for

learn from one another, in order to identify and leverage

students and R1 200.00 for the entire conference. School

synergies and opportunities that they may not previously

starts on the 16th and 17th of March at the University of

have been aware of.

Johannesburg’s Art Centre.

Delegates will be encouraged to engage with

The ACT | UJ Arts & Culture Conference is presented

networks outside their existing circles and disciplines,

by the Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) and UJ Arts & Culture in

giving them exposure to new ideas. These will be

partnership with the Department of Arts & Culture’s Mzansi

facilitated through brainstorming breakaways and skill

Golden Economy Programme, Business and Arts South

swapping, networking events.

Africa (BASA) and SAMRO Foundation with support from the

‘The aim of the Conference is to share information, knowledge and research with the view of enabling,

National Arts Council, Nedbank Arts Affinity, Creative Feel and the British Council’s Connect ZA. CF

Creative Feel / March 2016 / 25

Literary Landscapes Literary Landscapes is a monthly column by Indra Wussow a writer, translator and director of the Sylt Foundation.

hile is a land of extraordinary poetic heritage. In

moved to the bigger cities, notably to Santiago, to look for

the 20th century both Pablo Neruda and Gabriela

a better life and a job.

Mistral were awarded the Nobel Prizes for their poetry, while others like Vicente Huidobro,

It is in the capital of Santiago where Mapuche poetry entered the national poetry scene and opened a dialogue

Pablo de Rokha and Nicanor Parra had powerful, late

between the indigenous peoples and the mainstream

post-modernist influences across the Spanish- and English-

Chilean culture. Contemporary Mapuche poetry incorporates

speaking worlds. As it enters the new century, Chile is

a literary culture that is in fluent dialogue with the

experiencing yet another poetic revolution, although

Eurocentric aesthetics of contemporary Chilean poetry

this time it is occurring under dramatically different

while still drawing on Mapuche oral traditions and histories.

circumstances. With the publication of Epu mari ülkantufe

Mapuche poetry is an invitation for Chile and other

ta fachantü (‘Twenty Contemporary Mapuche Poets’) in 2003,

countries with a colonial history to venture down the path of

Mapuche poetry was finally and firmly established as a vital component of Chilean literature. The Mapuche people – ‘the people of the earth’ – were the first nation living in the territories known today as the states of Chile and Argentina. According to official figures, the Mapuche nation comprises just four per cent of Chile’s population. It was the only indigenous nation able to stop the advance of the Spanish Conquest in South America – where the Spaniards signed treaties and negotiated with the Mapuche in terms of their relationship and existence in a mutual space. Only after independence from Spain in 1810 did the Chilean State commence its war against the Mapuche Nation, a conflict which it named the ‘Pacification of the Araucanian’. Chile, like so many other colonial nations and states founded by the conquest of territories and people, has its roots in such violence: a violence hidden under words like ‘pacify’, which was coined during the total defeat of

Jorge Aceituno Moreno, El Gigante de Paruro, b/w photography 2004

the Mapuches in the wars and raids against the indigenous peoples from 1881 to 1883. Before the advent of the Spaniards, the Mapuche owned a land of 30 million hectares. Today they call only one per cent of that land their own. Their land was taken

art to transform ourselves into a coexistence, becoming one and whole in the shared spaces in which we live. It was not until the middle of the 20th century, however,

over by large land owners and fenced. During the military

that Mapuche authors began to conceive of and produce

dictatorship of Pinochet, large parts of the primeval forest

their own written texts. Some of these, like the poems by

were offered to international paper companies who planted

Leonel Lienlaf, are written in both Spanish and Mapudungun

monocultures and bereft the Mapuches of 90 per cent of

(the language of the Mapuche), and therefore have highly

their forests. The auracaria, the holy tree of the Mapuche,

explicit intercultural characters.

disappeared in many parts of what was once their territory. Thus almost every second Mapuche left his home and

26 / Creative Feel / March 2016

Lienlaf was born in 1969 in the town of Alepue. At the age of ten he began to write in Spanish and Mapudungun.

Primeval forest in Southern Chile

His first book, Se ha despertado el ave de mi corazón (‘The Bird of My Heart has Awoken’), was published in 1989 and with it he earned the City of Santiago Literary Prize. Lienlaf achieves a syncretism between the structures of the ül (Mapuche personal songs) and contemporary

Pewma

written forms.

Trafuya pewman

Unlike many contemporary Mapuche poets, Lienlaf

ngüru wanküyawün

grew up in a rural Mapuche community and only moved

inche ruka

to Temuco, the capital of Araucanía, to study in his late

¿chumyawimi ngürü? –pifin

teens. He has said on more than one occasion that he

welu ad elulaenew

does not feel he is a poet in the individualist sense that a

wankümu ta llumi.

winka (a non-indigenous Chilean) would define the term. ‘More than a representative of my culture,’ he says, ‘I

¿chemew llumimi ngürü?

come from it. I am an expression of it.’ Lienlaf’s poetry

wirarütufin

uses traditional song structures within a wider context

wac wac pienew

of Mapuche colonisation and subjugation. His position is

ina lef nepen

certainly ambiguous, then, oscillating as it does between

wekun lifmekerkefuy ta wün

two worlds, and this ambiguity is reflected in his mode of publication: his books are bilingual, written by the poet

Alüpu

in both Mapudungun and Spanish, in order to appeal to

kiñe ngürü trokifiñ

readers of both languages.

ngümayawi mawidantuple.

...The Dream While dreaming last night a fox sang under our house What are you doing there? Asked my voice the fox hid its face behind the song Why do you hide? I yelled from my bed wac wac In conversation with the poets Leonel Lienlaf and Alvaro Leiva Ramirez

was the answer I woke up startled out side

His is an incredible balancing act between tradition and

the day began to be sketched

modernity and the impact of it on the culture of his people.

I heard from afar

His readings are well attended and, due to poets like him,

a fox seemed to be

there is a vast interest in Mapuche culture and literature

weeping in the mountains.

in Chile today. It is still very difficult to find publishers for

– Leonel Lienlaf

works in the indigenous languages but a lot of progress has been made and it seems that rewriting Chilean history

In October 2016 Chilean poet Jesus Sepulveda will be the first

while honouring all its peoples has started the important

South American artist to be part of the Sylt Foundation’s South

historical revision of the Pinochet years. But that is another

South dialogue and will spend five weeks in Johannesburg. Leonel

story to tell. CF

Lienleaf will be a resident in 2017.

Creative Feel / March 2016 / 27

BCUC

Shortstraw

Jerry And The Bandits

Splashy Fen is set to wow music-loving fans both old and new with a star-studded line-up of international and local music acts, that will put the iconic music festival on the map.

Local and International Talent on Show at Splashy Fen 2016

ver 25 years ago, in the rolling foothills of the

both local and international; our facilities will be of the

Southern Drakensberg mountains, two friends

highest standard; health services and security are a huge

decided to host a music festival. Seven short

priority, with a zero tolerance approach to trouble-makers;

months later, over 1 200 enthusiasts from across

fun-filled activities for the whole family, including a Kid

South Africa arrived to enjoy a diverse selection of live music

Zone and a new and improved venue layout. The whole

set in the natural amphitheatre of the Splashy Fen Trout

experience is set to reignite the Splashy Fen flame.’

Farm in Underberg. 2016 will see ‘The Revival’ of this iconic and much-loved

In its early days, the festival genre focused heavily on folk and light folk-rock with the inclusion of traditional

music festival as Impi Concept Events, newly appointed

music styles such as mbaqanga and isicathamiya. Over

management company, promises a bigger, better, more

the years, this offering has grown to include mainstream,

Splashy-esque experience than ever before.

alternative rock, kwaito, rap, hip hop and pop music and, in

Impi Concept Events Business Manager, Stu Berry is excited, enthusiastic and wholly committed to the core

very recent years, electro. 2016 will boast a variety of stages that include most

values of Splashy Fen. ‘We’re calling it The Revival because

music genres, as well as an Open Mic acoustic platform

we’re bringing back all the good stuff that people have come

for budding musicians, poets and comedians who want to

to know and love about Splashy. But we’re also upping the

share their talent with the crowds, plus an all new Sunday

ante on everything; a massive selection of amazing artists;

Jazz Session.

30 / Creative Feel / March 2016

Gangs of Ballet

Adelle Nqueto

Good Luck

Manny Walters

Dan Patlansky

Internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter and multi-

Splashy Fen 2016 will take place over the traditional

instrumentalist Xavier Rudd will be headlining on the main

Easter weekend, from 24 to 27 March when festival goers will

stage of the four-day music festival, as well as South African

be able to enjoy a long weekend in the picturesque setting of

favourites, Mango Groove, who will be attending Splashy Fen

Underberg enjoying the best Splashy Fen experience to date.

for the first time in their performance history. ‘We’re really

Four exciting stage arenas will provide fans with both a

excited about our line-up and know that fans will be pleased

visual and audible treat as over 90 artists and bands showcase

with the quality of acts who will be performing. There is such

their musical talent. From the super-sized Main Stage to the

a great selection that there will certainly be something for

hugely popular Acoustic Stage to a different experience all-

everyone,’ said Berry.

together down by the River Stage, now a fully operational setup

Other acts include Goodluck, Dan Patlansky plus many

as opposed to previous years, and then for those looking for

more, which will be announced in the up and coming weeks

some foot-stomping beats, the Electric Boma is sure to impress.

on both the new website and Splashy Fen Facebook page.

There really is something for everyone at this year’s #Splashy.

While ‘The Revival’ is attracting big international names,

Fans can purchase tickets online at www.splashyfen.co.za.

Splashy Fen 2016 will remain focused on partnering with

Early Bird tickets were quick to sell out but 1 500 General

KZN and SA artists at every opportunity, with no fewer that

Admission Phase 1 tickets are available for R750 per person and

85 local South African musicians performing across the four-

R795 per person for General Admission Phase 2, with some very

day festival.

exciting camping options soon to be announced. CF

Creative Feel / March 2016 / 31

32 / Creative Feel / March 2016

In celebration of Hugh Masekela’s participation in Rand Merchant Bank Starlight Classics at Vergelegen Wine Estate in the Cape Winelands, Creative

Feel’s Nondumiso Msimanga caught up with this ‘very lucky man’.

tanding outside the K Cool Productions studios where he is recording his latest album, after a five-year hiatus, the laughing figure of Hugh Masekela is surrounded by people from television

and written media awaiting their moment. He greets with a smile and a warm hug as though he is in no rush on the sunny, summer afternoon. Out of respect, in Nguni culture, one does not address an elder with their name but confers the title of Mkhulu (grandfather) to every man of a mature age. Masekela, though, is informally known as Bra Hugh. And seeing the laid-back, jocular man standing in the sun in his jeans, denim waistcoat and bright orange sneakers, one cannot imagine referring to him as grandfather. But while he bounces along as he walks, there is certain intensity in his eyes as he turns toward the studio. The sheer force behind the eyes incidentally reveals the passion that is his driving source – or ‘obsession,’ as he calls it – and almost warrants the immensity of his laughter. ‘Where’s the music?’ he jokingly asks his agent while patting the man’s shoulder. ‘The music is there, the music is at the back,’ the agent responds while he excuses them from the media people crowding the entrance to the studio. The music always comes first for Hugh Masekela. ‘When I went into music there was no industry. I only did music because I love music,’ Masekela says. He has been a musician for 71 years now and coolly acknowledges that he began when he was just an

Creative Feel / March 2016 / 33

infant. There is no beginning and no end for him. He laughs

creativity. He also believes in art as a gift from nature that

as he shrugs his shoulders and says, ‘I think I was bewitched,

taps into a greater sense of being; it is limitless. When asked

as a child, with music. So when you’re bewitched you don’t

about greatness he responds: ‘If you only want to achieve

need a source of energy. Uloyiwe, uloyiwe – bakuthakathile!

human things and you think that you are beyond nature and

(You’re bewitched, you’re bewitched – they’ve bewitched

you don’t realise that you are a very miniscule part of nature,

you!)’ he laughs with the fullness of a melody. Music

you already have diminished your potential.’ He does not

captured him before he could remember. For Masekela, ‘it

perceive himself as a great artist; merely a very lucky man.

all comes from music’. He is involved in a variety of artistic

It is difficult to imagine that an icon of South African

outputs now, as he has ventured into theatre, television and

jazz, as well as history, who has received a number of

other forms and he confidently states that he is ready for

Lifetime Achievement awards, several honorary doctorates,

anything. Stemming from music he has found that ‘art is

and worked with the most renowned names of jazz

universal’ in the way that it opens itself up to other forms of

worldwide, does not conceive of himself as great. His face

34 / Creative Feel / March 2016

“If you only want to achieve human things and you think that you are beyond nature and you don’t realise that you are a very miniscule part of nature, you already have diminished your potential”

had been sent to buy and would arrive home with nothing and get smacked. As if the multitude of smacks jolts him back to the present he laughs like a naughty young boy because he often returned home without the bread that he was sent for but with a new song in his mind. ‘When I was five my parents decided to get me piano lessons so that ngingahlanyi! (I don’t go crazy!)’ he punctuates his thought in his Zulu vernacular. There is a great deal of laughter throughout the interview as the 77-year-old charmingly jokes, even about the thing that he is most serious about:

was even the highlight of an exhibition at the Resolution

music. Remembering when people would ask him, ‘Do you

Gallery in Rosebank, featuring his portrait surrounded

sleep with your trumpet?’ his witty retort is that ‘I say: No I

by the coin-back-style faces of South African historical

sleep with my girlfriend.’ But on the subject of greatness he

heroes as the landscape of Masekela’s influence. But, when

has only warnings.

asked about his trademark instrument, the trumpet, and

Masekela believes that the idea of greatness, and its

when he first fell in love with it, he says that he did not

attainment, is a dangerous notion for the artist. ‘Some

realise when this love story began. He is entranced as he

people get swallowed by greatness,’ he bemoans. He calls

looks out and almost whispers that he was ‘fascinated’

art ‘a very jealous lover’ and warns that when people believe

with music; ‘anything to do with sound,’ he reiterates.

that they are more powerful than the music that they get

There was always music in his surroundings as a child

swallowed by it. In his potent words he says, ‘All high art is

and he recalls being infatuated with the gramophone and

very vengeful. If you abuse it, it destroys you.’

the wealth of indigenous instruments that would sound

He lives for music. He believes that he can still get

through the streets as he would walk to the shops. He seems

better and so he practices every day. Like the universe

transported through time as he relays the story of how he

itself, art always has more to offer. He says that another

would sing as he was sent to buy things at the shops and

planet has recently been discovered and he knows that he

then get distracted because there was a man who played

has yet to discover everything that music has to offer. He

the gramophone on his stoep along the way. By the time he

has never thought within the constraints of genre but that

would arrive at the shops he had usually forgotten what he

‘that obsession: to improve whatever I have is what drives

Creative Feel / March 2016 / 35

“A person does not become a musician simply because they love music because musicianship is a skill, a craft”

from a country that made it possible for me because it was so musically active.’ The jokes, which are never too far from the tongue with Masekela, return to full form when he imagines that if he had been born in Japan he would have been a sushi chef. But this idea is not only humorous to him because of his profound love of music but also an earnest metaphor for his belief that ‘you are only a product of the people that you come from.’ His current obsession is the work that he is doing with the Hugh Masekela Heritage Foundation. ‘I live, basically, for giving back,’ he begins an impassioned speech on the importance of reclaiming the African heritage; its languages, art forms, novels and knowledge. He believes, with an inspiring fervour, that Africa has to ‘re-visible-ise’ itself to itself and to the world. He says that Africans, in their me because I know that I can become better.’ He exercises

assimilation of Western culture have lost their distinctive

regularly so that his body and brain don’t atrophy, just as

characteristics; and that a cultural revolution would aid the

he practices his instrument daily so that he can match the

continent in every sphere of economic, cultural, philosophical,

inanimate organ with his vital body. He walks, does yoga,

even psychological being.

and has been doing Tai Chi for over 14 years. He says that a

‘That is my biggest obsession right now,’ he says as he

person does not become a musician simply because they love

sits forward with even more gusto. He is aware that he is not

music because musicianship is a skill, a craft. When he looks

only a musical voice but also a political one. His career as a

at music today he thinks it sad that record companies shifted

musician developed side-by-side with his political influence

their focus from being portals for music to a focus on the

when he composed some of the tunes that would mark

number of units sold. Having ten hit songs does not make one

significant moments in the struggle against apartheid. In

a musician; but there are young rappers who have gained his

the post-apartheid era his politics regarding hair have made

respect for music. Cassper Nyovest and Kanye West caught

him a controversial figure but he does not shy away from

his well-tuned ear because they not only produce but sing

speaking up for what he believes in. He believes Africans

and understand the craft as well. He hopes that they can be an

need to reinvest in rural life. His mission is to bring pride

inspiration to their peers but states that he (Hugh Masekela)

into Africa. And, in his new album, which features West

does not take himself as seriously as other musicians.

African and Central African sounds, he hopes to encourage

Serendipity made him a musician he says. Masekela states,

unity. He is trying to make it excellent and says that he is

in a matter-of-fact-tone: ‘I’m just lucky to be in music. I come

surprised at how good it feels and how good it sounds. CF

36 / Creative Feel / March 2016

The audience at this year’s RMB Starlight Classics at Vergelegen Wine Estate in the Cape Winelands will experience, for the first time in the concert’s history, Hugh Masekela performing live on stage with the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra. As a very special treat, our sensational, South African, internationallyrenowned opera singer Pretty Yende will return by popular demand to the RMB Starlight Classics and these two great South African musicians will be performing together, a real highlight not to be missed!

A First for RMB Starlight Classics

orn in Piet Retief, Mpumalanga, Pretty Yende

Both the Metropolitan Opera House and Opéra

graduated cum laude from the South African

National de Paris have announced that Pretty Yende will

College of Music – part of the University of Cape

again feature in the renowned opera houses’ 2016/2017

Town. She also graduated from the Accademia

seasons. Yende will return to the Metropolitan Opera

Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy. Yende won the International

House in New York for two opera productions as the

Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition 2009 in Vienna

prima donna. She returns as Rosina in Rossini’s Il

and has since then appeared in every major opera house,

Barbiere di Siviglia, which she is currently performing

from the Met in New York to La Scala to Berlin. Yende is

at the Opéra National de Paris to critical acclaim. She

today hailed as one of the world’s top opera singers with a

joins internationally celebrated bel canto tenors Javier

huge international following of opera aficionados. It was the

Camarena and Peter Mattei in the title role. She also

RMB Starlight Classics stage where she first performed while

makes her debut as Juliette in Gounod’s lush Shakespeare

still a young Cape Town Opera student soloist and has since

adaptation of the tragic love story. This will mark

returned many times for special appearances at RMB Starlight

Yende’s debut in the role. She will also appear in the

Classics concerts. Yende was conferred the Silver Order of

50th Anniversary gala for the Met, joining a selection of

Ikhamanga, a national award given to South African citizens

international opera stars.

who have excelled in the fields of arts, culture, literature

Yende will return to the Opéra National de Paris Bastille

and music, in 2013. In a statement by the chairperson of the

stage in the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor by Donizetti.

National Orders Advisory Council, Dr Cassius Lubisi, Yende

She is featured under the ‘great international voices of

was conferred the honour ‘for her excellent achievement and

tomorrow’. This will mark Yende’s second production of

international acclaim in the field of world opera and serving

Lucia di Lammermoor, following her great success in the role

as a role model to aspiring young musicians.’

at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. CF

Creative Feel / March 2016 / 37

Gregory Maqoma, international multipleaward winning dancer and artistic director of Vuyani Dance Company (VDC), is set to make a solo appearance at Rand Merchant Bank Starlight Classics at Vergelegen Wine Estate in the Cape Winelands this March.

Star Turn

ANOTHER

FOR RMB STARLIGHT CLASSICS

‘O

ver the years through VDC, I have built a strong partnership with Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), an innovative brand that welcomes our quest for unique creativity,’ says Gregory

Maqoma, founder and director of VDC. ‘I want my debut solo performance on the RMB Starlight Classics stage to be spectacular and a highlight of their show.’ He adds that while he has choreographed for the show previously, he is looking forward to collaborating with the director to create something particularly memorable for this year’s audience. ‘RMB Starlight Classics is a celebration of the arts, embracing both music and movement. I will work closely with the conductor and music arranger to understand how the dance piece integrates with the musical development of the overall event. The final dance piece will therefore not only ‘fit in’ but also stand out in its true artistic form,’ says Maqoma. Maqoma acknowledges that a piece of choreography is enhanced by other elements such as the stage and lighting. ‘The designers – a team that I trust – are

38 / Creative Feel / March 2016

“At RMB Starlight Classics, there is a care and respect for artists and their respective art forms – in fact for everything that happens on the stage. I have complete confidence that this new work will be treated with the same care and respect”

influential in terms of colour schemes and the direction we want to take.’ Costumes also play a vital role, he explains. ‘For me a costume is an extension of the choreography, and of the story. So it has to make sense to the piece; but I also have to make sense of the costume and sometimes adapt the choreography to make them work hand in hand.’ This appearance at RMB Starlight Classics continues the celebration that began with VDC’s presentation of Greg Maqoma & Friends in December 2015, of Maqoma’s 25 years in the dance industry. Appreciative and enthusiastic audiences packed into the Lyric Theatre to see Maqoma perform alongside some of the celebrated singers, dancers, comedians, fashion designers and other personalities with whom he has collaborated over the years – not to mention 200 enthusiastic learners from VDC’s outreach programme. RMB ‘played a big part in Greg Maqoma & Friends,’ says Maqoma, who speaks of last year’s RMB Starlight Classics in Johannesburg as a ‘pre-party’ to the celebration of his 25 years. ‘There was a lot of dance and the company (VDC) was really featured well. At RMB Starlight Classics, there is a care and respect for artists and their respective art forms – in fact for everything that happens on the stage. I have complete confidence that this new work will be treated with the same care and respect.’ With the show looming, Maqoma and VDC are hard at work, as always, adding ‘another visual layer; another dimension’ to the show. Bringing dance to an event that is predominantly dedicated to music is one way that VDC can reach new audiences and introduce people who might otherwise never experience dance, to the beauty of this art form. But above all, says Maqoma, ‘for us, together with RMB, it is about cementing that relationship – the beautiful, amazing partnership in performance that we share.’ CF

Creative Feel / March 2016 / 39

Egoli

Place of People

‘E

goli’ is the place of gold, not of people, but in this play the people take centre stage again. To open

Egoli, which was recently restaged at the Market Theatre as part of their 40 year celebration, is a protest play about the real and metaphorical prisons of the people who lived and died in Johannesburg’s gold mines. In reviewing the piece for Creative Feel, Nondumiso Msimanga spoke to Steven Sack about his personal memories of this revisted play.

the year of the Market Theatre’s 40th anniversary with this play

is a bold statement. The original vision for the theatre was to provide a space for the voices of the majority of the country to perform their stories in an inclusive venue. Dissident thought informed some of the most subversive shows of the late 1970s and 1980s at the theatre. The Market Theatre was itself a political body that enacted a vision of democracy in its existence. In the democratic era, under the creative leadership of James Ngcobo as artistic director, it has reignited its ethos by envisioning a venue that again caters to increased inclusivity and the telling of the untold tales of the country’s majority.

40 / Creative Feel /February 2016

Steven Sack is the CEO of the Origins Centre at the University of the Witwatersrand and, while working for

time of great successes,’ he says but adds that ‘it’s hard to imagine those times.’

the City of Joburg, was responsible for the building of the

The Laager, which was renovated in 2015 to create a

Soweto Theatre. He is a past board member of the Market

mobile creative venue, was set up as a square amphitheatre

Theatre and an original member of the Junction Avenue

for Egoli; as directed by Phala Oekeditse Phala mentored by

Theatre Company. After watching the current production

Makhaola Siyanda Ndebele. The dimly lit preset space met the

of Egoli at the Market Theatre, Sack remembered his friend

audience in a confrontational format. The audience were cast

and colleague Matsemela Manaka. The playwright had

as visitors in the living museum of the characters’ story. They

asked Sack to help set up a degree programme at the Funda

had to quietly creep to their seats surrounding the carefully

Arts Centre in the 1980s. Manaka had enrolled for the Fine

laid out clothes and paraphernalia. When the cast completed

Arts course but when he discovered how Eurocentric it

their mining task, they proceeded to their living space: a tiny

was he asked Sack to help him in his quest to set up a new

shared square in the middle of the stage. But the performers

curriculum. Their interests aligned and the rest would be

seemed completely oblivious of the audience around them

proverbial history if it were not still relevant today.

at the start of their daily chores as they washed themselves,

Matsemela Manaka was a writer, director, actor and

prayed, drank and blew their noses. This was a careful choice

poet who founded the Soyikwa Institute of African Theatre

that escalated into an obvious ignoring of the audience who

at the Funda Arts Centre in 1979. Alongside Egoli, his

became illuminated along with the performers when one actor

critically acclaimed plays include Vuka, Pula and Imbumba,

sat in the auditorium and blew his nose with his t-shirt next

to name a few. Egoli was first produced by Soyikwa African

to a nervously giggling group of women. The audience was

Theatre in 1976. Due to Soyikwa Theatre’s belief in a

part of the piece but they were not going to be pandered to.

communal approach to plays, the final version of Egoli was a

‘I wanted the audience to feel like they’re eavesdropping,’

collaboration between the writer and his two original actors:

says Phala. His main concern was honouring the real lives

John Moalusi Ledwaba and Hamilton Mahonga Silwane.

of the men and women who were critical to the creation of

Sack says, ‘I was privileged to be in that environment’ and

the city, but whom history had forgotten. As Johannesburg

in the next breath he sighs and holds his head, whispering

celebrates its 130th anniversary, Phala was intrigued by what

the old adage: ‘it was an interesting time.’ This was the period

is present and what is absent in the landscape of its current

in South Africa’s history when some of the most celebrated

narrative. Of course the miners who work underground have

artists would carve out a new path for the arts. They were

always been a present-absence, but in his revisioning of the

experimenting with new forms in their mission to change

1980s production, he was also haunted by the unseen role

the dominant politics of the time by creating new spaces for

of women in the history of the city. Following Manaka’s

people from all backgrounds to fight apartheid. It was during

philosophy, Phala honours the memory of this aspect of

this era that the Market Theatre was built.

black history by adapting the two-hander into an ensemble

The energy of collaboration was the cement between

play where the previously invisible women are brought

the bricks of the theatre’s philosophy. The space itself

to life. When the prostitute appears, she is chased off the

was built with the vision of a self-sustaining artistic hub

stage because the man cannot confront the ghosts of the

where the market that surrounded its walls, with people

women that he had raped and killed years before. The entire

and produce, would bring in the money that was needed to run the venue without government funding. Having seen the first production of Egoli at a community hall 35 years ago, Sack was fascinated to see what young director Phala Ookeditse Phala, with the benefit of the fully-equipped Laager stage, would do with the play. He had seen the plays of Gibson Kente and others and was part of the multiracial Junction Avenue Theatre Company from the late 1970s, so he retains a vested interest in the works that came out of the time of unjust limitations. He vividly recalls seeing John Ledwaba in Egoli painstakingly try to thread a needle

“This was the period in South Africa’s history when some of the most celebrated artists would carve out a new path for the arts”

with a manic sense of urgency. The image still makes him shake his head at the potency of the simple act. ‘It was a

Creative Feel / March 2016 / 41

play has the tone of a memorial and closes with the song

People from varying backgrounds came together under the

‘Ayanqanqazela amabunu / abulal’uLedwaba / nithasixole

same roof and made a play. Barney Simon’s legacy, which the

kanjani? / amabunu abulal’uLedwaba’. The song asks how

theatre still upholds today, was that of collective creation. For

they must forgive when Ledwaba was killed. It is haunting as

Sack, this is a significant opportunity for young artists who

it connects the past to the present as South Africa is being

are also beginning to work collaboratively in order to gain

confronted with the debris of the past.

political agency. He remembers that, as a Fine Arts student, he

‘What the Market Theatre meant 40 years ago – it was a

found his purpose in Junction Avenue and that it was working

huge step forward! I mean Barney [Simon] they used to do

with his fellow students that his ‘real education happened’.

theatre in their living rooms, in their homes, because the

What makes this play pertinent, as 2016 began with

spaces that existed were all racially proscribed places.’ The

harsh confrontations on social media regarding race

theatre was what he refers to as the ‘cracks in apartheid’

relations in this country, is that it does not merely point

because, according to Bill Ainslie, it was the type of place

fingers outward but looks inward also. The cast’s choice to

where people were able to make a different life possible.

involve and ignore the audience at specific intervals, and the use of different vernacular languages and a ‘broken’ English, is true to the times and to the place of the mines but it also functions to speak to the audience and to the self. This selfinspection was a tenet of the existential elements of Black

“In the context of South Africa, it critically asks how closure can take place when people have had to bury stones in place of their dead and when they have not been able to forgive themselves”

Consciousness, to which Manaka subscribed, and it is pivotal to Phala for today’s activism. The play presents ‘a different kind of activism,’ Phala states. In the context of South Africa, it critically asks how closure can take place when people have had to bury stones in place of their dead and when they have not been able to forgive themselves. The origins of the Market Theatre in apartheid’s environment, for Sacks, are ‘extraordinary!’ And so, in his description of the profound middle ages, the narrative of the Market Theatre is ‘a story about how symbolic thought and cultural practice… are just part and parcel of what it means to be human.’ While the outside market has been replaced by a mall – as the space evolves – the ethos within remains. CF

42 / Creative Feel / March 2016

POPArt As ImpACT Award winners for Theatre 2015, POPArt co-founders Orly Shapiro and Hayleigh Evans are thrilled about this recognition and what it means for the future of their theatre.

he world is changing, at a rapid pace, and South

The Arts & Culture Trust’s (ACT) ImpACT Awards are a

Africa is shifting with it. In fact, the country is now

unique acknowledgement in the South African arts sector

at the avant garde of the new movement. When

because the funding body pays heed to young artists who

the #FeesMustFall campaign took to the streets

make a notable contribution to their community and the

to fight against a rise in the cost of tertiary education and

industry at large. In Johannesburg, where the streets are

won a zero per cent increase at the end of 2015, it was clear

buzzing with actors seeking employment, POPArt is a

that the young people of South Africa were actively engaged

breath of fresh air. Its focus on new work caters to a large

in developing their society. The ‘YouTube Generation’, as

fringe industry that usually only sees its work shown at

Hayleigh Evans (cofounder of POPArt) classifies them, took

festivals, where about a thousand other shows must fight

control of their news by reporting it themselves on YouTube

for an audience in a concentrated period. The theatre is an

and social media in a way that effectively reaches millions

alternative that offers fresh storytellers the opportunity to

in minutes. It is these people that the POPArt theatre caters

be seen and to see the business potential of their work in a

to: people who make an impact; people with business savvy

country where the stages generally cater to veteran works.

and creative skill; and people who know their entertainment.

POPArt is current, creative and also a little crazy. It beats to

With Orly Shapiro as another cofounder, as well Shoki

the drum of a future Johannesburg.

Mokgapa, POPArt has become a significant player in the

‘It’s that intention thing. It almost never feels like work,’

booming creative business sector at the Maboneng Precinct

Evans says. In the pursuit of ‘a new culture of business’

in Johannesburg. Having officially opened in May 2011 when,

in the South African arts industry, she and Shapiro run

as Shapiro puts it, ‘We were literally a room underneath a

the business course at the Market Theatre Lab. Here they

parking lot,’ the venue now has an additional space and a

train the students to self-produce a show in every aspect of

workshop room and POPArt is now not only a venue but a

professional performance and the students eventually show

production company and casting agent too. It was whilst in

their work at the Market Theatre and tour to POPArt. Evans

preparation for the two cofounders’ creative project Unfair

describes it as ‘really fun!’ Shapiro echoes her business

Lady that they received the news that POPArt was the winner

partner when she speaks in excited stammers about winning

of the special ImpACT Award for its contribution to theatre.

the ImpACT Award: ‘When you do something that you love

44 / Creative Feel / March 2016

and there’s recognition from, like, a body or an institution that is recognised so highly in your industry… It sounds cliché but it’s such an honour!’ The two cofounders are like the left and right brain of the same mind. The way that they run the theatre is the way that they live their lives and even create their own art: authentically. Their casual style is unassuming and at the same time invitingly business-oriented. They are aware that they operate in a male-dominated world as business people but ‘we are true to ourselves as creatives.’ The theme of authenticity is one that gives gravitas to their production Unfair Lady. The production received good responses in its Cape Town run and will be touring to the National Arts Festival. Shapiro directs the show with Evans performing in it. Shapiro says that ‘we have such trust in each other.’ And the fact that they balance each other’s skills, with her as the business-minded one and Evans as the innovator, means that they feel free to take on the world. Evans says that they have ‘got something very clandestine in the works.’ They are already facilitating the touring of shows between Johannesburg and Cape Town with the Alexander Bar. They have a Storyteller series; outreach programmes; workshops and a YouTube channel that gives a face to the personalities of the theatre world. The two women, having started with donations of a few par cans for lighting, see POPArt as a mogul in the coming years. Their goal is to raise the profile of South Africa’s arts and artists on a global scale. CF

Orly Shapiro and Hayleigh Evans

Creative Feel / March 2016 / 45

46 / Creative Feel / March 2016

Pitika Ntuli Gaza: Lest we forget

NEW STORIES

FROM THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT ART COLLECTION Year after year, the Constitutional Court Art Collection (CCAC) continues to grow Thomas Mulcaire

through the generous donation of work by

A Luta Continua 2003

internationally celebrated artists, giving

Neon installation 40 x 450 cm Constitutional Court Art Collection Photography by Akona Kenqu (2015)

expression to the idea of human dignity informing South Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unique Constitution.

Creative Feel / March 2016 / 47

Victor Gordon The Essential Arch Bull 1994 Mixed media, Small metal filing cabinet, cow horns, brass casters and six paperback books on velvet under clear acrylic 65 x 50 x 58 cm Constitutional Court Art Collection Photography by Akona Kenqu (2015)

umanity, and all its varied stories and experiences,

grow apace, thanks in part to the generosity of artists

is at the heart of the Constitutional Court’s Art

who donate works, often at great personal expense

Collection. Perhaps not coincidentally, Humanity

(the collection receives on average some six or seven

is also the title of the tapestry by Joseph Ndlovu

donations a year, according to Vorster). There are, however,

that sparked the collection, when Justices Albie Sachs and

limitations as to what the collection can accept. Firstly, the

Yvonne Mokgoro blew an entire décor budget of R10 000 on

item can’t be too high maintenance, nor too controversial

commissioning this single work. ‘I love the way that Justice

– for example, says Vorster, they probably wouldn’t accept

Mokgoro speaks about Humanity,’ says Stacey Vorster, curator

a piece dealing with Marikana: ‘We wouldn’t want to make

of the Constitutional Court Art Collection (CCAC). ‘She

the public feel like the court is taking sides. And this isn’t

says that when people were coming into that space, they

a gallery. We are not dealing with people who come in here

were coming in traumatised by the justice system. They

to engage with art, and who are open minded to it. This is a

needed a new vision of the justice system, and they needed

traumatising space... so sensitivity is really important.’

something to look at. When we’re uncomfortable in a space,

Since October, when some renovations and a substantial

we sometimes look for something to hold our attention, and

rehang were made possible by ‘some incredible funding’,

an artwork can do that.’

several new additions to the collection have been on

And so the CCAC was set in motion. It continues to

48 / Creative Feel / March 2016

display at the Constitutional Court. Two works by Professor

Rhona Gorvy Indomitable Spirit 1989 Monotype print on paper 560 x 760 mm Constitutional Court Art Collection

“When we’re uncomfortable in a space, we sometimes look for something to hold our attention, and an artwork can do that”

he’s pointing to the fact that there will be more trauma. We can guarantee that, because that’s the nature of our human existence, to exert trauma and suffering on each other. But it’s also a recognition of how all trauma is connected through time. We all share bones, we all feel pain, we all share this idea of suffering. And for me, what’s important about this in relation to the rest of the collection, is that it’s developing empathy.’ Vorster sees this call to empathy as one of the collection’s most important roles, quoting a recent statement by Justice Yacoob that ‘most of all, judges need to see art, because art is how we see into another person’s subjectivity, and a fair judge has access to many different subjectivities,’ she says. ‘I thought that was so profound. It’s about empathy building, and that’s the value of an art collection in a court like this. We are able to use these works Pitika Ntuli are now on exhibition, the first of which has

to start to tell stories in a way that people can connect to.’

been donated, while the second is on loan: ‘I twisted his

Vorster also links another recent addition – a 1980s print

arm for this particular one – Gaza: Lest we forget – because

by Rhona Gorvy titled Indomitable Spirit – to the idea of trauma

it is so relevant,’ says Vorster. The work comprises a heap

repeating itself, and, more particularly, the fortitude with which

of large animal bones, some of them carefully carved, while

people endure and overcome such suffering. ‘Gorvy speaks

others are unaltered, with dried strips of flesh still clinging.

about this work as a representation of how much trauma we

Each bone, she recalls, was individually wrapped, brought

can go through and still be resilient,’ she says. This idea of

to the site and carefully hand installed by the artist in a

resilience in turn leads Vorster to Judith Mason’s The Blue

‘kind of ritual’: ‘He speaks about this as in some sense a

Dress, which she describes as ‘our signature piece. That story

prophecy. We throw the bones in the way a sangoma would,

about Phila Ndwandwa, an everyday person, a mother, who can

to understand what’s coming to us. But because of the

do something that is so resistant, yet so much about human

size of these bones, because of the way he’s carved into

resilience, is what’s important. I think that what is essential

them, he also invokes the struggles that have happened in

about the collection is that it inspires hope.’

the past... The work thus starts to point to the future and

Another piece new to the collection is a photograph on

the past simultaneously. All suffering is the same, and it

perspex, depicting a long row of people, primarily young

repeats and it repeats... By throwing the bones in this way

black men and boys, struggling with HIV. This is one of

Creative Feel / March 2016 / 49

“Most of all, judges need to see art, because art is how we see into another person’s subjectivity, and a fair judge has access to many different subjectivities.”

some 20 large works from Gideon Mendel’s Positive Eye

These are only a few of the pieces new to the collection,

series, donated by the artist, and in its present position the

which now consists of around 467 items. (Many new

photograph continues a theme begun with a series of body-

additions will begin by going into storage, as the cost of

maps created by HIV positive women. These body-maps were

changing the art on show can be prohibitive). ‘The incredible

some of the earliest works to enter the collection, coming at

investment of people and their works in this space has

a time when, for those who were HIV positive, there was very

been incredibly touching,’ says Vorster. ‘Now, our biggest

little hope to be had.

challenge is to make sure we can look after the art, because

Close by, two works by Larry Scully show District Six

I feel a very big responsibility towards the artists. If you’re

back in the day, while further along, Susan Woolf’s Healing

going to give us your work, we can’t treat it like a mere

Art Books incorporates rooibos teabags, plasters and hand-

decoration. We have to invest in it, we have to show it, we

copied adverts placed by people looking for domestic and

have to look after it. There are many ways a collection can

gardening jobs, into a metal and glass sculpture. ‘This

die: it can fall off the walls and disintegrate and rot. But it

documents the time that the artist was helping her domestic

can also be forgotten, not be used. No one can think about it

worker to get her South African citizenship and helping her

or talk about it.’

son find work,’ explains Vorster. ‘It challenges that idea of

This is the challenge that now faces the CCAC: in the

nationality and citizenship, and how these affect human

mood of buoyant optimism and excitement that attended

rights. It’s rooted in such a South African experience – the

its inauguration, one aspect was not considered – the

relationship between the white privileged person and a

sustainability plan. ‘A collection like this demands a lot

domestic worker.’

of attention, particularly in a building like this,’ notes

50 / Creative Feel / March 2016

Vorster. Designed by award-winning architects, the

Hence the Foundation for Society, Law and Art in South

Constitutional Court is itself a work of art, but wasn’t

Africa was established in 2014 by ‘a group of former clerks,

originally intended to serve as an art gallery. As such, it

lawyers, business figures and enthusiasts passionate about

lacks many of the features needed to protect its contents

art, reconciliation, justice and the rule of law.’ Based in

from the elements – or pigeons.

America, the Foundation is helping the CCAC in efforts to

Of course, it takes money to conserve a collection, to

raise a $3 million endowment, which will create sustainable

pay for essential staff and the insurance and maintenance

funding for the collection, allowing it to fulfil its many ideals

of works. Similarly, funding is needed in order to mobilise

and aspirations.

the artworks – to use them as a means of stimulating

‘It is now 21 years since the democratic elections, and we

thought and debate, and to render the ideas contained

can already see how the story is becoming important,’ says

within them accessible to the general public, through

Vorster. ‘This collection starts to tell such diverse, untold stories,

guides, critical engagement, educational programming

and give a platform for them in a way that isn’t threatening or

and so on. Although the CCAC continues to welcome

prescriptive. And I think that’s what makes this space completely

donated artworks, the collection is barred from accessing

unique, not just in South Africa, but in the world.’

any local funding – ‘we don’t take a budget from the court

On the last Thursday of every month, visitors can join an

or taxpayers, and we don’t accept any donations from

Art and Justice Tour, which starts at the entrance to the Court

SA corporations or individuals, because of a potential

at 18:00. The tour is free and last about 90 minutes – book your

reputational risk for the court,’ explains Vorster.

place by contacting Stacey Vorster at arts@concourt.org.za. CF

Creative Feel / March 2016 / 51

A Fine Line

Madiba and Ivor react to the Jewish Memories of Mandela book, published by the Ichikowitz Family Foundation

Ivor Ichikowitz, founder of the Ichikowitz Family Foundation, spoke to

Creative Feel ’s Lore Watterson about the Foundation’s work and the upcoming exhibition It’s A Fine Line, showing at Constitution Hill.

‘T

he Ichikowitz Family Foundation has been in

individual pieces, rare archive footage will be showcased

existence for a number of years and has been

in prison cells.

focused primarily in three areas,’ explains Ichikowitz. ‘We’ve been very actively involved

‘I think that It’s A Fine Line is most unique because it’s a combination of the accurate recording of history and the

in supporting anti-poaching operations all over Africa to

artist’s perspective, plus the opportunity for viewers – or

combat rhino and elephant poaching; and through our

for people that are consuming the works – to impose their

Heritage Initiative, the African Oral History Archive, we

own opinion. One of the key objectives of our Heritage Art

are preserving the untold stories of Africa’s transformation

Collection’s work has been to allow the recording of history

through art, film, music, dialogue and debate.

in such a way that the viewer can make up their own mind.

‘Last year we launched our Heritage Art Collection

We try to avoid any form of editorial bias. Art by its very

in Alexandra and now in celebration of 20 years of our

nature has an editorial bias but… I think that when you

Constitution we launch, together with Constitution Hill, It’s

commission an artist to do a work, you’re not necessarily

A Fine Line: A historic multi-media experience.

going to connect or agree with the artist’s perspective.

‘It’s a brand new collection of unique drawings,

‘In the context of the South African story, one thing

immortalising people, places and events that changed

we discovered through the work that we’ve done, is that

the course of South Africa’s history. Alongside the

there was no absolute good and no absolute bad in South

52 / Creative Feel / March 2016

Africa’s history. In the “white” context, we were brought up to believe that everything that was white was good and that everything that was black was bad, and in the “black” context, everything that was black was good and everything that was white was bad, but nothing can be further from the truth. And I think that moving forward, the next chapter in South African history is going to be written on the basis that South Africans have to dialogue with each other at a very intimate level to come up with a shared perspective that doesn’t deal in absolutes. And I think that

Ivor Ichikowitz and Vika Mjoka facilitate an art workshop in Alexandra

“One of the key objectives of our Heritage Art Collection’s work has been to allow the recording of history in such a way that the viewer can make up their own mind”

Students review It’s A Fine Line with Ivor Ichikowitz

Ivor Ichikowitz shares his Heritage Art Collection

our gesture from my family foundation’s point of view,

always wanted to use Constitution Hill as the venue for the

as well as from the African Oral History Archive and the

exhibition because I think that it’s such an amazing space

Heritage Art Collection, is we want to encourage dialogue

that encapsulates the energy, the spirit of both the struggle

and discourse. We expect that sometimes things are going

as well as our transformation.

to be controversial, but rather have the discussion because

‘The exhibition will be shown for six weeks at

only by having the discussion and the dialogue do you

Constitution Hill alongside an education programme

start to learn to respect other people’s points of view and

that includes a specially-designed curriculum guide for

opinions. I think that we should strive to perpetuate the

history teachers and learners. I’m extremely firm that

concept that there is no absolute good or bad, no absolute

we don’t just do art exhibitions for the sake of art. Those

right or wrong. The whole concept of a democracy is that

individuals featured in the collection alert us to the

you’re allowed to have lots of opinions and I want to see art

emotional realities of those who sacrificed and worked

being used more and more as a tool or a platform for that

towards ushering in our Constitution – and so we also

kind of discourse and dialogue.’

launch a call to action to breathe, to walk, to live and to

‘It’s A Fine Line coincides with the 20th anniversary of the South African Constitution, this, however, was a

safeguard our Constitution.’ During the interview, it became apparent that It’s A

fortunate coincidence,’ says Ichikowitz. ‘This exhibition,

Fine Line, and the driving force behind it, is a very personal

or this collection, was commissioned several years ago and

passion of Ichikowitz’s. ‘I think, first of all, this is very

it’s a very important and complex body of work and each

personal to me because I believe that I had the great

piece takes months and months and months to prepare.

privilege of living through one of the most important times

So the collection has been assembled over several years.

in history, not just South African history but history of the

It was originally intended to be for the 20th anniversary

world, and I consider myself to be even more privileged than

of our democracy, but clearly it’s a far more appropriate

that by having been able to play an active, albeit small, part

time to launch the exhibition this year in celebration of

in the process. For that reason, I believe that my generation

our Constitution. I think that the first democratic election

has the choice to preserve and communicate through the

was not the point at which democracy became a reality in

true history for the benefit of future generations. So this is

South Africa; it’s when the Constitution was adopted. I

very much a crusade for me.’ CF

Creative Feel / March 2016 / 53

Struggle icon and widow of Chris Hani, Limpho Hani on It’s A Fine Line ‘When I saw the artworks in the collection, my emotions were conflicted, because although it is now 22 years after my husband was assassinated, when seeing him in the artwork, I just remembered how much I missed him and I thought of my children and my granddaughter that they have not had the privilege of knowing their father. ‘Most of the time he was in exile and they only saw their father once a year, let alone my beautiful granddaughter who hears about the sacrifices that her grandfather and many other comrades had made for our freedom. ‘But I am excited because this artwork is saying to me, “we acknowledge the sacrifices that were made by our heroes.” South Africa is here today because we had people who were willing to forget about their private lives but who made sure that we live in a free South Africa. ‘This is our history as South Africans and the artwork tells us what happened in our past and it also helps us to move forward as a nation. We lost loved ones who were fighting for our freedom, but I think we should make

Monumental Moments

Limpho Hani and Dean Simon

Businessman, author and photographer Millard Arnold offered his reflections on a few of the artworks chosen from the collection.

In Her Mind’s Eye – Ruth Mompati, Dean Simon

them proud by working and moving forward to build our country as a nation. ‘So the artwork reminds us not to neglect education,

‘What is history all about?... reconciling the past with dreams of the future. It is a metaphysical challenge, and it is precisely the

let’s not neglect job creation, let’s not neglect looking

raison d’être behind Dean Simon’s compelling and illuminating

after the elderly, it makes us cautious, it makes us

work, It’s A Fine Line.

remember what our leaders stood for. ‘Dean Simon has used his work to summarise what

‘History is who we are and how we came to be, and no one forces us to think of our past and wonder about our future in quite

we have gone through in art form, so I think it is very

the way, and with such intensity as does Dean Simon. His exquisite

important that our artists should be encouraged to

series of 16 drawings which comprise the exhibition, It’s A Fine

express themselves.

Line, is an epochal appreciation of the implications of history.

‘I liked the works I saw, other people might not

‘Interwoven with the fullness of events and the moments

like it. There will be critics but at least somebody

which shape them, Simon’s illustrations are replete with

has challenged us to have a dialogue, to talk about it

cameo appearances by all and sundry, from presidents to

amongst ourselves, so it should be encouraged. Also, it

songwriters, from artists, feminists, and politicians, to

should be encouraged from our little corners to come

activists, lawyers, and humanists – a rich smorgasbord

up with other ideas to say who we are, where we are and where we are going to.’ 54 / Creative Feel / March 2016

of themes and personalities that forged our history. Because however artfully written, the past is about people and is profoundly more complicated than words can ever express. ‘The complexity of Simon’s works is phenomenal. This drawing (Chief Laureate of Peace) demonstrates what the struggle had been all about – Luthuli’s having seen what was unleashed in Sharpeville, and the combination of Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela, and the despair on Luthuli’s face as he turns his back on all of that. And I think, “Was he looking into the future and seeing where we are going and what would become of this moment which was

Parting the Waters – Oliver Tambo, Dean Simon

The Blessing – Enoch Sontonga, Dean Simon

“Much like this artwork, Constitution Hill is multilayered as well, because of the history of what it once was: many people were detained and suffered there”

Chief Laureate of Peace – Albert Luthuli, Dean Simon

such an extraordinary catalyst in the transition that was

and liberty. She was a symbol of that kind of commitment

made?” I’ve always liked this piece, just the anguish in his

that women have made and, more often than not, never

face, the resignation, and the sadness. What Simon has done

been fully appreciated for what they have done. But, in her

so well is that he evokes in you those kinds of thoughts, and

face it says “it doesn’t really matter, I know what I have

makes you appreciate the complexity of the time and the

done and I know what I have accomplished, I know what

moment, and what was achieved and how it relates to where

difference it means to everyone.”

we are today. ‘Ruth Mompati (In Her Mind’s Eye) is so beautiful and

‘There are multifarious political and psychological relationships explored in his work which provide the viewer

she has this majesty about her. You can see in her eyes that

with a privileged access to selected moments from the

she has seen a lot and that she’s been through a lot but she

past which in turn, helped define our historical knowledge

is at peace with herself and what she has accomplished.

and our appreciation of the present. Collectively, the 16

Simon was capturing the enormous strength of women

illustrations provide a comprehensible chronology of

in general and the role they’ve played, not just in South

disparate events that awaken in the viewer a history lesson

Africa but everywhere, in terms of struggles for equality

of riveting theatre.’ CF

Creative Feel / March 2016 / 55

Irma Stern, Still life with anemones (detail)

J.H. Pierneef, Free State landscape

Stellar SA Art ON AUCTION The next sale of South African Art at Bonhams will take place on 16 March in London. Highlights

he auction follows the staggering £842 500 (currently ZAR 20 million) achieved by Bonhams with the sale of Irma Stern’s Arab in Black, the picture that was once used to help defray Nelson

Mandela’s legal costs. The work was the most expensive South African painting sold in 2015. The most valuable lot in the March sale, Stern’s Swazi Youth (estimate: R4 801 200 – 7 201 800/ £200 000 – £300 000), was purchased from Stern when the previous owner

include two oils by the grande dame

visited her studio with the artist’s great friend, Roza van

of South African painting, Irma

the African continent, the painting depicts a native Swazi boy

Stern (1894-1966), a view of the Free State by renowned landscape artist, J.H. Pierneef (1886-1957), and an important experimental composition by Stanley F. Pinker (1924-2012).

Gelderen. Executed in 1929, during the artist’s first tour of reposing in a verdant, hilly landscape. During this decade, Stern visited Umgababa; the northern Transvaal; Zululand; Natal; Swaziland and Pondoland, capturing her impressions in a series of vibrant and colourful portraits. Stern’s romanticised portrayal of man in a state of nature reflects the influence of German Expressionist artists, with whom she trained from 1917-1920. These artists were disillusioned with the artifice of modern urban society, turning instead to the pre-industrialised world in their search for authenticity. These ideas are given visual expression in Swazi Youth; the young boy carelessly stretches his arms behind his head, free from

56 / Creative Feel / March 2016

Irma Stern, Swazi Youth (detail)

the constraints of urbane social conventions. Behind him, lush

witty critique of modern society, whilst simultaneously

green hills roll within a harmonious and tranquil Eden.

challenging formal preconceptions about what a painting

Another highlight by Irma Stern is a flower painting

should and can be. A major oil by J.H. Pierneef, Free State

dating to the mid-1930s, Still life with anemones (estimate:

landscape (R1 440 360 – 2 160 542/ £60 000 – £90 000) will

R4 321 085 – 5 281 325/ £180 000 – £220 000). The oil is a

also be offered in March. The painting was executed in

visual assault on the senses, with its strong colour palette and

1936 when the artist was at the height of his powers. The

sensual application of paint. The broad, vigorous brushstrokes

geometric experimentalism that characterised his works

reflect the artist’s emotional state at the time of execution.

of the early 1930s had by this point settled into a more

After suffering a minor nervous breakdown following her

assured style. The trees in the foreground are dwarfed by

divorce, Stern returned to her Cape Town residence, the

the towering mountain range behind, and the sublime

Firs. Her beloved garden was a source of great comfort.

beauty of the South African landscape is eloquently

Each afternoon, she would select flowers to take back to her

instilled in the viewer. The painting is a celebration of

studio. The catharsis Stern derived from painting Still life with

nature in its purest form.

anemones invests the work with great emotional potency.

The sale will include further works by all the South

A large and unusual composition by Stanley Pinker,

African masters discussed, as well as a wide selection by

Thoughts on the Té Hé Gla, Blé Gla and Gbona Gla, bears one

other great artistic leaders such as Gerard Sekoto (1913-

of the highest estimates (R1 920 482 – 2 880 723/ £80 000 –

1993), and sculptures from the likes of Lucas Sithole (1931-

£120 000). Previously in the collection of the artist, the work

1994) and Dylan Lewis (born 1964).

has never before been offered at auction. The canvas is one

The strength of the South African Art market, combined

of Pinker’s more experimental compositions; found objects

with the stability of Sterling and the fall of the Rand has

project beyond the picture frame, spilling into the viewer’s

established London as the world centre for the sale of

space. The background is a chequerboard of squares, providing

South African art. This is further proven with the attractive

a backdrop for the two centrally positioned protagonists.

selection of works up for auction on 16 March. Bonhams holds

The title of the piece, Thoughts on the Té Hé Gla, Blé Gla

the world record prices for all major South African artists:

and Gbona Gla, refers to the wisdom masks worn by the Dan

Vladimir Tretchikoff; Stanley F. Pinker; Jacob H. Pierneef;

people of Liberia to frighten away evil spirits. Unlike the

Alexis Preller and Gerard Sekoto. A list topped by the sale

masked Dan performers, Pinker’s figures are totally devoid

of Irma Stern’s Arab Priest for an astounding £3.1 million

of knowledge and power. The canvas offers an ironic and

(currently R70 million). CF

Creative Feel / March 2016 / 57

BOSHO

Mary C

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Willem Boshoff Love Hate 2015 Perspex on Wood 180 x 99 cm

Willem Boshoff Word Woes 2015 Hand-cast Bricks 1490 x 300 cm

he deep-seated rivalry between English and

the curators endorsed Boshoff’s rant or viewed it, the

Afrikaans-speaking white people in South Africa has

artwork, as evidence of his ‘outsider’ status.

been largely overlooked as the focus has ironically

Boshoff isn’t finished with labelling himself as ‘a

shifted to divisions along racial lines. Artist Willem

racist’. He planned to show a new ‘racist’ artwork at Reap

Boshoff doesn’t quite revive the divisions in his exhibition

the Whirlwind, but it wasn’t ready in time. He is figured in

Reaping the Whirlwind at Smac Gallery, Cape Town, but perhaps

this new work and has committed to ‘insulting myself in

he reminds viewers of them. He also simultaneously blurs the

the worst way possible,’ he says. This tactic may undercut

lines between the languages, though you could conclude that

another backlash.

among this mix of positions he mediates on the loss of status this collapse might incur to Afrikaans, or English. The exhibition consists of works dealing with other

His latest exhibition is not drained of contentious political content – aside from the English/Afrikaans line, he makes a few digs at America’s supremacy such as in the work Home to

subject matter but it is the juxtaposition of English and

Roost, which he says refers to the ways in which that country’s

Afrikaans that is the most interesting – and political.

aggressive foreign policy eventually wreaked havoc on home

Mutatis.Mutandis: English/Afrikaans is a diptych consisting of

soil. His work is political but his own position is hard to

two works with English words carved into wood on one side

detect; the form of verbal interplay he embraces is centred on

and Afrikaans ones on the other. The letters are reversed

challenging hard lines between supposed opposites.

to create a sort of mirroring effect. ‘Kelp’ becomes ‘plek’

As English and Afrikaans words appear the same – or

(‘place’ in Afrikaans) and ‘pink’ is ‘knip’ (‘cut’ in Afrikaans).

operate as mirrors of each other - there is a sense that

It is a fascinating list, which includes words - such as ‘spits’

these languages are indivisible, though of course, when you

and ‘reuse’ - highlighting the irony of the interrelationship

compare the meanings, differences (and loose connections)

between two languages that were once viewed in the

emerge. Either way the two languages appear interlinked

apartheid era as in competition for (cultural, linguistic,

– in instances they may be set up as ‘opposites’ but this is

political) dominance. For Boshoff – and perhaps many

almost always revealed to be an oversimplification. At times

Afrikaans speakers – this battle continues. Particularly given

different dynamics can be detected with a word pairing. This

recent decisions taken at historically Afrikaans universities

idea is crystallised in another scripto-visual mirrored work

to stop tuition in that language, observes Boshoff with a hint

LoveHate, which presents each of these words on different

of bitterness during a walkabout in the gallery.

panels, though the smaller repetitions of the words that

For an Afrikaner, these changes would be viewed as the last nail in the coffin of cultural, linguistic and political

form the ‘body’ of the work, so to speak, are interwoven. Given his stature within the art world, locally and

supremacy. Boshoff appears to lament the depreciating

internationally, it is hard to view him as an ‘outsider’, a

position perhaps not only of the language but what this

marginalised figure, yet artists are always thought to occupy

might represent; the alienation of Afrikaners. Wrestling with

this position in relationship to society as a whole. His

the increasing ‘outsider’ status of white South Africans was

status as a white Afrikaner places him in equally ambiguous

a latent element in Boshoff’s 2011 scripto-visual work titled

spaces; at the centre and periphery. Ultimately, as his verbal

Proud to be a Racist. This ‘outsider’ quality was harnessed

interplay suggests meanings and positions shift constantly,

by the late architect Jeremy Rose and Apartheid Museum

depending from your standpoint. Perhaps we will have to

director, Christopher Till, the curators of the SA Pavillion at

wait until his next show to see where he stands, or the next

the 56th International Venice Biennale, held in 2015.

stand, he wishes to take, or not take.

That work caused a furore in South Africa, with critics

Reap the Whirlwind showed at the Smac Gallery in

labelling Boshoff ‘a racist’, though this is what the artist

Woodstock, Cape Town. For more information visit:

confesses to being in the artwork. It was hard to tell whether

www.smacgallery.com CF

Creative Feel / March 2016 / 59

Strauss & Co’s upcoming auction on Monday 14 March at the Vineyard Hotel in Cape Town offers many exceptional A festive celebration at Schoongezicht

works by major South African artists from JH Pierneef, Hugo Naudé, Walter Battiss, Gerard Sekoto, Gregoire Boonzaier and Erik Laubscher to Robert Hodgins, William Kentridge, Sue Williamson, AthiPatra Ruga and Ian Grose. Amongst these,

Birds and Boats (R700 000 – 900 000) by Maggie Laubser is one of the most charming paintings by this much-loved artist to appear at auction in recent years, according to Strauss & Co Senior Art Johanna Wicht

Specialist, Emma Bedford.

Painting Tells Many a Tale

e know from her correspondence with friends listed by Dalene Marais in her monograph on the artist, that by 1929 Maggie Laubser had already visited Langebaan and adjacent coastal

areas near her family home at Oortmanspost in the Malmesbury District of the Western Cape. In 1937 she communicated her desire to establish her own studio in Langebaan. Birds and Boats may be a view of Langebaan lagoon. The sails are billowed by the characteristic West Coast breezes while a glorious sunset bathes the scene in a rosy glow, no doubt fuelled by memories of idyllic experiences shared with good friends. Of Laubser’s paintings from the 1930s onwards celebrated author Johan van Rooyen has said, ‘New vitality and a fresh spirit of exploration buoyed her work. Sketch tours to Arniston, Langebaan, Gansbaai and Elim, broadened her thematic field of reference. The close-knit communities of the fisher-folk of the Cape coast resembled the lifestyle of the familiar farm labourers. Memories of happiness were stirred as boats of joy set their sails… Often present are gulls as agents of freedom.’

Maggie Laubser standing with hand on Johanna Wicht’s shoulder 60 / Creative Feel / March 2016

Maggie Laubser [1886-1973] Birds and Boats Signed Oil on canvas laid down on board 39,5 by 49,5cm R700 000 – 900 000

The repetition of billowing sails and the variations in

into the renowned Lanzerac wine estate, hotel and legendary

the birds set up a lively rhythmic structure informed by

restaurant under the ownership of the visionary hotelier

Laubser’s abiding love of music. As Van Rooyen points out,

David Rawdon who was also responsible for the phenomenal

Laubser’s mother shaped her musical tastes and she was

success of Matjiesfontein in the Karoo.

surrounded by musicians throughout her life. This painting has a special provenance. It was acquired

Many marvellous stories are told of Colonel Wicht’s military achievements, his involvement in assisting

directly from Laubser by her life-long friends, Colonel and

business and farmers through the Board of Executors and

Mrs Wicht (née Claasens). Johanna Claasens had come from

Boland Bank as well as his political career as United Party

Victoria West to Stellenbosch to study for her licentiate in

member of the Provincial Council in association with Sir De

piano and singing. Committed to sharing her passion for music,

Villiers Graaff. And Johanna Wicht was an adventurous and

she founded a musical club in Stellenbosch with Professor Hans

independent minded woman – the first in the Cape Province

Endler and organised regular evenings at which celebrated

to obtain a driver’s licence.

musicians and singers such as Cecilia Wessels performed while

After the war, the Wichts retired to their Gordon’s

staying in the Wicht’s family home. It is during this period

Bay house, ‘Af-en-toe’, where they regularly entertained

that Johanna Wicht made the acquaintance of Laubser, with

their friend, Laubser who, by this time, was living at her

whom she remained firm friends throughout her life. Laubser

home ‘Altyd Lig’ in the Strand. It is here, probably over

had enjoyed weekly singing lessons in Cape Town. Her mother,

a sumptuous shared meal, that Johanna Wicht acquired

a talented pianist, was a former pupil of Professor Jannasch

this painting from her beloved friend, Laubser, and it has

of Stellenbosch and music was central to their family life.

remained in this family ever since.

Professors LW Jannasch and Endler were instrumental in the founding of the Stellenbosch Conservatorium in 1905. The Wicht family lived on the farm Schoongezicht, which

‘I want to express joy and give joy and happiness.’ So reads an annotation on one of the artist’s sketches found in her studio after her death. It perfectly expresses

had been acquired by Johan Hendrik Wicht in 1887. Sold in

Laubser’s approach to life and to art and is encapsulated

1922 to Mrs Elizabeth English, it was later to be developed

in this joyful work. CF

Creative Feel / March 2016 / 61

Saccades and Other Surfaces Drawing inspiration from architecture and nature, this month’s cover photographer Brett Rubin’s striking aesthetic subverts the expected.

ubin has developed a unique perspective on

Denied the time to invest too much consideration

contemporary South Africa, through his work with

into subject and composition, a more sensory approach

many of the country’s leading and emerging artists,

is employed, leaving the viewer to decipher or construct

performers and fashion designers.

whatever narrative possible.

Rubin together with stylist and art-director Nicole

Walker Evans in 1931 published a brief essay urging

Van Heerden are the founders of Vatic Studio – a company

the postwar vision to explore ‘swift chance, disarray,

specialising in the production of creative and collaborative

wonder and experiment’ and Rubin has applied this to

work across various mediums.

contemporary South Africa, contrasting the beauty of the

A recent highlight for Vatic Studio was the opportunity

scenic landscape with the vastness of the terrain that those

to work with the iconic Hugh Masekela to create artwork for

unable to afford the luxury of motorised transport traverse

his latest album titled Playing At Work, which also features

on their daily journeys.

a music video created by Vatic Studio for Masekela’s unique township mbaqanga version of the iconic Bob Dylan song ‘It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue’. Rubin was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He holds a graduate degree in Film, Media and Visual Studies from the University of Cape Town (UCT), where he was awarded photographer of the year in 2003. In 2012, he exhibited Skin Portraits at the Edinburgh Fashion Festival. This series of portraits was created to accompany a perfumer’s interpretation of nine iconic South Africans’ distinctive personal scents via an exploration of each individual’s unique cultural heritage. In 2014, Rubin exhibited works on glass from an ongoing series titled Saccades and Other Surfaces at the NIROX Sculpture Park’s Winter Show in the Cradle of Humankind.

“South Africa 20 years on from democracy is a country of parallel realities, structural imbalance and lingering social disconnects, where memory continues to play a fundamental role in reconciliation and progress”

Works from the series were exhibited as part of the Everard Read Bronze, Steel and Stone sculpture show, currently on at the Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town until April 2016. A Saccade (the movement the human eye makes when

‘South Africa 20 years on from democracy is a country of parallel realities, structural imbalance and lingering social

focusing from one point to another) is a central term to this

disconnects, where memory continues to play a fundamental

series of photographs, which explores the transient nature of

role in reconciliation and progress,’ says Rubin.

the relationship between travel and movement and the eye/ camera’s ability to see and record while in motion. Rubin has developed a technique (entirely ‘in-camera’, with no further image manipulation) from the unique vantage point of ‘being in transit’, aiming to capture the

The question of how cognitive we are of the spaces that we move through and people we pass by at fast speed is the central theme driving Rubin’s curiosity in Saccades and Other Surfaces. Rubin continues to produce a wide range of editorial

experience of road travel in graphic abstraction and question

and commissioned work for various clients in South Africa

the details that remain in our mind’s eye thereafter.

and internationally. CF

62 / Creative Feel / March 2016

Brett Rubinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Saccades and Other Surfaces, NIROX, 2014

Creative Feel / March 2016 / 63

The annual show of student work from the University of

ESIGNED

Johannesburg’s Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture (FADA) demonstrated a range of art and design drawn from the department’s eight disciplines, with the FADA Gallery devoted to the work of finalists for the 2015 Dean’s Award.

he 2015 FADA student show exhibited selected creations from students at all levels of the eight disciplines taught at the University of Johannesburg (UJ): Visual Art, Architecture,

Interior Design, Graphic Design, Multimedia, Industrial design, Fashion design and Jewellery. Much of it was impressively accomplished, and some students used the opportunity to advertise their services by providing slickly designed business cards alongside exhibited work. The quantity of information generated was both inspiring and overwhelming, so the neatly curated exhibition of work representing finalists for the 2015 Dean’s Award, shown in the FADA gallery, came as something of a relief. Here, the best BTech work from eight students

representing each of the departments, was on show. From these finalists, one was ultimately presented with the Dean’s Award, valued at R10 000. The exhibition started out with Daniella Ferreira

Gil’s series of oil paintings depicting old portrait photographs damaged by time. Through these works, the artist considered her family history, and ultimately the events and influences that have shaped her present identity, beginning with the migration of her family from Portugal to South Africa. ‘Each portrait is telling a story of the past, and further evokes contemplation of the memories of the subject,’ she writes in her artist’s statement. ‘Memory denotes identity, culture, experience and heritage.’ A similar focus on identity – although very differently

realised – informed a pair of short films by Shivi Rastogi. These reflected on the experience of belonging (or not) to two worlds: that of South Africa, and an India glimpsed

64 / Creative Feel / March 2016

TO IMPRESS

mainly through brief holiday trips and the eyes of others. With Efflorescence, an experimental art film combining

sourced footage, archival clips, and performance, Rastogi asks, ‘How much of my personality and experience is

effected by society’s rules?’ She draws on Indian mythology in both this and her short animated film Naina, where her

protagonist is blackmailed into hacking into a virtual world in which she encounters a kind of technological ghost. From architecture, Dewald le Roux’s Future Cities project addressed xenophobia and prejudice, by

attempting to broaden an individual’s reliance on sight

– the tendency to ‘judge a book by its cover’ – to include

information from the rest of the senses. Le Roux therefore ‘set about designing a form and programme that would

alter one’s perception of this “otherness” by allowing for deeper understanding of other cultures... [encouraging]

interaction between people by stimulating other senses

and forcing one to overcome these fears and prejudices.’ Downstairs, a series of enlarged images presented the main characters from Communication Design student

Jessica de Sousa’s graphic novel, along with a series of

designs created for a farm industry. ‘I aspire to create an

impact, no matter how minimal – through design, my art,’ she writes. ‘It is not about changing the world, it is about touching lives... provoking thought, inspiring or even motivating people is the very core of design.’ Mariambibi Khan’s hydrangea inspired jewellery design – a necklace using metallic bobbin lace, and

created using sterling silver, fine silver and gold plating

– managed to be both strikingly bold and delicate, while

fashion design student Zanne de Meillon created a range for American country and western singer Tim Foust,

communicating the ideal of “sexy, rock and roll cowboy” though bespoke clothing.

Finally, industrial design student Daniel Carsten’s varied selection of projects included an interactive dog collar and

toy, allowing busy owners to amuse bored pets more easily; multifunctional concrete furniture; an induction cooking system; and a tattoo machine designed to minimise the

development of musculoskeletal disorders in tattoo artists. Carsten’s body of work netted him the Deans Award for 2015. This recognises excellence in ‘the four Cs’ prized by FADA, who state that they ‘challenge students to expand these fields beyond their traditional boundaries through a dynamic focus on creativity, collaboration, communication and critical thinking’. ‘At FADA we view that art, design and architecture can change the world.’ CF

Creative Feel / March 2016 / 65

And the

NEW MENTORS are… The seven new

DANCE: One of today’s

mentors in the

most pre-eminent and

2016–2017 Rolex Arts

Ohad Naharin, artistic

visionary choreographers,

Initiative are globally

director of Israel’s Batsheva Dance Company, is

respected artists.

renowned for pioneering

From a double Oscar-

some of the most inventive and intriguing styles of

winning film director

movement in contemporary

to one of Africa’s most

dance; such as Gaga, his

respected writers; an

innovative movement

iconoclastic composer,

as a growing force for both

language, that has emerged

multitalented theatre director, renowned architect, visionary

dancers and non-dancers. VISUAL ARTS: Described as a titan of the American avant garde, the

FILM: Film director,

internationally acclaimed

screenwriter, producer

performance and video

and editor Alfonso

who has influenced her

artist, Joan Jonas has

Cuarón is acclaimed

discipline for more than

made an indelible mark

for his masterly, highly

on the visual arts scene

original films. Successes

for nearly 50 years. A

such as Harry Potter and

retrospective of her work

the Prisoner of Azkaban

Hundreds of artists and arts leaders

was recently showcased

and Children of Men

from all over the world, who had

in Milan and her new

were followed by the

gathered at the Centro Cultural del

multimedia installation

technically innovative

Bosque in Mexico City in December

drew huge crowds to the

thriller, Gravity (2013),

2015 to celebrate the culmination of

US Pavilion at the 2015

which won Cuarón

the 2014–2015 edition of the Rolex

Venice Biennale. Asked

Oscars for Best Director –

Arts Initiative, were the first to learn

what she hopes to give to

the first Mexican to earn

the names of the new mentors.

a young artist, Jonas says,

this accolade – and Best

‘I hope to have a dialogue

Film Editing.

choreographer and a pioneering visual artist

half a century.

A global search is now under way to find protégés who will benefit

that might clarify thoughts

most from the programme. Each

and ideas. Also to exchange

mentor will choose his or her

with another, information

protégé from a small group of

previously hidden – and to

finalists and the mentoring year will

visit unknown spaces.’

begin in mid-2016.

66 / Creative Feel / March 2016

ARCHITECTURE: Driven

MUSIC: Influential American

by an approach to

composer Philip Glass is

architecture that values

known worldwide for his

‘substance, permanence

evocative music that is

and meaning’ above

recognisable by its repetitive

spectacle, British architect

structures. The boundary-

Sir David Chipperfield

defying compositions include

has gained renown for a

symphonies, concertos, film

diverse portfolio. Among

soundtracks and operas,

his notable buildings are

the most famous of which

the reconstructed Neues

is Einstein on the Beach, his

Museum in Berlin, the

collaboration with (former

Museo Júmex in Mexico

Rolex mentor) Robert Wilson.

City and the UK’s Turner

The Washington Post called it

THEATRE: Demonstrating

Contemporary Gallery,

one of the seminal artworks

a virtuosity in every type

recently chosen as a 21st-

of the 20th century.

of theatre craft, Canadian

century British landmark.

Robert Lepage is an equally

Chipperfield says that,

talented theatre, opera and

‘architecture involves

film director, playwright

complex and overlapping

LITERATURE: Mia Couto,

and actor whose avant

concerns and skills from

one of Africa’s foremost

garde work has captivated

the theoretical to the

writers, uses creative

audiences worldwide. As

practical. Intentions

language to craft evocative

head of the multidisciplinary

are often obscured by

poetry, short stories and

production company,

jargon and inappropriate

novels. The Mozambique-

Ex Machina, he has also

concerns. I would hope to

born author’s first

directed rock shows and

remind my protégé that

novel, Terra Sonâmbula

circuses, including the

the issues that confront

(Sleepwalking Land), is

Cirque du Soleil. Lepage

us are those that confront

widely considered among

wants to be involved

us all, we have different

the 20th-century’s best

because, he says, ‘I’ve never

tools and methods with

African books, helping him

experienced it [mentoring]

which we can contemplate

win the 2014 Neustadt

myself and I wish I had.’ He

and with which we can

International Prize for

describes the opportunity of

hopefully act.’

Literature. Couto was

working with someone from

nominated for the Man

a different culture as ‘a gift’.

Booker International Prize 2015 for his body of work. For Couto, mentorship is about being the person ‘who can listen and confirm their [the protégé’s] existence. From his side, he is looking

The Rolex Mentor and

forward to recoup ‘some

Protégé Arts Initiative

ingenuity and vitality that

was created to assist

we lose when we begin to

extraordinary, rising artists

manage what we create.’

to achieve their full potential by pairing them with great masters for a year of creative collaboration. CF

Creative Feel / March 2016 / 67

SOMETIMES THE THINGS WE CANNOT CHANGE, CHANGE US.

AT SELECT CINEMAS 18 MARCH 2016

SINK

Rachel, a Mozambican domestic worker living in Johannesburg, is forced to make a life-changing decision after her daughter, Maia, tragically dies whilst under the care of her South African employers, Michelle and Chris Jordaan. Does she quit her job and return to poverty stricken Mozambique or continue working for the people responsible for the death of her child so that she can keep her home, her visa and continue to support her family in Inhassoro? Things become even more complicated when she finds out that the Jordaans are expecting their first child. Rachel decides to stay, but struggles to come to terms with her loss while Michelle grapples with the guilt that she feels. Two women trapped in a house where one is an employer while the other is a servant. Chris finds himself in the middle of all this, trying to juggle his empathy for both his wife and his domestic worker. Trapped by circumstance, SINK explores how three people from vastly different backgrounds come to terms with loss and find a way to see each other through their pain. 2016 marks the film’s entry into the international film festival circuit, having recently been announced as official selection for the 40th Atlanta Film Festival. SINK also received 5 Silwerskerm awards in August, including Best Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Score, Best Cinematography and Best Actress (Shoki Mokgapa).

SINK releases at select cinemas on 18 March 2016 and features English subtitles.

A GRUFFALO IN TOWN

Julia Donaldson is counted as one the most successful children’s authors, with some 190 books published and popular titles translated into 22 different languages. While the author was on a recent tour to South Africa,

Creative Feel’s Lore Watterson had the opportunity to meet her and to chat about writing books, children and, of course, grandchildren.

ulia Donaldson is most definitely not the person one would expect to need to come for a promotional book tour, or perhaps even a working holiday, to South Africa and to be available for

one-on-one interviews. She is so well known; her books are selling by the millions (children’s authors dominated the top five print sellers in the UK last year, with Julia Donaldson leading the pack for the sixth year in succession with sales of £14m, followed by David Walliams with £11m and JK Rowling with £8m). Wherever she signs books in a store, like in South Africa, the queues stretch a long way out of the door. But there she was, after a long day of performances for children at the Linder Auditorium in Johannesburg, sitting down with a glass of well-deserved wine to chat about herself, family and, of course, her books. Many of her books, which span plays, picture stories, novels and educational books, are in rhyme, and her name has become inextricably linked to jaunty verse and easy rhythm, which Donaldson thinks goes back to her childhood when her grandmother introduced her to Edward Lear’s nonsense rhymes. With her colourful characters one would expect an author with flamboyant clothes and perhaps an outrageous hairstyle, but Donaldson looks very ordinary, neat, middle-aged and

70 / Creative Feel / March 2016

WIN! WIN! WIN!

does not mind talking about her age and the fact that she is a grandmother with her sixth grandchild on the way. She talks about how she and her husband Malcolm, now a retired Senior Registrar in Paediatrics and a Senior Lecturer in Child Health, first met and how they used to go busking together and how that led to a career in singing and songwriting, mainly for children’s television. She explains how one of her television songs, ‘A Squash and a Squeeze’, was made into a book in 1993, with illustrations

by Axel Scheffler, the German illustrator from Hamburg who still shares her most successful books. Aside from the 17

educational books she wrote during the following six years, Donaldson was basically a songwriter – until The Gruffalo,

her story about a little mouse who imagines a monster ‘with terrible tusks and terrible claws and terrible teeth in his terrible jaws’ who turns out to be real. Where did the inspiration for The Gruffalo came from? ‘The book was going to be about a tiger but I couldn’t get anything to rhyme with tiger. Then I thought up the lines: “Silly old Fox, doesn’t he know/There’s no such thing as a ______” and somehow the word “gruffalo” came to mind to fill the gap. The gruffalo looks the way he does because of various things that just happened to rhyme like toes and nose, and black and back.’ After a year with a publisher, The Gruffalo book only came into being after Donaldson’s husband suggested she send her story to Scheffler as he had illustrated her first book. Once the story was so lovingly illustrated, with some input from Donaldson, the publisher loved it and said that they were ‘desperate’ to publish it. Together with Axel Scheffler, The Gruffalo, which has sold over five million copies worldwide, was to be her breakthrough. Donaldson talks about the performances that she still does whenever she can, like in Cape Town and Johannesburg. She explains that when she is not writing, she often performs at book festivals and in theatres. She really enjoys getting the children in the audience to help

Creative Feel readers stand a chance to each win a signed copy of one of Julia Donaldson’s most popular books. To enter, simply send your name, contact details and the answer to the question below to Creative FeelJulia Donaldson giveaway,

her to act out the stories and sing the songs. ‘Malcolm has

PO Box 3670, Randburg, 2125 or via email to

now retired and can take time off, so he and his guitar come

competitions@creativefeel.co.za.

too. It feels as if we have come full circle – back to busking.’

Please note that only one entry per person will

Lucky for all the children in South Africa who managed to

be accepted.

get a ticket to her sold out shows and those who managed

to have a book signed by this remarkable author who seems to always still find ‘Room on the Broom’ to take children along on the journey. CF

CLOSING DATE: 31 MARCH 2016 Question: What is the name of Julia Donaldson’s most famous character?

Creative Feel / March 2016 / 71

Book Reviews Recently published

Rogue Lawyer By John Grisham Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton ISBN: 9781473622876 Sebastian Rudd is not your typical street lawyer. He works out of a customised bulletproof van, complete with Wi-Fi, a bar, a small fridge, fine leather chairs, a hidden gun compartment, and a heavily armed driver. He has no firm, no partners, no associates, and only one employee, his driver, who’s also his bodyguard, law clerk, confidant, and golf caddy. He lives alone in a small but extremely safe penthouse apartment, and his primary piece of furniture is a vintage pool table. He drinks small-batch bourbon and carries a gun. Sebastian defends people other lawyers won’t go near. Why these clients? Because he believes everyone is entitled to a fair trial, even if he, Sebastian, has to cheat to secure one. He hates injustice, doesn’t like insurance companies, banks, or big corporations; he distrusts all levels of government and laughs at the justice system’s notions of ethical behaviour.

X By Sue Grafton Publisher: Mantle an imprint of Pan Macmillan ISBN: 978144726015

Depraved Heart By Patricia Cornwell Publisher: Harper Collins ISBN: 9780007552474 Dr. Kay Scarpetta is working a suspicious

A Banquet of Consequences By Elizabeth George Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton ISBN: 9781444786576

When a glamorous red head wishes to locate the

death scene in Cambridge, Massachusetts

As Inspector Thomas Lynley

son she put up for adoption 32 years ago, it seems

when an emergency alert sounds on

investigates the London angle of

like an easy two hundred bucks for P. I. Kinsey

her phone. A video link lands in her

an ever more darkly disturbing

Millhone. But when a cop tells her she was paid

text messages and seems to be from her

case, his partner, Barbara Havers,

with marked bills, and Kinsey’s client is nowhere

computer genius niece Lucy. But how

is looking behind the peaceful

to be found, it becomes apparent this mystery

can it be? It’s clearly a surveillance film

façade of country life to discover

woman has something to hide. Riled, Kinsey won’t

of Lucy taken almost 20 years ago. As

a twisted world of desire, deceit,

stop until she’s found out who fooled her and why.

Scarpetta watches she begins to learn

and murder. The suicide of William

Meanwhile, the widow of the recently murdered

frightening secrets about her niece, whom

Goldacre is devastating to those

P. I. – and Kinsey’s old friend – Pete Wolinsky,

she has loved and raised like a daughter.

left behind. But what was the cause

needs help with her IRS audit. This seemingly

That film clip and then others sent soon

of his tragedy and how far might

innocuous task takes a treacherous turn when

after raise dangerous legal implications

the consequences reach? Is there a

Kinsey finds a coded list amongst her friend’s

that increasingly isolate Scarpetta and

link between the young man’s leap

files. It soon leads her to an unhinged man with a

leave her confused, worried, and not

from a Dorset cliff and a horrific

catalogue of ruined lives left in his wake.

knowing where to turn.

poisoning in Cambridge?

72 / Creative Feel / March 2016

CDs & DVDs The latest releases to suit all tastes

Don Giovanni Mattei | Terfel | Netrebko | Frittoli | Filianoti | Prohaska Deutsche Grammophon 0735218 An all-star cast featuring Deutsche Grammophon artist Anna Netrebko, Bryn Terfel and Anna Prohaska, delivers a sensational new recording of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, conducted by Daniel Barenboim at the start of his inaugural season as Music Director of La Scala. Recorded live at the opening of the 2011-12 La Scala season, it features stunning performances from Anna Netrebko as Donna Anna in her La Scala debut, Peter Mattei as a swaggering Don Giovanni, Bryn Terfel as his sidekick Leporello and Anna Prohaska as Zerlina. Director Robert Carsen’s staging of Don Giovanni opens by turning a distorting mirror on the performers, the audience and the theatre itself, in what the Observer called a fabulous visual coup.

Swan Lake Lopatkina | Korsuntsev | Mariinsky Ballet | Valery Gergiev Decca 0743216

Cantate Domino Sistine Chapel Choir | Massimo Palombella Deutsche Grammophon 4795300

Domingo: The 50 Greatest Tracks Plácido Domingo Deutsche Grammophon 4795321

Flimed in the imperial splendour of the

For the first time ever, the Vatican has

Deutsche Grammophon has

Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg, this recording

opened the doors of the iconic Sistine

assembled a highly listenable

is the first of a new DVD series of classic

Chapel for a studio recording with

group of Domingo tracks that gives

productions. This rendition of Pyotr Ilych

the Sistine Chapel Choir – the world’s

casual listeners an idea of the

Tchaikovsky’s seminal ballet Swan Lake features

oldest choir. The new album, Cantate

range of his talent. Start right in

prima ballerina Ulyana Lopatkina and Danila

Domino, captures the sounds of this

for an idea of Domingo’s effortless

Korsuntsev, while the Orchestra of the Mariinsky

extraordinary acoustic, with music

clarion call in something like the

Theatre, under the baton of Valery Gergiev,

performed by the Pope’s own choir. The

standard ‘Libiamo ne’ lieti calici’

provides musical accompaniment. ‘The Kirov’s

album includes music written for the

from Verdi’s La traviata (CD 1,

[Mariinsky’s] production is breathtakingly

choir by Palestrina, Lassus and Victoria

track 22). But the road through the

gorgeous... The star, of course, is the inimitable

during the Renaissance. There are also

programme takes you into Wagner,

Uliana Lopatkina, who has been the Kirov’s

two pieces of Gregorian chant, alongside

into popular music, through lots of

hottest ticket for many years. She merits the

world premiere recordings of the

French music, and into Domingo’s

hype... her technical facility is extraordinary.

original version of Allegri’s ‘Miserere’

later career as a baritone. There’s a

Her first act pas de deux is a jaw-dropping

and a ‘Nunc dimittis’ attributed to

good mix of familiar and unusual,

display of molten, luxurious control and

Palestrina which is still used during

and of material ranging across

suspension.’ The Boston Globe.

papal celebrations.

three decades.

Creative Feel / March 2016 / 73

encore What is in your car’s CD player?

Nothing… I use my iPhone which is loaded 48 hours with the most eclectic mix of listening pleasure.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? That I could achieve a better balance in my life between work and play. How have the arts industries in South Africa changed over the last ten years? I think boundaries have been broken down out of necessity as arts administrators fail us. Practitioners in the creative industries no longer rely on the government and are making things happen for themselves. I love what the energy in our urban creative neighbourhoods and spaces and what young new creative entrepreneurs are doing – in Jo’burg and

Dawn Robertson is currently the CEO of Constitution Hill, with the objective of driving the development of this iconic site and establishing a new Heritage and Conservation Agency for all Gauteng’s

Soweto in particular. Name one thing you think would improve the arts and culture industry in South Africa. Put knowledgeable creatives with a passion for the arts in positions of power in key decision making roles in government and arts institutions.

tourism assets. Robertson has worked in

What is your most treasured possession?

various positions in Gauteng Provincial

My John Muafangejo prints; Nesta Nala pots and Ardmore

Government over the last twelve years –

things’ my mom left me.

first as Head of the Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation. She has a degree in Fine Art and postgraduate qualifications in Heritage and Education and spent the early years of her career

ceramic collection… and the jewellery and other ‘special

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Negative energy. What is it that makes you happy? My family.

lecturing in arts education before moving

Describe a defining moment in your life.

into national government to establish

and my siblings evaluate our lives and what is important.

their arts education portfolio.

My mom passed away tragically in 2014 – it really made me

What projects will you be busy with during 2016 and

Name one artist you would love to meet.

into 2017?

I have met most of my favourite local artists – one local artist I

Getting Constitution Hill listed as South Africa’s ninth

would love to have met is Gerard Sekoto. On the International

UNESCO World Heritage Site.

front – like most women I love Frida Kahlo! Name one goal you would like to achieve in the next What are you reading at the moment?

twelve months.

Mosquitoland – David Arnold – love books that include travel…

Getting Constitution Hill to the number one spot as the top

my most favourite pastime.

attraction to visit in Jo’burg on Trip Advisor. CF

e 80 YEARS OF KEEPING YOU IN THE KNOW