SA R36,90 (incl. VAT) - MAY 2017
GLOBAL CREATIVE ECONOMY
2015 2015 EY EY report, report, ‘Cultural ‘Cultural Times’ Times’ found: found:
10% 10%
8% 8%
3%
OF OFTHE THEWORLD’S WORLD’SGDP GDP 6% 6%
USA USA
SOUTH SOUTH KOREA KOREA
CHINA CHINA
BRAZIL BRAZIL
RUSSIA RUSSIA
INDIA INDIA
2% 2%
SOUTH SOUTH AFRICA AFRICA
4% 4%
NIGERIA NIGERIA
=$2,250BILLION BILLION =29.5 MILLION MILLION JOBS JOBS WORLDWIDE WORLDWIDE
ETHIOPIA ETHIOPIA
CREATIVE CREATIVE & & CULTURAL CULTURAL INDUSTRY INDUSTRY (CCI) (CCI) REVENUE REVENUE
CCI CCIGDP GDPCONTRIBUTION CONTRIBUTIONBY BYCOUNTRY COUNTRY
SOUTH AFRICAN CREATIVE ECONOMY
This This creative creative economy economy isis one one of of South South Africa’s Africa’s most most underappreciated underappreciated economic economic drivers, drivers, keeping keeping thousands thousands in in jobs jobs and and contributing contributing almost almost 3% 3% to to GDP. GDP. Unlocking Unlocking this this potential potential isis key key to to South South Africa’s Africa’s growth. growth.
FACTS & FIGURES: SA
2013/14 2013/14 Mapping Mapping Study Study by by the the Department Department of ofArts Arts and and Culture Culture showed showed some some interesting interesting trends trends about about the the CCIs CCIs in in SA. SA. IN IN2014 2014SA’S SA’SCREATIVE CREATIVEECONOMY ECONOMYCONTRIBUTED CONTRIBUTEDOVER OVER
R90.5BILLION
TO TOTHE THENATIONAL NATIONALECONOMY ECONOMYOR OR2.9% 2.9%OF OFTHE THEGDP GDPIN IN2013/14 2013/14
2.93%
CCI CCIJOBS JOBSMADE MADEUP UP
OF OFTOTAL TOTAL
EMPLOYMENT EMPLOYMENTIN INSA. SA.IN IN2014 2014(443 (443778 778JOBS), JOBS),SLIGHTLY SLIGHTLYMORE MORE THAN THANMINING MINING
R24BILLION
IN INTAXES TAXESIN INTHE THE2013/14 2013/14PERIOD PERIOD
50% 40% 30%
OF OFTHE THECREATIVE CREATIVEINDUSTRIES INDUSTRIESAND ANDENTERPRISES ENTERPRISES ARE AREOWNED OWNEDBY BYBLACK BLACKSOUTH SOUTHAFRICANS AFRICANS
ARE AREOWNED OWNEDBY BYWOMEN WOMEN
BY BYYOUNG YOUNGENTREPRENEURS ENTREPRENEURS
WHAT IS THE SOUTH AFRICAN CULTURAL OBSERVATORY? The The South SouthAfrican African Cultural Cultural Observatory Observatory(SACO) (SACO) isis aa ‘Creative ‘Creative Economy EconomyThink ThinkTank’ Tank’.. Established Established by bythe the Department Department of ofArts Arts and and Culture Culture (DAC) (DAC) in in 2015, 2015, out out of ofthe the Mzansi Mzansi Golden Golden Economy EconomyStrategy, Strategy, the the Cultural Cultural Observatory Observatoryisis aa statistical statistical research research institute institute tasked taskedwith with charting charting the the impact impact of ofthe the cultural cultural and and creative creative industries industries (CCIs) (CCIs) in in South SouthAfrica. Africa. ItIt isis aa national national organisation organisation and and aa project project of ofthe the DAC, DAC, hosted hosted by byNelson Nelson Mandela Mandela University University(NMU) (NMU) in in partnership partnershipwith with Rhodes Rhodes University Universityand and the the University Universityof ofFort Fort Hare. Hare. The The main main purpose purpose of ofthe the Cultural Cultural Observatory Observatoryisis the the development development of ofaa comprehensive comprehensive cultural cultural information information system systemwhich which continuously continuouslycaptures captures cultural cultural data data and and monitors monitors and and evaluates evaluates government government initiatives initiatives in in the the sector. sector.
FOCUS: FOCUS: TRENDS TRENDS || ANALYSIS ANALYSIS || MAPPING MAPPING || POLICY POLICY || IMPACT IMPACT || RESEARCH RESEARCH VOICE: VOICE: We We are are the the commanding commanding voice voice in in the the economy economy of ofArts, Arts, Culture Culture & & Heritage Heritage sectors sectors and and CCIs. CCIs. KNOWLEDGE: KNOWLEDGE: We We provide provide new new knowledge, knowledge, insights insights and and tools tools to to unlock unlock the the potential potential of of the the Mzansi Mzansi Golden Golden Economy Economywhile while monitoring monitoring and and evaluating evaluating projects. projects. WORLD WORLD CLASS CLASS RESEARCH: RESEARCH: We We develop develop world-class world-class research research and and statistical statistical information information on on the the creative creative and and cultural cultural economy economy of of South South Africa. Africa. ANALYSIS: ANALYSIS: We We are are responsible responsible for for facilitating facilitating the the mapping, mapping, analysing, analysing, monitoring monitoring and and evaluation evaluation of of the the Arts, Arts, Culture Culture & & Heritage Heritage sectors sectors in in South South Africa. Africa. ENABLER: ENABLER: We We are are an an enabler/ enabler/ facilitator facilitator of of aa prosperous prosperous South South African African Cultural Cultural and and Creative Creative economy. economy.
WHAT DOES THE SOUTH AFRICAN MEASURING MEASURING & & VALUING VALUING SOUTH SOUTH AFRICA’S AFRICA’S CULTURAL OBSERVATORY DO? MEASURING MEASURING & & VALUING VALUING SOUTH SOUTH AFRICA’S AFRICA’S MEASURING MEASURING & & VALUING VALUING SOUTH SOUTH AFRICA’S AFRICA’S CULTURAL CULTURAL & & CREATIVE CREATIVE ECONOMY ECONOMY CULTURAL CULTURAL & & CREATIVE CREATIVE ECONOMY ECONOMY CULTURAL CULTURAL & & CREATIVE CREATIVE ECONOMY ECONOMY Mainly Mainly evidence evidence based based research research into into the the creative creative economy, economy, including: including:
CHAMPIONING CHAMPIONING EVIDENCE EVIDENCE >> >> INFLUENCING INFLUENCING POLICY POLICY >> >> SHARING SHARING INSIGHT INSIGHT >> >> INFORMING INFORMING DECISION-MAKING DECISION-MAKING >> >> ASSESSING ASSESSING POTENTIAL POTENTIAL >> >> BUILDING BUILDING INTELLECTUAL INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL CAPITAL FOR FOR THE THE SECTORS SECTORS AND AND THE THE INDUSTRIES INDUSTRIES
Informing decision-making Informing decision-making Informing decision-making Assessing potential Assessing potential Assessing potential intellectual capitalcapital BuildingBuilding intellectual capital Building intellectual
MEASURING & VALUING SOUTH AFRICA’S CULTURAL & CREATIVE ECONOMY
WINTER SYMPHONY SEASON
CALL 031 369 9438 TO SUBSCRIBE & SAVE UP TO 20%
Making music together. THURSDAY, 1 JUNE 2017, 7:30PM, DURBAN CITY HALL
031 369 9438 • www.kznphil.org.za
Conductor:
Naum Rousine
Soloists:
Liebrecht Vanbeckenvoort, piano Nozuko Teto, soprano Violina Anguelov, mezzo-soprano Wayne Mkhize, tenor
WORLD SYMPHONY SERIES
Mthunzi Nokubeka, baritone
WITH OUTSTANDING SOLOISTS, CONDUCTORS
AND
Yale Glee Club Choir (USA)
Brahms
Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15
Beethoven
Mass in C major, Op. 86
THURSDAY, 8 JUNE 2017, 7:30PM, DURBAN CITY HALL
WINTER SEASON 2017
STAR
Choir:
Conductor:
Daniel Boico
Soloist:
Philippe Graffin, violin
Glazunov
Overture solennelle, Op. 73
Lalo
Symphonie Espagnole in D minor, Op. 21
Shostakovich
Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Op. 93
AN
INTERNATIONAL CHOIR, THE KZN
THURSDAY, 15 JUNE 2017, 7:30PM, DURBAN CITY HALL
PHILHARMONIC
Conductor:
Daniel Raiskin
Soloist:
Lukas Vondracek, piano
Weber
Overture to Euryanthe
THE
WINTER
WILL
PRESENT
SEASON
OF
ITS
RENOWNED WORLD SYMPHONY
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor, Op. 40 Dvorák
Symphony No. 7 in D minor
SERIES FROM 1 TO 22 JUNE 2017. THURSDAY, 22 JUNE 2017, 7:30PM, DURBAN CITY HALL Conductor:
Daniel Raiskin
Soloists:
DECODA Ensemble *
Van Dijk
Drop
Lutoslawski
Dance Preludes
Haydn
Sinfonia Concertante in B flat, Op. 84
Beethoven
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67
* DECODA is an affiliate ensemble of Carnegie Hall in New York
Bongani Tembe, Artistic Director
“The
KZN
Philharmonic
is
committed
to
Single tickets priced from R65 – R230 are available at Computicket. All concerts commence at 7:30pm at the Durban City Hall. Pre-concert talks are held
enriching the cultural life of South Africa’s diverse
from 6pm - 6:40pm. The City Hall precinct, including
audiences by presenting world-class concerts
surrounding parking garages, is patrolled by a
and implementing education and community
dedicated security team.
engagement programmes.”
Liebrecht Vanbeckenvoort
DECODA Ensemble
Nozuko Teto
SOME OF THE Mthunzi Nokubeka
Philippe Graffin
ARTISTS FEATURED IN THE KWAZULU-NATAL
Lukas Vondracek
Naum Rousine
PHILHARMONIC’S WINTER SEASON 2017
Daniel Boico
Violina Anguelov
The KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra
Wayne Mkhize
Daniel Raiskin
Cover image:
44 LOOT: MAD ABOUT JEWELRY From 4 to 8 April 2017, the Museum of Arts and Design
Costume design sketch for the film A Lonely Place to Die
(MAD) in New York presented LOOT: MAD About Jewelry,
Credit: Hayley Nebauer
cover story
the annual exhibition and sale of contemporary art jewellery.
46 MUSE Moroccan-born artist Booshra will be having her solo
42 TELLING STORIES THROUGH CLOTHING
exhibition titled Muse at Candice Berman Gallery, Johannesburg from 29 June to 13 July 2017.
From live productions to film and television, the characters that we see are elevated by the theatrics in their costumes. Building personality with
48
MID-CENTURY MASTERSTROKE Design Joburg, featuring Rooms on View makes its debut
clothing is an art form on its own, one that Hayley
this May at the Sandton Convention Centre. The show
contents Nebauer is incredibly skilled at
promises to bring together an inspiring array of furniture
.
and design ranges, among which, one style stands out… mid-century modernism.
arts and culture 30 THE CREATIVE ECONOMY’S UNPARALLELED POTENTIAL Quantifying the value of a nation’s cultural creative
50
DARLINGS OF LOCAL DESIGN In an inaugural show highlighted by unprecedented collaborations between South Africa’s most prominent design talents and brands, Design Joburg, featuring Rooms on View, is thrilled to announce the DARLINGS feature.
economy plays a huge role in decision-making for future cultural investments and initiatives – and it’s also central to how we understand the fast-paced, changing world.
34 CION: A REQUIEM OF RAVEL’S BOLÉRO
52 STRAUSS & CO’S JOHANNESBURG SALE SPOTLIGHTS A DECADE THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING Strauss & Co’s forthcoming Johannesburg live sale includes a selection of important works by leading
Produced in collaboration with the Market Theatre,
South African artists, including standout lots by
Gregory Maqoma’s newest choreographic piece, Cion:
stalwarts of the auction market, JH Pierneef, Alexis
A Requiem of Ravel’s Boléro, will premiere at the Market
Preller and Irma Stern. The auction, which will be
Theatre on 25 May and run until 4 June. Creative Feel
held at the Wanderer’s Club on 5 June, also includes a
spoke to Gregory Maqoma, Mannie Manim and Jacques
number of iconic works made in the 1990s.
van der Watt of BlackCoffee about the planning and pre-production for this interesting new work.
54 TUMBLING DOWN A BUNNY-HOLE INTO LIZA’S WONDERLAND Liza Grobler’s April show at Everard Read in Cape Town, entitled Maybe Time can Fold was ‘a tangible, textured, multi-coloured montage of time, place and space by the artist, to be explored at the audience’s leisure’. Art lecturer and historian, Lloyd Pollak, reviews the exhibition.
56 KRUGERRAND: CELEBRATING A MODERN-DAY CLASSIC The Krugerrand brand has become synonymous with gold coinage the world over, since it was first introduced in South Africa on the 3rd July 1967.
lifestyle and entertainment 68 69 70
BOOK REVIEWS CD REVIEWS CINEMA NOUVEAU
contents 60
THE MARKET SQUARE
The newly built Market Square has brought an interesting new dynamic to the arts hub in Newtown.
18
The award-winning architecture, with stunning interior
Artlooks & Artlines is a monthly column
ARTLOOKS & ARTLINES
murals created by Artist Proof Studio, is the new home
by Ismail Mahomed, CEO of the Market
for the Market Theatre Foundation as well as a campus
Theatre Foundation.
for students at the Market Theatre Laboratory and Market Photo Workshop.
64
contributors
CELEBRATING A NATION’S JAZZ
Between 29 June and 8 July, some of South Africa and the world’s top young and established jazz musicians take to Grahamstown for the Standard
20
LITERARY LANDSCAPES
Literary Landscapes is a monthly column written
by Indra Wussow, a writer, translator and director of
the Sylt Foundation.
22
BUSINESS & ARTS
Bank Jazz Festival. This year’s programme
Business & Arts is a monthly column by
promises to be exciting and different and, as
Michelle Constant, CEO of Business and Arts
always, excellent.
South Africa (BASA).
24
THE ART OF PERFORMANCE Dave Mann is an editor and award-winning arts journalist.
EDITOR’S NOTE That special moment
I
am generally not a hoarder at all. Every so often, a big black bag is my answer to creating space. As to my cupboard, it is Hospice or the Salvation Army Children’s Home who benefit from this decluttering. There is one thing, though, that I find very difficult to throw out – my special collection of theatre programmes. I still have quite a few special ones from my teenage years, which is longer ago than I like to admit, and they are still very precious.
The theatre has always held a special fascination for me. There is simply no better moment than when the curtain rises, the
stage is revealed and the set design transports me to a different world for the next couple of hours. I can remember moments when I held my breath in awe of so much beauty and such exquisite design. It is the attention to detail and the way in which it enhances the actual performance that makes a set design great.
Athol Fugard’s The Shadow of the Hummingbird SOURCE Market Theatre
West Side Story PHOTO Jesse Kramer
A great set can be minimalistic, depicting a shantytown with a corrugated iron backdrop; or like in Egoli, showing the world of Johannesburg miners; or the delightful, gentle study from where Athol Fugard tells the story of The Shadow of the Hummingbird. More recently, I admired the design of West Side Story’s set. Designed by the late, legendary South African designer Johan Engels, this dynamic set shifted and changed to allow for some great multi-story scenes featuring powerful performances. One can’t forget spectacular, innovative theatrical lighting that can bring a stage to life. Many plays that stick out in my memory were a powerful combination of excellent acting, inventive stage and lighting design and beautiful costumes. For this issue of Creative Feel, we looked at the impact of theatre design on Cion: A Requiem of Ravel’s Boléro, a new Vuyani Dance Theatre production. In this exciting new piece, Gregory Maqoma uses the music of Ravel’s Boléro to explore the character of a professional mourner – Toloki of Zakes Mda’s Ways of Dying and Cion. We spoke to the designers involved in this unusual production: Mannie Manim, Jacques van der Watt and of course, Gregory Maqoma, whose vision these designers are bringing to life. To find out a bit more about the art of costume design, we also spoke to talented designer Hayley Nebauer who has a long list of incredible film and TV credits to her name. A Creative Feel design issue with a twist, a homage to theatre design.
Lore 10 / Creative Feel / May 2017
JH Pierneef, Farm Jonkershoek with Twin Peaks Beyond, Stellenbosch, 1928 R6 000 000 - 8 000 000
AUCTION
Important South African & International Art 5 June 2017, The Wanderers Club, Illovo, Johannesburg Preview 2-4 June, 10am-5pm | Walkabout 3 and 4 June, 11am 011 728 8246 | www.straussart.co.za | 021 683 6560
Strauss & Co: The global leader in the South African art market
We love this!
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A
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PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Lore Watterson; lore@desklink.co.za COPUBLISHER & PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Chris Watterson; chris@desklink.co.za DEPUTY EDITOR Tamaryn Greer; tammy@desklink.co.za DIGITAL CONTENT CURATOR Angelia Muller; angelia@desklink.co.za ADDITIONAL EDITORIAL CONTENT: Ismail Mahomed Michelle Constant Indra Wussow Lloyd Pollak Dave Mann SALES & MARKETING sales@desklink.co.za sales@creativefeel.co.za SALES & MARKETING COORDINATOR Zama-Africa Mkhize; zama@desklink.co.za DESIGN Leigh Forrest; leigh@desklink.co.za DISPATCH Khumbulani Dube SUBSCRIPTION & CIRCULATION subs@creativefeel.co.za Published by DeskLink™ Media PO Box 3670, Randburg, 2125 Tel: 011 787 0252 Fax: 011 787 8204 www.creativefeel.co.za www.desklink.co.za
Andile Dyalvane and Zizipho Poswa of Imiso Ceramics will show their distinctive clay art on the Darlings Stand at Design Joburg this May. Imiso is one of South Africa’s most successful imports, with work in prestigious local and international public and private collections. Andile Dyalvane is the recipient of numerous awards, including a recent Southern Guild Design Foundation Icon Award in recognition of outstanding achievement and innovation. His solo show titled Ca Magu at New York gallery, Friedman Benda, last year was a huge success. Dyalvane describes his work as ‘reflective of culture, experiences, and locale, with a constant spiritual consciousness delivered in each line and form. A musicality of possibilities in paying attention to detail.’
12 / Creative Feel / May 2017
PRINTING ColorPress (Pty) Ltd © Copyright DeskLink™ Media The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher.
While every last effort has been made to check that the information in this magazine is correct at the time of going to press, the publisher and their agents will not be held liable for any damages incurred through any inaccuracies.
King of the Belgians
Artwork used with permission: Justin Dingwall
H C T A W THIS SPACTREISE THE EUROPEAN FILM FESTIVAL IS BACK AT CINEMA NOUVEAU THEATRES
T
he lineup of films represents twelve countries, including Ireland and Croatia for the first time. Each film reflects the skills and take on the world of filmmakers who are not limited by national borders. American Honey,
an award-winning British-made road movie set in America’s mid-west, is as much a magical mystery tour into Americana as it is a coming-of-age drama. King of the Belgians is a comedic piece coming out of Belgium, which sees the Belgian king and his entourage crossing the Balkans in a madcap adventure, after learning of a coup back home. Strike a Pose is a Dutch documentary exploration of ‘Madonna’s men’, the male dancers who served to consolidate the pop icon’s message and status as an outspoken advocate for LGBT rights. Germany’s Toni Erdmann is the outlandish tale of how the passing of a family dog sets off a series of events with a major impact on a father-daughter relationship. An Academy Award Winner for Best Foreign Film in 2017, and a must see, by all accounts. Festival Director Katarina Hedrén, who returns as the curator for the second time, is delighted with the pickings: ‘With this year’s selection which includes films of different genres, textures and moods, the aim is to entertain, amuse and offer opportunities for reflection, new discoveries and recognition,’ she says. ‘The theme binding the films together is cinematic excellence through acclaimed and award-winning films from twelve European countries.’ The 2017 selection is a mixed pot in terms of film themes which span from animal rights to family dynamics. Dramas and documentaries, comedies, tales of grief and a children’s adventure sit side by side on this eclectic and exciting programme. CF
#ARTMUS
TELIER 2017 INTO THE L’A UR ENTRY . YO R FO CL U OW OSED THANK YO IES HAVE N TION, ENTR E TI TH PE M ON D CO ART NOUNCE WILL BE AN THE WINNER . 17 20 R EMBE 13TH SEPT
SNS_01_2017
Priscilla Extends Joburg Season
S
howtime Management, SA Producer of the international hit musical, Priscilla Queen of the Desert announced the extension of the Johannesburg season at The Teatro, Montecasino. The show
opened on 29 April and although originally scheduled to close on 28 May, popular demand has led to the show being extended until 18 June 2017. Since Priscilla Queen of the Desert opened in Cape Town in March to critical acclaim, the show has received nightly standing ovations and rave reviews. The rapturous applause at every performance was loud enough to almost literally lift the roof of Artscape’s Opera House. Accolades from media and audiences alike are synonymous in their delight at seeing the multitalented 28 member all-South African Priscilla cast on the stage. Priscilla Queen of the Desert is a heart-warming and uplifting tale of three drag artist friends who hop aboard a battered old bus known as ‘Priscilla’, and go off on the adventure of a life time through the Australian Outback, to perform in Alice Springs. On the way they find friendship, love and far more than they ever dreamed of. With a dazzling array of over 500 award-winning costumes, 200 extraordinary head dresses and a hit parade of dancefloor favourites including ‘I Will Survive’, ‘Hot Stuff’, ‘Finally’, ‘Boogie Wonderland’, ‘Go West’, ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’, and ‘I Love The Nightlife’, this wildly fresh and funny musical is a journey to the heart of FABULOUS!
We’re searching for South Africa’s best artistic talent. Enter now.
Hop on board the bus for the most entertaining journey ever. It’s the most fun you’ll have in the theatre. Book now at Computicket by calling 0861 915 8000, visit www.computicket.com or your nearest Computicket service centre. This musical contains some strong language and adult themes, therefore parental guidance is recommended for children under the age of 12. For further information visit www.showtime.co.za or
www.sasolnewsignatures.co.za #SasolNewSignatures
www.montecasino.co.za. Special hospitality packages as well as show and stay packages available from Montecasino hospitality & corporate events, (011) 3674250 or montecasino.reservations@tsogosun.com. Stay current on the latest news through social media on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. #PriscillaSA CF
est. in 1947
King Kong
The long awaited revival of the legendary South African musical King Kong, which took South Africa and London’s West End by storm over 50 years ago and launched the careers of Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela, among many others.
Shebeen queen Joyce (Miriam Makeba) dances with Lucky (Joseph Mogotsi)
K
Joyce (Miriam Makeba) and King Kong (Nathan Mdledle)
ing Kong is a landmark, 1959 South African jazz-
a unique ambassador for South African black talent and a
influenced musical, billed at the time as an ‘all-
window into the black experience.
African jazz opera’. Opening in Johannesburg on 2 February 1959 at Witwatersrand University’s Great
King Kong launched the international career of Miriam Makeba, who played the shebeen queen of the Back of
Hall, the musical was an immediate success, with The Star
the Moon, a famous shebeen in the historic Sophiatown
newspaper calling it ‘the greatest thrill in 20 years of South
of the 1950s. The male lead was Nathan Mdledle of the
African theatre-going.’ It ‘swept South Africa like a storm’,
Manhattan Brothers.
touring the country for two years and playing to record-
Others in the cast were Hugh Masekela, Abdullah
breaking, multi racial audiences, before being booked for a
Ibrahim, Kippie Moeketsi and Thandi Klaasen, all of whom
London production in 1961, by which time it had been seen
went on to have successful careers. The London cast featured
by some 200 000 South Africans. The music and some of the
Nathan Mdlele and Peggy Phango, with Joseph Mogotsi, Ben
lyrics were written by Todd Matshikiza. The lyrics were by Pat
Masinga, Stephen Moloi, Sophie Mgcina, Patience Gowabe
Willams and the book by Harry Bloom.
and former Miss South Africa 1955, Hazel Futa. Gowabe and
The musical portrays the life and times of a heavyweight
Futa later became The Velvettes, the backing vocal singers
boxer, Ezekiel Dlamini, known as ‘King Kong’. Born in
for the Cyril Davies All-Stars band and performed backing
1921, after a meteoric boxing rise, his life degenerated into
vocals on the Joe Meek produced single ‘She’s Fallen in Love
drunkenness and gang violence. He knifed his girlfriend,
with The Monster Man’ by Screaming Lord Sutch and the
asked for the death sentence during his trial, and instead was
Savages in 1964. CF
sentenced to 14 years’ hard labour. He was found drowned in 1957 and it was believed his death was a suicide. He was 36. With the musical, he posthumously became an unlikely
King Kong will show at the Fugard Theatre from 25 July to 2
symbol for freedom in apartheid South Africa. During its
September 2017, after which it will make its way to Joburg.
200 performances in London’s West End, King Kong became
Tickets are available through Computicket.
16 / Creative Feel / April 2017
A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE
C
asta Diva Boutique Hotel, nestled on the northern slopes of the Magaliesberg, is like no other hotel. The guests are met at the parking area and shown to reception with a warm, welcoming smile. The
property itself (just under two hectares of lush green gardens) is breathtakingly beautiful. The rooms are individually
Boutique Hotel A unique venue, nestled high on the northern slopes of the Magaliesberg amidst peaceful and tranquil surroundings that offer stunning views and an unsurpassed setting of natural beauty and elegance in an oasis of peace and serenity in the city.
decorated without any clutter and the on-site restaurant guarantees a culinary adventure. Ask your host about the Special of the Day, or order one of the signature dishes from the á la carte menu, such as the Dutch Style Beef Fillet. There is also an intimate theatre/art gallery where guest could enjoy a performance by some local talent. The establishment prides itself on art and cultural development by hosting young, up-and-coming talent as often as possible. Jazz aficionados across the country have been sitting up and listening to the sounds of Mlungisi Gegana’s bass guitar for years. It didn’t take long for his talent to be recognised. Playing at Kippie’s Jazz Club, he was spotted by a record company executive who spent the night phoning his colleagues, and the rest is history. Gegana went to
Restaurant Guaranteed the true Decadent, Divine, Delightful fine dining experience, the perfect fusion between the magic of Casta Diva, fresh ingredients, a dedicated culinary team and the friendliest service of South Africa.
the studio with the best in the recording industry – Louis Mhlanga, Godfrey Mgcina, Andile Yenana, Vusi Khumalo. In 2000, he came back to Johannesburg where he met Khaya Mahlangu and played with him around jazz clubs and corporate gigs until they did a 13-part jazz series called ‘Bejazzled’. They backed the likes of Jonas Gwangwa, Steve Dyer, Zim Ngqawana, Suthukazi Arosi, and many others. He performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland 2001 with Zim Ngqawana and did numerous recording sessions with various artists. In 2004 he released his debut album, One Step Forward, recorded with artists like Thandiswa Mazwai, and toured to France with his band. Mlungisi Gegana is on stage at Casta Diva on 6 May. Be sure to book your tickets, as seats are limited, for bookings call 012 542 4449, or email info@castadiva.co.za. You are guaranteed to be amazed and made to feel special at Casta Diva Boutique Hotel. It truly is the place to just… be. For booking information visit the website at www. castadiva.co.za and keep an eye on their Facebook pages for updates on events. CF
18 / Creative Feel / May 2017
Artlooks & Artlines Artlooks & Artlines is a monthly column written by Ismail Mahomed, CEO of the Market Theatre Foundation.
London Thames sunset panorama | Feb 2008 | By Diliff | Own work | CC BY 3.0
T
here was a time when one could easily get away
During a 30-year career in the arts sector, from working
with imagining that arts leadership was about the
as a writer, director, stage manager, artistic director of the
effective administration of artists’ contracts, the
National Arts Festival in Grahamstown and now as the CEO
ability to balance the books and to ensure that
of the Market Theatre Foundation in Johannesburg, I have
theatre foyers were kept spotlessly clean for the nightly
experienced many inspiring ways in which the resilience
visit of theatre patrons. That world in which arts leadership
of artists has kept the South African art sector vibrant
in South Africa operated very much in its own bubble has
and engaging. Very often I’ve sat in conferences with
changed significantly.
colleagues and counterparts devising ways in which our arts
In a world that has become increasingly networked and interconnected, where the traditional boundaries of
organisations can adapt to political, social, economic and other changes.
time, space and information in the arts have expanded,
Very often, by the time we have left the conference the
arts leadership is now more than just about heading the
world has changed so much more and whatever resolutions
operations of an institution. It is now so much more about
we may have considered would have to be rethought. It is this
being able to recognise opportunities and challenges that can
kind of pulsating vibrancy about leading arts organisations
be catalysts that direct and navigate other changes in society.
that has pumped my adrenaline. Arts leadership is about
20 / Creative Feel / May 2017
knowing that getting back to an office desk is not about
to play in being the catalysts for the creation of spaces and
making new calculations about how goods will be moved off
opportunities that will challenge the status quo. Effective
the shelves or about how the books will be balanced. Arts
arts leadership is about being the seedbed on which new
leadership is more about how bums will be put on seats and
trees can grow and bear new fruits.
about how the arts will raise social consciousness so that
In the 21st century, arts leaders no longer work with only
society becomes more balanced and equitable.
productions, venues, technical equipment and promotional
Arts leadership is most unsuccessful when it is conducted
billboards. Our successes are not built only on how many
from the boardroom. Arts leadership requires both a
awards our theatres scoop. As arts leaders, our jobs often
sensibility and a sensitivity about society. It requires a passion
take us into unfamiliar and terrifying spaces that are not
for the arts but to keep one’s head above the water, in the
just about figures on a balance sheet. We hold that delicate
complex web in which the arts operate it also requires a
thread that weaves society together, and we can do it with
deeper passion for society. It demands being at the coalface,
great care, to raise the consciousness of our societies.
King’s College | Strand | London | Engraving by JC Carter | By Wellcome Images constantly engaging with artists, audiences, bureaucrats,
This short course at King’s College in London allowed
funders and policy-makers. It requires a diary that is flexible
me the chance to reflect on the visionary roles played by the
and one in which the author seldom has real control.
founders of the Market Theatre in its 40 years of existence.
For ten days in April this year, I was fortunate to
During these four decades, the Market Theatre has told stories
participate in an arts leadership programme at King’s
that have challenged the old South Africa and given us hope
College in London. The Arts Leadership for the 21st Century
for the possibilities of a new South Africa. Today, its theatres
programme brought together an exciting array of arts
bear the names of Mannie Manim, Barney Simon and John
leaders from 17 countries. Key to the seven-day programme
Kani. The real challenge in managing the Market Theatre is to
was the opportunity to engage with counterparts from other
go beyond the nostalgia of celebrating their great works and
parts of the globe and to reflect and challenge how we can
to find ways in which we can put tomorrow’s pioneers under
constantly remain relevant to our societies.
the spotlight of these theatres so that their stories can also
If there was one theme that was driven home quite strongly on the first day of the intense programme it is that in our challenging times, as the world grapples with so much poor political leadership, arts leaders have an increasing role
move, inspire and challenge us to continue to build the kind of South Africa that we’re still a far cry from achieving. Only then, will we be honestly honouring the legacies of these great visionaries. CF
Creative Feel / May 2017 / 21
Literary Landscapes Literary Landscapes is a monthly column by Indra Wussow, a writer, translator and director of the Sylt Foundation.
H
ow does the transformation of a society really
His generation is young enough to hopefully make a real
work? This is one of those incredibly intriguing but
change happen, but still old enough to have grown up in a
almost unanswerable questions. What makes the
difficult time, under a harsh system. It is his generation that
process successful and what hinders a true change?
could, for the first time, openly reflect on the wounds of the
Some special people and their positive attitudes can
make a difference. While I am once again staying in Yangon, I experience the power of stamina and open-mindedness through the minds, lives and works of artists. It is a Sunday afternoon in one of the many parks in Yangon. Close to the harbour, this part of the city was neglected for many years but there is renewed interest and
past and make them the starting point for investigating new ideas and a new social utopia. ‘Myanmar is still in a hybrid condition. It has not changed much as yet. People overrate the amount of change. The new malls and the consumerism do not mean that there is more freedom involved,’ says Kyi Thar critically. Kyi Thar grew up in the 1990s in the small town of
the neighbourhood’s housing, which is still affordable, has
Thandwe in the Rakhine State in the west of Myanmar. With
become popular again.
his love and passion for reading, he felt very alone in a place
Alongside young couples, who sit behind umbrellas so that
like this. There was a public library, though, and in it, he
other people do not see them kissing (which is considered
found everything that he was longing for: books, literary
very rude in Myanmar society) and children playing on the
magazines and even foreign translations that made the
lawn, a group, mostly made up of young people, gather. It is
outside world a major part of his life experiences. Later, after
time for a major poetry reading, with ten poets reciting their
the first cautious opening of the country, tourists began to
works. A well-known band is performing too.
visit Myanmar’s beaches and through them, Kyi Thar began
The large audience is as excited as the poets involved. They have been sitting patiently on the lawn, waiting for the event to start, for the past hour.
to learn English. It is this dichotomy of the isolation of his own life and the magnitude of opportunities introduced through
As I am waiting, I start a conversation with one of the
literature that informed his own writing. Kyi Thar started
older poets. He is very excited about the event. ‘Look, before
writing as a young boy and wrote his first poem at the age
the change, it was not possible to gather here and do an
of ten. It was a lonely venture that he was not able to share
event like this. There would have been police, you had to
with anyone.
be careful what to say and what to read and events like this were considered subversive and dangerous.’ His generation, today’s 50 to 70-year-olds, experienced
After finishing high school, Kyi Thar came to Yangon to study law and to share his poetry. Here he was able to talk about literature, to read, to write essays and to study the
the brutal dictatorship and its relentless methods to keep
interfaces of literature and life. Here he became Di Lu Galay,
resistance and dissent silent and unheard. Their fight for
the poet whose work has been published extensively and
freedom of expression and human rights saw many of this
who has been engaged in major initiatives to support young
generation’s fearless writers and poets imprisoned during
poets, to build networks and to enable intellectual debate
their lifetime.
about art and writing.
One of the younger poets performing is 31-year-old lawyer Kyi Thar Phone Myint or Di Lu Galay, his pen name.
22 / Creative Feel / May 2017
Being a careful and critical observer, Di Lu Galay’s poetry is recognised for his meticulous use of language, his
Take a Good Aim at Your Enemy empathy for the human plight and a deeply rooted sympathy
A guy in my neighborhood died the other day.
for the outsider. His poems often animate a surrealist
He had little spats with his neighbor for years.
collection of many different kinds of curios. Objects,
After hearing the news, his neighbor cried
people and animals all become ghosts in a ghastly awkward
And said: It’s me next, my friend.
environment that they have been mistakenly alienated from. An inner wasteland whose void is filled with fear, anger,
In boxing, both the winner and the loser
violence and impotence.
Will be asked to leave the ring in the end.
‘I chose to be a poet but the lawyer role chose me, so I try to combine both roles and as it is they both influence one
Time and again, I wake up on battlefields,
another,’ Di says and points out that his accuracy of language
Surrounded by dead bodies.
and his sensitivity for situations and their consequences are
I wake up with a great sense of loneliness,
of major importance for both of his professions.
And survival has become completely tiring.
The freedom he had experienced, if only theoretically,
In the end, battlefields always bend like rainbows.
in the literary works that he read during his adolescence, ingrained in him an understanding for the necessity of human
You know a crow when you see one
rights and social justice. This is a fight he is dedicated to as a
Because a crow will always be a crow.
lawyer, trying to make a difference and trying to change the
But when you know someone to be your enemy,
social and political landscapes of his country.
He is never your enemy.
The absurdities and anxieties of this lawyer life and experience, on the other hand, became the starting point of
Baby, this hand, which is touching you right now,
a truly Kafkaesque search for truthfulness, humanity and
Has failed to keep its hold on human civility
justice through the means of poetry.
The same way your laughter has eluded
Di Lu Galay is surely an important writer of his
Public decipherments. We look at each other.
generation and when he performs in the park, his older
In our eyes, smoke from gunpowder
colleague, who is still sitting next to me, is thoroughly
Which I call ‘adversities of life’
impressed by his performance. ‘It makes me proud that our
Falls like red flowers from a Flamboyant tree.
literary fight for freedom, which made us suffer so long,
I take pride in this art of happiness.
brought such gifted young poets to life... It shows us that our sacrifice was worth it and that we as a country are on our
Di Lu Galay
way to a better future.’ CF
Translated from the Burmese by Maung Day
Business & Arts Business & Arts is a monthly column by Michelle Constant, CEO of Business and Arts South Africa (BASA).
C
onceived in 1997 as a partnership between several
over the past two decades will be in the spotlight. Drawn
South African corporates and the now Department
from different initiatives, including BASA Artstrack, BASA
of Arts and Culture (DAC), BASA has evolved over
Supporting Grants, BASA Awards, and other arts-based
the past two decades to include a wide spread of
initiatives, this research, once consolidated, will provide
different stakeholders, including 126 business members, the
crucial insights into best practice, shifts and trends and
creative sector, organisations within the Southern African
will be used to inform the next generation of arts-business
region, and a growing slate of project-specific partners.
partnerships – once again underlining BASA’s value to
This is a year of celebration and we’re thrilled to be able to acknowledge those organisations and individuals who
government, business and the arts sector in the new decade. This integrated research will support BASA’s standing
have played an integral part in our evolving and changing
as a unique Knowledge Hub and will be made available in
organisation. Our vision has always been to elevate the
the latter part of 2017. BASA will host a Symposium with
importance of the arts in society, and we are fully focused on
international peer Business and Arts agencies, from India,
that as we prepare for the journey forward.
Zambia, Scotland and further, to share and discuss the 20
Growth is best exemplified by new programmes that provide and support knowledge transfer, skills development and training – these include the DAC Debut Programme and Creating Opportunity for South Africa’s Youth (COSY), among others. The DAC Debut Programme will see the Department of Arts and Culture, in partnership with BASA, provide knowledge and skills development to emerging artists on the cusp of ‘making it’ – supporting them with launching or implementation of their first creative product (album, book etc.), and enabling them to take advantage of opportunities to pitch for funding to further support their venture. BASA’s growth focus during 2017 also includes its Business Exchange Programme which aims to create an environment where young business professionals learn the importance and economic value of the arts, much the same way the arts realise and respect the importance of business skills while on their
years of research and best practice in the relationship and leverage between business and the arts.
“2017 sees Business and Arts South Africa (NPC) celebrate 20 years of arts-business partnerships, with an invigorated focus on growth, research, connectivity and celebration that confirms the organisation’s standing as a leader on the African continent.” The research will continue to support BASA’s role
creative journey. The Business Exchange Programme anchors
in providing a bespoke service to the corporate sector,
BASA’s role as a development agency and is built around
creating greater connectivity, collaboration, and co-
several arts-based initiatives that tap into BASA’s corporate
creation between business and the arts.
members and the wider business community, allowing them to use their experience to add business insight to the arts. As BASA celebrates its 20 years of business and arts partnerships, valuable research that has been collected
24 / Creative Feel / May 2017
As we move rapidly into 2017, BASA celebrates 20 years, looking forward to the next decade, ensuring that we are able to offer the creative and business sectors in South Africa, and on the continent real value and true partnerships! CF
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W W W. C R E AT I V E F E E L . C O. Z A
The Art of Performance Dave Mann is an editor and award-winning arts journalist.
PERFORMING POWER IN THE LOCAL COMEDY SCENE
‘A
nd then I said “Grandpa, I’m not doing that to
young performers trying their hand at the craft. But as it
grandma, she’s family!”’
goes, not all of them cut it.
The 20-something-year-old stands before
a silent audience in a small Johannesburg
It’s a tough gig, stand-up comedy. Of the few shows I’ve been too, I’ve seen countless comics bomb, and it’s
venue, strained smile and wide eyes scanning the crowd for
always just as cringeworthy. It’s so common in fact, this act
a friendly face. He finds none and only continues to stand
of unintentionally embarrassing yourself on stage, they’ve
there, punchline all run out and with no laughs to show
come up with a term for it – ‘dying’. It’s an apt term. How
for it. A few audience members shuffle uncomfortably in
else can you describe the act of taking to a stage in front of
their seats while others offer up forced laughter to cut the
a group of people all expecting you to make them laugh, and
tension. Eventually, after what seems like a lifetime, the
proceed to fumble your way through a few sweaty, laughless
MC for the night takes to the stage again, putting the young
lines before driving the final bit home to a decidedly stony-
comic out of his misery.
faced audience? There’s no coming back from that. Quite
The South African comedy scene is a small, but active one, and it’s entirely fascinating too. Collectively, it’s
simply, you ‘die’. Still, as I watched the 20-something-year-old comic
produced a good crop of well-known performers – Marc
slink off stage that evening and head straight for the bar,
Lottering, Loyiso Gola, Nik Rabinowitz, Tumi Morake, and
I felt bad. Bad for not laughing even though I didn’t find
most notably, Trevor Noah. If the recent Joburg International
him funny. Bad because he had found the courage to stand
Comedy Festival is anything to go by, we’re also a country
in front of an audience with the hopes of making them
that attracts a number of internationally renowned comics.
laugh and he had failed terribly. Bad because, really, he
We have a healthy amount of emergent comics too. At
is a performer and I am an audience member and it is as
a glance, there is Schalk Bezuidenhout – famous for his
much my job to be entertained as it is his job to do the
parodying of small-town Afrikaans complexities – while
entertaining. Or is it?
Tyson Ngubeni is becoming well known for his side-splitting
There’s a strange dichotomy that exists between
sets that put forward shrewd commentary on issues such
performer and viewer, and the commonly accepted
as colourism and Afriphobia. Lihle ‘Lindzy’ Msimang has
understanding of it is that the performer is to put on a
a knack for satirising South African tropes, while comedic
show and the viewer is to gaze upon that show and quite
troupe Thenx Ladies are fast gaining traction for their
simply, love it or hate it. Certainly, the viewer should always
unique blend of stand-up comedy and musical performance
understand it, and through that understanding, make their
that shines a light on contemporary politics, media and
judgement. It’s far more complex than this, of course. When
more. There are many more stand-up comics in the country,
we really interrogate the politics of performance, we find
and each week, another open mic night sees a handful of
that it all comes down to power. Most of the time, the one
26 / Creative Feel / May 2017
Tyson Ngubeni PHOTO Kerryn Chegwidden
viewing a performance will hold the power and can yield
a setting, we will almost always choose to walk out rather
it how they please – either celebrating or condemning the
than stand up and berate a performer or vocally express our
artist. Sometimes, when you are feeling a little out of your
disappointment. This is not to say that performing artists
depth and are perhaps made to feel uncomfortable by a
never experience such antagonistic reactions to their work,
performance, you could say that the tables have been turned,
because they certainly do in many instances, just not as
and that the performer is the one who holds the power. But
often as they would in less formal settings. Like at an open-
again, it is far more complex than this.
mic comedy gig for instance.
When we sit in low-lit cinemas or in the teared rows of
So why is it that we exercise our power as audience
expansive theatres, what is it that we most often do when
members in certain settings, but choose to dampen it
we are unimpressed by an actor on the stage or the silver
in others? My thinking is that it’s largely to do with the
screen? We walk out. No matter how bored to death we may
space in which we are viewing a performance. I recently
feel, or how appalled we may be by a performance in such
noticed this strange navigation of power during a trip
Creative Feel / May 2017 / 27
through Hartbeespoort in the North West earlier this year. My partner and I had stopped at a busy weekend market for lunch and decided to grab a drink at a small restaurant that overlooked the part of the market housing a packed out beer garden. From the restaurant, we could see a musical performance taking place below where an amateur singer-songwriter tried her absolute best to entertain the drunken crowd filling up the beer garden. She did, for the most part, but a few overzealous (and overindulgent) crowd members took it upon themselves to tell her just how much they disliked her performance. ‘Play the other one!’ one of them would shout at her mid-performance. ‘Where’s the drummer?’ another one would slur. To her credit, they seemed very drunk and she seemed unperturbed by it all. A week later we went through to a comedy show in Johannesburg’s Melville to see a friend perform, and this is where I saw the 20-something comic fail dismally. It was at this small show for aspirant comedic performers that I truly realised just how strange the space of stand-up comedy can be, with all of its ‘dying’ and its strange, shifting power dynamics. As much as I saw comics try and fail in front of a despondent audience, I also saw comics really come alive on stage, drawing on the flux-like state of power inside the room to subvert the performer-viewer relationship, and at times completely topple it. Imagine my surprise when, after the failed comic slunk off stage, another equally shy and awkward young comic took his place. As he fumbled through his set in the same clammy and unrefined manner as the performer before him, I watched the audience slowly turn against him like they had with many of the other performers. Only this time, they lost their power. ‘Was that not a good joke?’ The comic asks the audience. ‘No, it sucked,’ responds a man towards the back of the crowd, causing a few audience members around him to snigger. ‘Oh? Well, why don’t you come up here and tell it better?’ the comic shoots back. ‘I mean, I’m already laughing just looking at you.’
28 / Creative Feel / May 2017
Schalk Bezuidenhout
The Thenx Ladies: Tumy Motsoatsoe, Zethu Dlomo, MoMo Matsunyane, Kitty Moepang
And just like that, the comic got his power back. The heckler, clearly stunned and embarrassed, shrunk into his seat and the comic, with a renewed sense of power, launched straight into his next joke. At the end of it all, his set wasn’t a complete success, but it was at least salvaged by one hell of a comeback. While the informal nature of stand-up comedy may allow for us to more immediately exercise our responses to a certain performance, it also completely breaks down any notions of a powerless or unresponsive performer we hold onto. And once we let go of those notions, the performance really gets good. So if you want to be entertained, go see a movie. If you’re hoping for something a little more intimate, why not visit the theatre? But if you’re looking for something a little different, and entirely immediate, you’d do well to head down to the next local stand-up comedy show. CF
Creative Feel / May 2017 / 29
PLAY ON THE LIFE OF CAN THEMBA COMES TO THE SOWETO THEATRE!
From 10 to 21 May, Soweto audiences will be enthralled by the extraordinarily talented Sello Maake kaNcube in the theatre masterpiece, The House of Truth. The play is written by Siphiwo Mahala about distinguished South African writer Can Themba and directed by Vanessa Cooke.
T
he House of Truth premiered to full houses and rave reviews at the 2016 National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, later playing at the Market Theatre. Laced with wit, humour and a deep
sense of irony, it reveals the circumstances that inspired some of Themba’s most intriguing works and covers some of the profound aspects of his life that are rarely written about. Themba’s complex life story, including his troubles with the Transvaal Department of Education, which refused to recognise him as a qualified teacher despite him holding a degree, is interwoven with how he turned to journalism, rising through the ranks of Drum magazine to become an assistant editor, but without any financial reward. These frustrations are shared from his abode, the House of Truth, a single-room bachelor flat in Sophiatown in the 1950s. The House of Truth was Themba’s way of cocking a snook at snobbery, officialdom and anything that smacked of bureaucracy. He hosted candid debates where anyone,
30 / Creative Feel / May 2017
Sello Maake kaNcube in The House of Truth PHOTOS CuePix/Jeffrey Stretton-Bell
SNIPPETS FROM REVIEWS: ‘The play is seen as hope to bridge the [racial] divide’ – SABC News ‘A hit with the audiences!’ – An ENCA headline ‘This is work which stretches across the epochs. There are many moments where you swear Themba is talking about now, not then.’ – Journalist Mike Louw ‘The House of Truth is riveting, absolutely brilliant.’– Nathi Mthethwa, Minister of Arts and Culture ‘The play examines themes such as media ownership, exploitation and editorial independence’ – Sam Mathe, Jazz Life irrespective of race or social class, was welcome to participate in intellectual engagement. The House of Truth is acted by Sello Maake kaNcube, one of South Africa’s most accomplished and internationally revered actors who will be performing for the first time at the Soweto Theatre, and directed by Vanessa Cooke, a
SHOW TIMES:
theatre legend in her own right.
Tuesday to Saturday: 20:00
Themba would have turned 93 in 2017 but died at the tender age of 43. He passed away on 8 September
Sunday: 15:00 Mondays: no shows
1967, and this year marks the 50th anniversary of his passing. Themba is one of the most illustrious alumni of
Venue:
the centenary old Fort Hare University. Other illustrious
Blue Theatre
alumni include Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Govan
Mbeki, and at least three African heads of state: Seretse
Ticket Prices:
Khama (Botswana), Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe) and Yusuf
From only R120! Block booking discounts are
Lule (Uganda).
available.
‘The House of Truth celebrates South African artistic excellence. It will inspire Sowetans, young and old alike,’ says
Book at www.sowetotheatre.com or call
Makhaola Ndebele, Joburg City Theatres Artistic Manager. CF
011 930 7461/2/3
Creative Feel / May 2017 / 31
THE
UNPARALLELED POTENTIAL Culture and creativity make us human – it’s one of our defining features – but counting the value of creativity is controversial at best, complicated at worst. However, quantifying the value of a nation’s cultural creative economy plays a huge role in decision-making for future cultural investments and initiatives – and it’s also central to how we understand the fast-paced, changing world. The point is to understand how creativity and the economy are stronger together – something the South African Cultural Observatory (SACO) is doing.
U
ncharted terrain has captured the human mind for centuries, but with the dawn of the information age, the desire to understand human creativity, ability for innovation, and capacity to generate
knowledge has mushroomed exponentially – creating the final frontier for travel: gaining deeper insight into who we are. Culture and creativity remain central to this journey and it’s no surprise that we turn to culture – its nuances and replication – to better understand ourselves, says Professor Richard Haines, chief executive of the South African Cultural Observatory (SACO), a research institute tasked with measuring and valuing South Africa’s cultural and creative industries (CCIs). ‘The cartography of culture and creativity ensures we understand the many strands that make us human. In South Africa we know that we are a deeply creative nation with diverse cultures, but we have not spent much time focusing on what value these assets bring to the country and how we can grow a cutting-edge creative economy that increases our intrinsic and fiscal wealth,’ says Haines.
32 / Creative Feel / May 2017
Enter the SACO, whose job it is to do some of the hard miles it takes to map, analyse, monitor and measure the country’s creative and cultural economy: and identify trends and key research areas that will support growth and influence policy. Established in 2015 by the Department of Arts & Culture (DAC), the SACO is a national think tank hosted by Nelson Mandela University, in partnership with the universities of Rhodes and Fort Hare. The research centre traces its origins to 2011 and the Mzansi Golden Economy strategy. ‘The Mzansi Golden Economy took the stance that while the cultural creative economy is undervalued, it has significant potential to drive development and strengthen job creation options. ‘The South African government also wanted greater systematisation of cultural information collection. We fulfil this role and are also tasked with driving cultural diplomacy at both a macro- and micro-level as the premier research agency for the DAC,’ says Prof Haines. Internationally there is a growing trend to map out the impact of the arts, culture and heritage sectors, as well as the cultural domains that make economic and other intangible contributions to nations, cities and people’s lives. The recognition that there was a very real need for a more coherent and systematic understanding
Creative Feel / May 2017 / 33
of how the cultural economy works, grows and ‘lives’, led
and qualitative elements. But if we don’t start somewhere we
to the SACO’s establishment.
will never understand real value from a solid baseline.
Some early research points to this impact. In 2014
‘It’s our job to observe, learn and then feedback into
South Africa’s creative economy contributed over R90.5-
cultural policy and production. We have already started
billion to the national economy or 2.9% of the GDP in
this through a series of research reports and publications,
2013/14, exceeding, for instance, the contribution of
our monitoring and evaluation frameworks, and a national
agriculture to the GDP (2.2%). Industry jobs made up 2.93%
research agenda for the industry.
of total employment in SA in 2014 (443 778 jobs), slightly
‘We ask deep and necessary questions, while taking a
more than mining, a recent study by SACO chief research
holistic view of the industry to identify trends, pockets of
strategist, Prof Jen Snowball, found.
excellence and to analyse why certain activities and funding
‘Though mining has higher salary bands, this information
work or not,’ Haines adds.
demonstrates the potential of the creative economy. Small tweaks to the way we approach small businesses in the arts,
SA Cultural Observatory National Conference 2017
or set up creative clusters, or help promote exports can mean
The SACO is hosting its second National Conference at
real, on-the-ground growth for an industry literally working
the Turbine Hall in Johannesburg on May 24 and 25, over
to create South Africa,’ says Snowball.
the Africa Day celebrations. The theme is: ‘The Creative Economy & Development – Perspectives from Developed
Counting culture – can it be done?
and Emerging Economies’. It features an eclectic mix of
The SACO is mandated to produce a working cultural
academics and practitioners including some of the world’s
information system for South Africa. But how do you
leading cultural economists, creative minds and thinkers. CF
measure the economic contribution arts and culture makes to a country and how do you evaluate the impact that cultural events and experiences have? ‘Counting culture is by no means a simple endeavour – and it’s made more complex by the depth and intricacy of the industries and sectors – but there is a strong case for counting and many points of departure. ‘Business, statistical and typical indices are a good place to start. Typical frameworks for monitoring and evaluation are also important and can be adapted to include both quantitative
34 / Creative Feel / May 2017
THE SACO CONFERENCE KEYNOTE SPEAKERS INCLUDE: PROFESSOR LLUIS BONET, Director of the Cultural Management Programme, University of Barcelona, a leading authority on cultural economics; PROFESSOR EREZ LIEBERMAN AIDEN, Director of the Rice University Culturomics Cultural Observatory in Houston; PROFESSOR GEOFFREY WOOD, Dean of International Business, at the University of Essex; ANDRES GRIBNICOW, Creative Economy Undersecretary at the Argentinian Ministry of Culture; PROFESSOR JEN SNOWBALL, SACO Chief Research Strategist, Rhodes University; PROFESSOR KENNEDY C. CHINYOWA, Tshwane University of Technology Centre for Creative Industries; AVRIL JOFFE, Head: Cultural Policy and Management: School of Arts, University of Witwatersrand; SHUKRI TOEFY AND AMR SINGH, owners of the Fort; PROF ENYINNA SODIENYE NWAUCHE, Rhodes University; JAMES DRUMMOND, North West University Mafikeng; TSIETSI THEMANE, National Film and Video Foundation; IGNACIO PRIEGO, SAMRO Foundation; KEVIN KIMWELLE, sustainability architect and BUSINESS AND ARTS SOUTH AFRICA.
‘We want to convene actors from across the creative sector and economy to share their research, so we can establish trends and look for alignment and best practices to apply to South Africa,’ says Haines. For more conference information, visit: http://www.southafricanculturalobservatory.co.za/2017saco-conference/
36 / Creative Feel / April 2017
Produced in collaboration with the Market Theatre, Gregory Maqoma’s newest choreographic piece, Cion: A Requiem of Ravel’s Boléro, will premiere at the Market Theatre on 25 May and run until 4 June. Creative Feel spoke to Gregory Maqoma, Mannie Manim and Jacques van der Watt of BlackCoffee about the planning and pre-production for this
CION: interesting new work.
I
n Cion: A Requiem of Ravel’s Boléro, Maqoma brings together the works of two virtuosos who have inspired his own creative output: French composer, pianist and conductor Maurice Ravel and South African novelist, poet and playwright Zakes Mda. This is not the first time that Maqoma has used Ravel’s Boléro; he performed a
stunning interpretation of the piece in Joys of Sharing, his 2016 collaboration with Wouter Kellerman and Simphiwe Dana. Originally composed as a ballet commissioned by Russian actress and dancer Ida Rubinstein, Boléro, which premiered in 1928, is Ravel’s most famous musical composition. While on vacation at Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Ravel went to the piano and played a melody with one finger to his friend Gustave Samazeuilh, saying, ‘don’t you think this theme has an insistent quality? I’m going to try and repeat it a number of times without any development, gradually increasing the orchestra as best I can.’ This piece was initially called Fandango, but its title was soon changed to Boléro. According to Idries Shah, the main melody is adapted from a tune composed for and used in Sufi training. ‘Apart from the music being popular and certainly one of Ravel’s most known composition, I am fascinated by its simple structure which I find to be African in its structural and haunting nature,’ says Maqoma. ‘Nhlanhla Mahlangu and Xolisile Bongwana are working on developing a score that gravitates the choreography into a space of worship, love and hate, and a fight for survival. The Requiem of Ravel’s Boléro is our healing, the song to the departed souls, to pause for second and think about life, what it means, maybe just maybe we can value life again.’ To bring home the African structure he hears in Boléro, Maqoma will also incorporate Iscathamiya singing. ‘When I was listening to Ravel’s Boléro, I felt I had to
Creative Feel / April 2017 / 37
bring the music home and allow it to grow new energy, to strip away the classical instrumentation and allow voices, chanting, church hymns and the circular motion of music structure to drive the choreography.’ Using the repetitive sounds of this piece as a backdrop, Maqoma explores the character of a professional mourning, using Zakes Mda’s Toloki of Ways of Dying, and later Cion, as a starting point. ‘I am always drawn to Zakes Mda’s work,’ says Maqoma. ‘As a choreographer, I am fascinated by the images he communicates in his works and more that he is drawn to the issues of black culture, tradition, urban and political shaping. In this case, Toloki discovers an unconventional profession of mourning; hence in my approach to the work, I made a choice to focus on the character to tackle the idea of death in our modern context. Death is a universal rite of passage. To choose the theme of death in my approach is inspired by the universal events that lead to death, not as a natural phenomenon but by decisions of others over the other. We mourn the death by creating death, the universe of greed, power and religion has led us to be professional mourners who transform the horror of death and the pain of mourning into a narrative without feeling for life, and we are doomed and lost without any sense of taste, touch or even sight. I am concerned and terrified by the thought of how it has become easy for a person to die, and we die in masses. I am disturbed by how we have normalised death. I am creating this work as a lament, a requiem required to awaken a part of us, the connection to the departed souls. I decided on artists who embody the ideals of chant as a driving force in our negotiation of space, confinements, fall and recovery. ‘What attracted me to the character is how we have been turned into professional mourners, the developing events in our country, with the political dynamics developing around the world we are forced into mourning, mourning for the country, mourning for those fleeing their homes to seek protection in other countries where they are clearly not welcomed, as others mourn, others are like the runaway slaves always searching for a place they can call home or at the least to feel safe.’ In Mda’s Cion, Toloki, the professional mourner introduced in Ways of Dying, takes the opportunity to travel the world in search of new ways of mourning. He finds himself abandoned in Athens, Ohio, but a chance meeting leads him to the poor hamlet of Kilvert, home to descendants of fugitive slaves. The Quigley family offers Toloki hospitality while never completely coming to terms with what they regard as his shamanistic attributes. The old story is told of the slaves in the plantations of the south and their eternal quest to escape and find their freedom, interwoven with the story of life in present-day Kilvert. To bring this piece to life, Maqoma has enlisted the help of legendary lighting designer and co-founder of the Market Theatre, Mannie Manim; set designer, Oliver Hauser; composer
38 / Creative Feel / April 2017
Gregory Maqoma in Joys Of Sharing PHOTOS John Hogg
Design for performance exists to support the performers, which means that there will always be some practical constraints on performance design. For dance productions, there needs to be room for the performers to move, and lighting positions to provide good modelling of their forms when they move. ‘My favourite lighting designer of all time, Jean Rosenthal, wrote a wonderful book called The magic of light,’ says Mannie Manim. ‘She used to say that great lighting is when you get the air right. When you light the air so that the performers can move through that space.’ Most important to Manim is creating lighting design that is in line with Maqoma’s vision. ‘I know the theatre, I know the theatre relatively well,’ he laughs. ‘It’s a slightly different shape to what it was at the start, it’s still more-or-less the same. It’s a question of if I can find a way that is totally apt for this piece, each piece has its own requirements, its own demands, its own kind of logic and I have to try and create that logic with Greg. What’s vital for me is that I’m doing it in the way that Greg would like it done, that’s the most important thing for me. That I’m creating a vision in terms of lighting… What Greg has in his mind, in his deepest thoughts when he first started thinking about this. ‘This is our first time working together, which is even more exciting, I like that.’ The costumes too need to reflect Maqoma’s vision for the piece, as well as being functional and, as one has come to expect from BlackCoffee, beautiful. BlackCoffee have created costumes for numerous Vuyani Dance Theatre performances, including the memorable white, flowing pieces for Full Moon. For Cion: A Requiem of Ravel’s Boléro, Nhlanhla Mahlangu; dancer and composer Xolisile
‘Gregory briefed me about the mood and movement of the
Bongwana; and fashion designer Jacques van der Watt of
piece. He was looking for something very sombre and he
BlackCoffee. This team will play an integral part in ensuring
wanted the idea of a funeral procession to come across,’
that Maqoma’s vision is brought to life in a way that is
says van der Watt.
appealing and which will draw in the audience. The stage holds the world of the play or dance
That the costumes are created for dancers and movement, ‘is always something to keep in mind,’ he says.
performance. It provides time and context and automatically
‘Either the cut of the garment of the fabric has to allow for a
transports the audience to a destination. Design for live
lot of movement. The BlackCoffee style of cutting often uses
performance can often do much more than representing
a lot of volume so it isn’t usually a challenge for us… In this
time and place, providing an emotional context and visual
particular case we want to bring in elements of menswear
interest, as well as giving the audience something to think
cloth, but use it in combination with other fabrics and in a
about. Even when the chosen aesthetic is to recreate as
very unconventional way.
closely and completely as possible a very particular world, there are choices open to the design team which will allow
‘The influence isn’t very obviously traditional but it will still have an underlying African element.’ CF
their work to convey more than simply time and place to the audience. A great set balances functionality and aesthetics
To book to see this fascinating new production,
while expressing the director or choreographer’s vision.
visit www.markettheatre.co.za.
Creative Feel / April 2017 / 39
25 May – 04 June at The Market Theatre
‘In this work, I am drawn to Zakes Mda’s character ‘Toloki’ the professional mourner from his beloved Ways of Dying as he further uncovers in his book Cion the story of the runaway slaves. In my interpretation, Toloki rediscovers death in a modern context, inspired by the universal events
DANCERS’ STATEMENTS ON CION “What does death signify for you?”
that lead to death, not as a natural phenomenon but by decisions of others over the other. We mourn the death by
“Death means the rebirth of another human being for the
creating death. The universe of greed, power; religion has
next generation, the continuation of life for generations to
led us to be professional mourners who transform the horror
come.” Phumlani Nyanga
of death and the pain of mourning into a narrative that questions what seems to be normalised and far more brutal
“Death is the physical body separating from the soul/spirit. It
in how we experience death and immigration. I am creating
signifies the loss of the physical being.” Phumlani Mndebele
this work as a lament, a requiem required to awaken a part of us, the connection to the departed souls.
“Death is a secret path that releases the spirit from the physical into an unknown journey or destination, only
The first offering under the title ‘Requiem Request’ was
known to the deceased. Death is leaving the known to the
first presented at William Kentridge’s The Centre for the
unknown.” Julia Burnham
Less Good Idea where the idea of interrogating the music of Ravel’s Boléro using other music devises was cemented.
“The role/purpose you were meant for is over.” Otto Nhlapo
I am grateful to the Market Theatre Foundation for their support with the staging of this work. Special thanks to
“The end of one’s physical being, the spirit leaves to a place
Professor Zakes Mda for his generous permission in using
that is unknown.” Sinazo Bokolo
his material as reference. I am also highly indebted to the Management Team of Vuyani Dance Theatre and The Board
“The end of your journey in the physical realm, death causes
of Directors. On behalf of the cast and the creative team of
pain for some and others are left unaffected or rather
Cion, I invite you to go on this journey with us.
immune to the act of dying.” Smangaliso Ngwenya
Regards,
“To no longer live after having been alive. The representation
Gregory Maqoma
40 / Creative Feel / May 2017
of “the end”; to no longer exist; to be absent physically or spiritually.” Cebolenkosi Zuma
Credits
CREATIVE TEAM
MANNIE MANIM
CONCEIVER, CHOREOGRAPHER AND DANCER Gregory Maqoma
Mannie Manim, co-founder of The Market Theatre, has been involved
SUPPORTING MOVEMENT ANALYST/DRAMATURGY Shanell Winlock
in theatre for 60 years and lighting productions in South Africa and
REHEARSAL ASSISTANT Lulu Mlangeni
internationally for over 40 years. Manim was Head of Drama for The
MUSICAL DIRECTOR AND COMPOSER Nhlanhla Mahlangu
Performing Arts Council of the Transvaal (PACT) for seven years;
COMPOSITION ASSISTANT Xolisile Bongwana
Managing Director of The Market Theatre Company for 17 years;
COSTUMES BlackCoffee
Managing Trustee, The Market Theatre Foundation for 15 years;
SET DESIGN AND TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Oliver Hauser
Director of Performing Arts Administration, Wits University for 10
LIGHTING DESIGN Mannie Manim
years; Director and CEO of the Baxter Theatre Centre for 9 years;
PROPS Wesley Mabizela
and the Executive Director of The Fugard Theatre for its first year.
SOUND ENGINEER APPRENTICE Katleho Mokgothu
Now a producer and lighting designer, Manim’s career highlights include lighting Sarafina! and Asinamali, SA and USA; Nothing But
DANCERS
the Trut,h SA, Australia, UK and USA; Woza Albert, SA, UK, Australia
Phumlani Nyanga | Phumlani Mndebele | Julia Burnham | Otto Nhlapo
and USA; The Island and Sizwe Banzi is Dead in SA, UK, Europe,
Sinazo Bokolo | Smangaliso Ngwenya | Cebolenkosi Zuma
Canada and USA; Othello, The Market; The Tempest, the Baxter
Gregory Maqoma
and Stratford upon Avon; Waiting for Godot, Broken Glass, The Fugard Theatre; Carmen and The Mysteries, Spier, London, New
MUSICIANS
York, Perth, Toronto; The Magic Flute, SA, London and Paris;
Thabang Mkhwanazi | Sbusiso Shozi | Simphiwe Bonongo
Hamlet, the Baxter and The Swan Theatre (Stratford upon Avon);
Xolisile Bongwana
Showboat, Artscape, UK, Germany, Sweden, Norway and at The Chatelet Theatre, Paris; Porgy and Bess, Artscape, Sweden,
VUYANI DANCE THEATRE
Berlin Opera House and Oslo. Has lit every first production of
CHAIRPERSON OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Thandiwe Msibi
a Fugard play in SA since 1976 and produced most of them.
BOARD MEMBERS Dr Thuthula Balfour-Kaipa, Vonani Mathebula,CA (SA),
Ouroboros in SA, Europe and India. Solomon and Marion, four
Dumo Mbethe, CA (SA)
SA seasons, Edinburgh and Washington. A DISTANT DRUM ,
EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR Gregory Maqoma
Bloemfontein and Carnegie Hall, New York. Madame Zingara,
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Lindiwe Letwaba
IN CELEBRATION, Cape Town and Johannesburg. Firebird,
CREATIVE ASSISTANT Lulu Mlangeni
Artscape, National Arts Festival, USA four-week tour of open
BOOKKEEPER Sinazo Mboniswa
air venues including Hollywood Bowl; A Man of Good Hope ,
MARKETING CONSULTANT Siyandiswa Dokoda
Young Vic, London and BAM, New York. His accolades include Shirley Moss Award; Greatest
CSI COORDINATOR Nonkululeko Thabede PROJECT COORDINATOR Mahadi Mkwanazi
Practical and Technical Contribution to SA Theatre (1980), SA
REHEARSAL DIRECTOR Phumlani Nyanga
Institute of Technology Award; Outstanding Achievement as
TECHNICAL ASSISTANT Wesley Mabizela
a Technician, Administrator and Lighting Designer (1981),
PATRONS Justice Edwin Cameron, Advocate Nomvula Mokhatla, Dr Sibongile
first Vita Award; The most Enterprising Producer (1985) 10
Khumalo
Vita awards; best original Lighting Design. Made Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government (1990),
VUYANI DANCE THEATRE WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND ITS HEARTFELT
received Gold Medal; Simon van der Stel Foundation (1995),
GRATITUDE AND APPRECIATION TO THE FOLLOWING:
Gold Medal; Theatre Development The SA Academy of Arts
FUNDER The National Lotteries Commission
and Science (1996); Naledi Life Achievement Award (2004);
MEDIA PARTNER Creative Feel
Fleur du Cap Lifetime Achievement Award; Arts & Culture
MEDIA SPONSORSHIP Kaya FM
Trust Lifetime Achievement Award; The National Order
AUTHOR OF CION Zakes Mda
of Ikhamanga, Silver (2011); Fleur du Cap Award for best
VENUE The Market Theatre
lighting design (2012) and International Fellowship of ALD UK (2016)
‘ Vuyani Dance Theatre is supported by the National Lotteries Commission’
Creative Feel / May 2017 / 41
SHANELL WINLOCK PAILMAN
NHLANHLA MAHLANGU
After completing her matric Shanell Winlock Pailman joined
Nhlanhla Mahlangu is a graduate in Theory and Practice of
Moving into Dance Mophatong’s one year Edu-Dance
Dance Teaching from Moving Into Dance Mophatong. He has
diploma course. After completing the course she was
over ten years of professional performance and administration
approached by Sylvia Glasser to join the full time dance
in theatre, dance, dance theatre, and dance education.
company where she started her official professional dance
Mahlangu has made great strides in the performing
career. Two years later she won a scholarship to Brussels to
arts industry as a choreographer, actor, singer, poet, dancer,
attend the school of Performing Arts Research and Training
teacher, administrator and composer. His extraordinary
Studios ( P.A.R.T.S.) under the direction of Anne Terresa
work has been seen all over Africa, North America, South
Dekeersmaker. A year later she returned to Johannesburg and
America, Asia and Europe. Of note is his extraordinary ability
worked with various South African choreographers including
to compose music from the Gods – his versatility as an artist
Gregory Vuyani Maqoma, PJ Sabbagah, Sello Peso, Moeketsi
has seen him being commissioned to work with numerous
Koena and Tracey Human, to mention a few. She has won
multi-awarding winning artists, including Richard Cock,
awards for most promising and most outstanding female
Gregory Vuyani Maqoma, Sylvia Glasser, Vincent Mantsoe,
artists for the FNB vita Dance Umbrella Awards.
Jay Pather, Des and Dawn Lindberg, Robyn Orlin, James
In 2000 she was invited to work with the UK based company the Akram Khan Dance Company where she
Ngcobo, Victor Ntoni and many more. He has worked across the spectrum of dance – dance theatre and dance education.
continued to live and work for 10 years. She toured worldwide and became the rehearsal director of the company. The AKC works and collaborations included artist such as
XOLISLE BONGWANA
Kylie Minogue, Nitin Sawney, Cloud Gate Dance Company
Xolisle Bongwana is an accomplished dancer who is
from Taiwan. London, Symphonietta, Aniesh Kapoor and
also versed in signing, composing, directing, acting and
Sidi Larbi Cherchaoi. On her return to South Africa in 2011
choreography. He began his singing and dancing career in
she choreographed a duet for two members of the Vuyani
Port Elizabeth around 1999 as a youngster. Xoli then went
Dance Theatre project for their season, as well as a group
on to work with the Dodgy Clutch Theatre Company as an
work for the Forgotten Angle Theatre Collaborative. To date
actor, dancer and singer, working with choreographer Robyn
she assists Johannesburg based companies as a rehearsal
Orlin and going on to tour in the UK and USA.
director and teaches dance classes.
THE MUSIC
Xoli has worked extensively with Gregory Maqoma and Luyanda Sidiya, in various festivals with Vuyani Dance Theatre and recently returned from a tour in Western
The soundscape and the music for CION is inspired by
Australia where he was performing in the Perth International
Ravel’s famous classic, Boléro. This is the music that we
Arts Festival 2017 as part of an a cappella quartet, Vuyani
have heard throughout our dance training and it has been
Ensemble, in the production of Exit/Exist featuring Gregory
interpreted many times by the musicians, dancers and
Maqoma. Vuyani Ensemble also performed as a separate
choreographers of our times.
entity in Perth, Albany and Denmark including a music
We are fascinated by the idea of building a composition from a single theme which would grow simply through
workshop for a mature aged group of musicians and choir. In 2015 Xoli was a composer and musical director in the
harmonic and in our case vocal ingenuity. The delicate
production SIVA, a dance work choreographed by Luyanda
sound of Iscathamiya is used as our starting point and the
Sidiya who was the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for
basic vocal quality. This gives us a historical irony because
2015. SIVA went on to be performed at the National Arts
Iscathamiya started as colonial response and later became
Festival in Grahamstown, as well as in China.
our heritage that can be used proudly to tell our history. In our exploration we want to be transported to the
Xoli’s passion for dancing is in by no means surpassed by his talent of composing music for artists like Luyanda
unknown, the beat box represents the relentless snare-
Sidiya’s solo Makwande and together with his own
drum that underpins the whole of the 15-minute work as
exceptional musical/singing abilities.
Ravel inevitably builds on the simple tune. We would like to
In 2016 he was nominated for Mail and Guardian 200
see what happens when we go beyond 15 minutes to one
Young South African. Xoli recently formed the group Ubuthina
hour and 15 minutes.
Ensemble with other vocalists. He continues to push his
– Nhlanhla Mahlangu
42 / Creative Feel / May 2017
boundaries in all fields as well as exploring other skills.
MARKET THEATRE STAFF: HONORARY PATRONS: Jules Feiffer, Athol Fugard, Dr John Kani, Arthur Mitchell, Winston Ntshona, Janet Suzman, Prof Zakes Mda SPECIAL AMBASSADOR: Dr John Kani COUNCIL: Mr Kwanele Gumbi (Chairman), Dr Sebiletso Mokone-Matabane, Mr Peter McKenzie, Mr J Brooks Spector, Mr Cedric Nunn, Mr Kopano Xaba, Ms Shado Twala MARKET THEATRE FOUNDATION SENIOR MANAGEMENT: Chief Executive Officer: Ismail Mahomed, Artistic Director: James Ngcobo, Chief Financial Officer: Christine McDonald MARKET THEATRE STAFF: Accountant: Fazel Mayet, Assistant Front of House Manager: Gabriel Royeppen, Audience Development: Anthony Ezeoke, Box Office: Siwe Hashe, Sonia
SBUSISO SHOZI
Teme, Brand and Communications Manager: Zama Sweetness
Sbusiso Shozi started his career under Mbongeni Ngema’s
Buthelezi, Cleaning: Bonie Sibanda, Samson Vilakazi, Christine
shows such as Sing Africa Dance, 1906 Bhambada The Freedom
Maseko, Mary Mathebula, Justice Bila Client Liaison Officer:
Fighter and Sarafina! where he earned some lead singing and
Tebogo Konopi, Simphiwe Boya, Relationship Stakeholder Manager:
supporting roles. He also did some international and national
Penny Morris, Head of Lighting: Nomvula Molepo, Human Resource
tours with a number of companies where he performed as
Manager: Perpetua Matshsa, Producer: Zodwa Shongwe, Production
a lead actor, singer and dancer. Shows such as Africa My
Managers: Hailey Kingston, Thapelo Peter Mokgosi, Project
Love, Makhulu, Drumstruck, Just for You, Shosholoza, Music
Administrators: Mvuzo Mfobo, Seipati Ncube, Project Co-ordinator:
in the Air, Soweto Entsha, Have We Been Heard, Long Way
Sipho Mwale, Reception: Busi Letwaba, Front of House Manager:
To Go, Voices from Kilimanjaro, Umshado and is currently
Mavis Nengovhela, Senior Front of House Manager: Thuli Mbuli, Senior
performing in Sarafina! as Stimela saseZola. Sbusiso has had roles in television shows and he
Publicist: Lusanda Zokufa-Kathilu, Senior Stage Manager: Motlalepule Makhate, Sound Technician: Ntuthuko Mbuyazi, Supply Chain
earned a lead role in the documentary Operation Certain
Management Assistant: Vickey Pienaar, Stage Managers: Emelda Khola,
Death and featured in Isibaya.
Thulani Mngomezulu, Lebeisa Molapo, Technical Co-ordinator: Floyd
He is a musical director and a vocal coach for a number of shows he has performed in and also a director of his company, Show Zee Productions.
Dlamini, Ushers: Alex Magemane, Anthony Myanga, Bohlokoa Matlabe, Froas Masseule, Kabelo Kgang, Mfundo Maumakkwe, Nkosinathi Mnguni, Nonhlanhla Nhlapho, Nosipho Mntungwa, Phumlani Nkwanyana, Rose Ngwenya, Thato Gebashe, Tumelo Mana THE MARKET PHOTO WORKSHOP: Head of Photo Workshop: Lekgetho
SIMPHIWE BONONGO
Makola, Administrative Assistant: Babalwa Mtanga, Cleaner: Nthabiseng
Sowetan-born performer, Simphiwe Bonongo (1 Jan
Motaung, Coordinator Mentorship & Training: Bekie Ntini, Course
1987), had acknowledged his love for beatboxing in
Assistant: Lebohang Tlhako, Nathi Khumalo, Patrick Selemani, Phumzile
2003 where he practiced hip hop sessions in and
Nkosi, Courses Coordinator: Tebello Mohapi, Manager Administration &
around the Vaal Rand. Bonongo appeared in his first stage beatboxing
Operations: Busi Sithole, Manager Curriculum & Training: Maxine Thomik, Manager PP: Khona Dlamini, Officer Resources: Tswaledi Thobejane, PDP
performance in 2011, after moving to Johannesburg, in
Project Coordinator: Tsepo Gumbi, Projects Assistant: Flurina Casty, Sipho
the stage work Boom Bap vs Swag Rap with KiriPinKnob.
Gongxeka, Receptionist: Magadi Monaheng, Weekend Workshop Assistant:
Bonongo did more beatboxing work with the Song
Loyiso Oldjohn
& Dance theatrical company from 2014, featuring in the musical dance piece with Phuphuma love minors
THE MARKET LABORATORY: Education Officer: Clara Louise Vaughan,
(Ischathamiya group) and The Chants we Make.
Administrator: Thandeka Nheke, Venue Technician: Sibusiso Ndumndum
Creative Feel / May 2017 / 43
From live productions to film and television, the characters that we see are elevated by the theatrics in their costumes. Building personality with clothing is an art form on its own, one that Hayley Nebauer is incredibly skilled at.
A
rguably one of the most important roles in theatre, television and cinema is that of the costume designer. Costume designers’ stylistic contributions to the world of film
and, by extension, to our own worlds, is undeniable. Their work contributes to constructing the characters we love, enhancing the production’s setting via colour and texture, and in some instances, transcends the screen and informs our perception of style in our own lives. Major film, television and theatre awards around the world recognise costume designers for their ability to escalate a production, to make it believable, and to fully transport viewers to the desired time period or destination. Just as one hears the work of a composer and is transported to the memory of a scene, so too can the work of a costume designer bring a particular film or character to mind. One only has to remember the white halter dress Marilyn Monroe wore in The Seven Year Itch (1955), the black-on-black leather ensemble worn by Keanu Reeves in The Matrix (1999), or Hannibal Lecter’s orange jumpsuit and facemask from The Silence of the Lambs (1991) to revisit the visuals and emotions of their respective films. Creating unique costumes ideal to the needs of each director and production, Hayley Nebauer has worked as a costume designer for film, television and theatre since 2000. Now based in the UK, the Australian-born costume designer grew up in Tasmania and had an early interest in costume history and science fiction. Grimaud, a character from season three of The Musketeers for BBC, 2016. Illustration by Hayley Nebauer
44 / Creative Feel / May 2017
Milady, a character from season three of The Musketeers for BBC, 2016. Illustration by Hayley Nebauer
The projects she takes on reflect her particular interest in science fiction. From the dystopian short AIR (produced by Nebauer) with its detailed and clever ‘survival suit’ to the anthropomorphic ‘goat demon’ in A Lonely Place to Die (2010), Nebauer creates imaginative and interesting pieces that bring a sense of strange realism to the productions. Influences of contemporary architecture and industrial design objects are recognisable in her works, showing Nebauer’s ability to consider unusual elements and incorporate them into contemporary films or productions. Other recent exciting work includes the third series of the visual and swashbuckling BBC drama The Musketeers, the tenth series of cult hit Dr Who, highly acclaimed BBC miniseries Our World War (a WW1 Drama), Take Down, a thriller/drama feature film from director Jim Gillespie (I Know What You Did Last Summer) and Pinewood Films and TV drama Cyber Bully. ‘Whether looking at minimalist contemporary clothing, period-accurate costume or creating a new aesthetic specific to a new project, I always put the needs of the production first so that work created is right for the character, the story and above all, working effectively with overall creative concepts for the production in focus,’ says Nebauer. ‘Specialising in a design process called “Hybrid design”, I often use the friction between contrasting aesthetics and themes to generate new ideas, fusing and blending references in unexpected ways to create new, streamlined designs specific to each production.’ Colour remains a central focus of Nebauer’s work. A controlled and rich colour palette can define a production as strongly as the aesthetics themselves. Balance through asymmetry and the use of hard curves also define Nebauer’s more stylised works. ‘I love being part of the creation of telling stories, especially in the making of visuals that support this. I spent much of my childhood playing imaginary games or was up a tree – working in the film industry as an adult is like the practical application of this – we see stories we like, or that thrill or engage us and we invent the world around the characters to make it real. ‘I chose costume design because I love the visual richness and movement of costume. Something about putting on a costume and becoming something or someone else is appealing and intoxicating, creatively; to imagine and create a person in a place and flesh out the details around them.’ CF Queen Anne, a character from season three of The Musketeers for BBC, 2016. Illustration by Hayley Nebauer Creative Feel / May 2017 / 45
Loot
MAD about Jewelry Returns with 54 Artists from 21 Countries, to MAD
From 4 to 8 April 2017, the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in New York presented LOOT: MAD About Jewelry, the annual exhibition and sale of contemporary art jewellery.
Michelle Cangiano, Courtesy of the artist
46 / Creative Feel / May 2017
I
n its 17th edition, LOOT presented a cross-section of the most exciting cutting-edge art jewellery designs, while offering the public a rare opportunity to meet and acquire pieces directly from some of the most skilled creators in the field. A striking example
of the evolving possibilities of jewellery as an art form, LOOT: MAD About Jewelry champions the vision and craftsmanship of outstanding art jewellers – most of whom had never before shown work in the United States. ‘This annual five-day pop-up store is a one-of-a-kind event,’ said Marsy Mittlemann, the 2017 LOOT Chairman. ‘I am thrilled to introduce these 54 contemporary jewellery artists to the New York City community. The opportunity to buy these unique pieces of jewellery, and to meet the artists while supporting the Museum and its mission, is very meaningful to me.’ Each year, collectors and jewellery enthusiasts flock to MAD’s LOOT event to learn about jewellers’ processes, materials, and concepts, and to purchase works directly from their makers. With all of the designers present on site throughout the exhibition and sale, LOOT is one of New York’s most unique museum experiences. Proceeds benefit MAD’s exhibition and education programs. This year’s edition welcomed 54 artists from 21 countries, the majority of whom had never been shown in New York. All were selected by Pomp following a full year of travel and research. For the first time, LOOT featured three artists from Iceland and one from Romania. There were also artists from Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Israel, Italy, Korea, Norway, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States. ‘Each year, I seek to present materials that even I have not seen in my decades of work in the field of jewellery,’ said Pomp. ‘In each edition of LOOT, I strive to show as many different, unique materials as possible in addition to more traditional metals and semiprecious stones. The 2017 presentation included driftwood, neoprene, marble, sheer plywood, textiles, ceramic, aluminium, beading, and acrylic. A significant trend this year was the use of recycled materials, including china tableware, plastic bottles and shopping bags, and even skateboards.’ This year, over two dozen artists designed jewellery using natural forms as their subjects. Visitors had the chance to meet Finnish artist Inni Pärnänen, who makes floral designs using sheer plywood, and English artist Rie Taniguchi, whose jewellery depicts animals and birds. Fellow English jewellery artist Olivia Creber uses molten metal with minerals, while French artist Delphine Nardin uses sea glass, gold, and silver to design jewellery inspired by the ocean. Icelandic artist Helga Mogensen uses driftwood and visible threads to create unique statement necklaces. LOOT: MAD About Jewelry reflects the Museum of Arts and Design’s commitment to the exploration of materials and process, as well as its long-standing presentation of jewellery as an art form. MAD is the only American museum with a gallery dedicated
Olivia Creber, Courtesy of the artist
to the display of both temporary jewellery exhibitions and its own collection of contemporary and modern studio and art jewellery. CF
Creative Feel / May 2017 / 47
450 Scarifications, 2017. Mixed Media on Canvas, 250 x 200 cm. 870004
48 / Creative Feel / May 2017
Moroccan-born artist Booshra will be having her solo exhibition titled Muse at Candice Berman Gallery, Johannesburg from 29 June to 13 July 2017.
H
auntingly beautiful, Booshra’s colossal portraits have become iconic, shown internationally from Amsterdam, Belgium and Luxembourg to Miami and New York. With the surge of portraiture emerging as a genre in art, we have to ask ourselves what is the fascination with the study of the human face and its meaning, and how is Booshra’s work an embodiment of this era?
The subject in the portrait mesmerises, holds your attention and creates an almost uncomfortable self-
consciousness as you struggle to face the feeling of being seen. The gaze, challenging you straight on, forces you to acknowledge your presence and mirror our humanness. This non-verbal confrontation intensely distinguishes between the seeing individual and the individual as being ‘seen’. When standing in front of the portrait you are defined as separate from the ‘other’. This is the first lesson we learn as children, that we are separate from our parent. It is an almost painful state of awareness. Separation dissolves the symbiotic illusion in which we are nestled. From the moment our parents see us, to when we become conscious of how we are being seen by the world, to when we embrace how time’s narrative has inscribed itself upon our faces and bodies, we constantly struggle between the self as innate consciousness and the physical appearance of that self. There is a definite emphasis on the physicality of the portrait subject. As we trace our eyes along the features, the composition, the proportions, emotions, and attitude of the portrait subject, we scrutinise this physicality, desperately searching for an understanding of the person behind the eyes and how that person is revealed in physicality. Do we see this physicality as morally prescriptive? Is there a connection between proportion, balance, individuality and what is good? We are forced to reconsider these subjects not just as ordinary people, but as Muses who embody principles and values to which we can aspire. They become ideal figures setting examples of what strength and self-acceptance look like. Traditionally portraits intended to immortalise their subject and to place them above others. The scale of Booshra’s works as well as the direct gaze of the subject contribute to the importance of the interaction. They are not just ordinary people, by portraiting them they become our Muses. We look to them for inspiration, for calm, for strength and assurance. We need to consider what it is about them that needs to be recognised, respected and reconsidered. She is uplifting the nameless faces of the world. Her Muses are always self-assured totems to strength and independence. A rebel artist with a spirit that cannot be tamed, Booshra’s work is uncompromising and bold, almost defiant and embodies her strength of personality. Booshra has said that if she were not an artist she would be an ‘anthropologist-philosopher’, fascinated by the magnetism of the eyes. There is something to be said about the study of the human face at this particular point in time. We are struggling to make meaning out of our lives and struggling to find explanations to haphazard events. To whom do we look? The closest identifier is other humans. We desperately search the faces and gazes of others in order to better understand ourselves. We come to terms with the discrepancy between our physical bodies and our internal mindscapes. The distinction is unsettling, but it is a reality. There is always a part of ourselves striving to make meaning of things. To understand each scar and interpret each line. The inscriptions on the face proffer to reveal something about the subject but remind us of how we are seen in the world. The beauty of the subject can charm and hypnotise, but the truth is in our shared humanness. The Muse inspires the good and a striving for beauty and serenity. We come to realise that this beauty can be hidden in the most subtle of features, in the crevices of the subject and most importantly in the human interaction. CF
Creative Feel / May 2017 / 49
Cassina, exhibiting on the True Design stand
Mid-century Masterstroke Design Joburg, featuring Rooms on View makes its debut this May at the Sandton Convention Centre. The show promises to bring together an inspiring array of furniture and design ranges, among which, one style stands out‌ midcentury modernism.
50 / Creative Feel / May 2017
&Tradition, represented in South Africa by Crema
I
n the mid-1940s, a wonderful shift began to take place in the design world. Simple lines, geometric designs, bold colour, pared-down forms and a touch of whimsy crept into architecture and home décor, in a movement that over the next few decades would radically transform the industry.
After a brief hiatus, the mid-century style crept back onto our radars in the ‘90s, when
original pieces started collecting thousands at auctions. Design giants such as Kartell, Cassina, Flos and Moroso (who are all exhibiting on the True Design stand at the show) helped to make mid-century modern more accessible by selling masterpieces by the likes of Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, Perriand and Rietveld, among others, directly to the public. Whereas for many years, they had to be acquired via architects or interior designers. It’s hardly surprising that such a powerful era of design continues to influence the industry today, guided by their design principles. &Tradition, Hay and Muuto (all represented in South Africa by Crema with showrooms in both Cape Town and Johannesburg) are three Scandinavian brands that encourage furniture design’s return to the innovative greatness of this era in a contemporary context. Locally, the likes of Skinny laMinx, with her playful patterned textiles, Urbanative, with their Afro-Midcentury furniture range and Andrew Dominic, paying gentle homage to the lines and angles of the 1940s, reinterpret the movement with a wonderful South African twist. Despite its name, the mid-century modern movement is not of an era. Well-designed and timeless, this style sits as comfortably in a modern home as it did in the 1940s, and its principles continue to guide designers today. Quite simply, the movement has proved that it stands the test of time. You can experience the mid-century design movement for yourself at Design Joburg, featuring Rooms on View at the Sandton Convention Centre from 12 to 14 May 2017. CF www.designjoburg.com
Creative Feel / May 2017 / 51
Darlings of local design In an inaugural show highlighted by unprecedented collaborations between South Africa’s most prominent design talents and brands, Design Joburg, featuring Rooms on View, is thrilled to announce the DARLINGS feature.
Studio19
52 / Creative Feel / May 2017
T
he DARLINGS feature space will showcase the latest
For the organisers, Media 10, it was important that the
designs from the ‘darlings of local design’, designers
show ‘be a showcase for South Africa’s entire design offering
whose work epitomises the energy and creativity
and not just those with the resources to exhibit,’ says the
that characterises South Africa’s bright design
show’s Event Director, Sandra Barrow.
scene right now. Design Joburg approached a few of the country’s
Brand-new designs and ranges will be revealed, including a new chair collection by Haldane Martin, new stools by
brightest stars and asked them to share their iconic or never-
Laurie Wiid, lighting from Studio 19, pinch bowl creations
before-seen creations. The lineup includes Capetonians
in brilliant tones of indigo from Zizipho Poswa of Imiso
Haldane Martin, Heather Moore of Skinny laMinx, Andile
Ceramics and a dynamic fabric collection by Heather Moore
Dyalvane and Zizipho Poswa of Imiso Ceramics, Andrew
of Skinny laMinx called Roof Garden, inspired by her water-
Dominic, Mema Design, Minima Design, Louw Roets, Laurie
wise rooftop garden.
Wiid; with Johannesburg design studios Lemon, Studio 19
With the very latest in design on show, DARLINGS is
and Aureum Design; and finally Durban represented by
poised to be one of Design Joburg, featuring Rooms on
Gareth Henderson and Douglas & Douglas,
View’s most beautiful features. CF
with more to be confirmed. Imaginatively curated by the HK Studio
www.designjoburg.com
design team comprising Candice Sheppard, Lianel Ackerman, Lindy van den Berg and Ashleigh Blackman, their challenge is to fuse the latest wares of all these creators into an imaginative feature stand.
Louw Roets’ Hombre Chair
Creative Feel / May 2017 / 53
Cecil Edwin Frans Skotnes Tapestry for the President Hotel R 200 000 – 300 000
William Joseph Kentridge Untitled Drawing for Mango Groove Music Video (Megaphone on Pylon) R1 800 000 – 2 500 000
STRAUSS & CO’S JOHANNESBURG SALE Strauss & Co’s forthcoming Johannesburg live sale includes a selection of important works by leading South African artists, including standout lots by stalwarts of the auction market, JH Pierneef, Alexis Preller and Irma Stern. The auction, which will be held at the Wanderer’s Club on 5 June, also includes a number of iconic works made in the 1990s.
A
period of political and cultural renewal for South Africa, the 1990s also marked a decisive change in the art market. Writing in the London-based magazine Modern Painters
following his visit to the first Johannesburg Biennale in 1995, musician and art collector David Bowie described the ‘pure exhilaration’ he felt encountering South Africa’s unheralded new talent and expression. Bowie described Kentridge’s contribution, a collaboration with Danish artist Doris Bloom, as the ‘whiteheat high point’ of his 1995 Johannesburg visit. Kentridge is well represented in the 1990s selection at Strauss & Co’s upcoming sale. Notable works include two charcoal process drawings from a 1994 music video Kentridge directed for the much-loved pop act Mango Groove. Mango Groove cemented their place in history by performing at the Union Buildings for Nelson Mandela’s presidential inauguration on 10 May 1994. ‘There was a real sense of hope, of possibility for change, and I think we need to remember that more,’ said Mango Groove’s lead singer Claire Johnston in 2012. The song Another Country was released in 1993 and commemorates the tragic events surrounding the 1992 Boipatong massacre, south of Johannesburg. Greg
54 / Creative Feel / May 2017
Jacob Hendrik Pierneef Farm Jonkershoek with Twin Peaks Beyond, Stellenbosch R 6 000 000 – 8 000 000
Maggie (Maria Magdalena) Laubser Basutoland Hills R 600 000 – 800 000
SPOTLIGHTS A DECADE THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING Marinovich, the internationally acclaimed photojournalist whose work also appears among Strauss & Co’s 1990s selection, witnessed the massacre first-hand. The two Kentridge drawings, which describe a drive-in screen and megaphone on pylon, both familiar motifs in his oeuvre, are valued at R1.8 – 2.5 million respectively. A special-edition portfolio of 41 Marinovich photos, made between 1990 and 1999 and entitled Dead Zone, carries an estimate of R250 000 – R350 000. Other artists included in Strauss & Co’s 1990s selection include Norman Catherine and Anton Kannemeyer. Catherine, whose work was collected by Bowie, is represented by the oil Predator (1993). The work is valued at R550 000 – 700 000. The Kannemeyer lots include a five-page panel Nag van die Wit Skrik (estimate R80 000 – 120 000) from the ground-breaking comic book Bitterkomix. They are signed under his alias Joe Dog. ‘We are very excited by this special focus within
William Joseph Kentridge Untitled Drawing for Mango Groove Music Video (Drive-In Screen and Megaphone) R 1 800 000 - 2 500 000 IMPORTANT SOUTH AFRICAN AND INTERNATIONAL ART
our larger sale,’ says Susie Goodman, Strauss & Co’s
Monday 5 June, 2017 | Venue | The Wanderer’s Club, Jhb
general manager in Johannesburg. ‘The exceptional lots
Preview | Friday 2 to Sunday 4 June from 10am to 5pm
we have consigned speak to a very particular moment
Walkabout | Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 June at 11 am
in our collective history, recording its sorrow and great
Enquiries and Catalogues
optimism. I am confident audiences will be heartened by
011 728 8246
this showcase.’ CF
www.straussart.co.za
Creative Feel / May 2017 / 55
Mexico performance, 2015 PHOTO Cesar Damian
Tumbling down a bunny-hole into Liza’s wonderland Liza Grobler’s April show at Everard Read in Cape Town, entitled Maybe Time can Fold, was ‘a tangible, textured, multi-coloured montage of time, place and space by the artist, to be explored at the audience’s leisure’. Art lecturer and historian, Lloyd Pollak, reviews the exhibition.
56 / Creative Feel / May 2017
Liza Grobler Crysalis, 2017
L
iza Grobler is a dazzler who always looks like a film star emerging from her stretch limo on her return from some ritzy Hollywood do at 4:00 A.M; the artist is all mascara, razzamatazz and flashy fashion
sense. She has fun dressing and she has fun with her art. An infectious sense of enjoyment is manifest in her every endeavour, and at her recent show, Maybe Time can Fold, at Everard Read’s Cape Town gallery, these are manifold, embracing silk embroidery, knitting and all the traditional ‘housewifely’ needlework skills which she subverts. Grobler eliminates any element of utility in her sculptural works, like Untitled which she transforms into a monumental epic creation that asserts a masculine audacity. This installation of tall columns rising from floor to ceiling – fashioned from, of all things, pipe cleaners, clearly demonstrates that her every piece resonates that uniquely Grobleresque quality of looking like nothing else that you have ever seen in your life. One is left so gob-smacked, all you can do is hurl adjectives at them. Her oeuvre is utterly unpredictable – fantastic, phantasmagorical, chimerical, amazing and off-the-wall – and always fireworks for the retina and the mind. An emphasis on tactility, her materials and their
kaleidoscopic textures and colours are the quintessence
unpredictability of the universe and the aberrant behaviour of
of her art, especially her two most resplendent creations.
time, place and space as described by the Relativity, Quantum
Crysalis – a weird, rounded, teardrop shape, about four
and Big Bang theories. She speaks of making the viewer
feet high and three in diameter – is improvised in a
‘become a granule in the process, a moment in the life of the
basketry technique employing industrial polyester,
universe as it extends in space and unrolls in time…’
mohair, hula hoops and dangling plaits of hair. Surprise is
In other words, her pieces aim to transform our
a constant, and here it stems from both the odd materials
consciousness. However, the intellectual content – the four
and organic sculptural form, even more from the two
dimensions, space, time circularity, the Nietzschean idea of
projecting feet and legs that suggest a human presence
history as eternal recurrence – is always presented with an
within this hairy carnivorous confabulation which verges
unfailing inventiveness and playful wit. The 49 abstract ink
on the surreal.
and pigment drawings address these concerns far more overtly,
Crows in Satpula Park, an abstraction that nevertheless
and consist of undulant parallel brushstrokes applied to both
evokes perspective, landscape and avian presences, is yet
dark and smouldering, and light, bright and airy grounds. All
another nonpareil. Executed in black velvet, silk, a variety
attest to a strong sense of pattern and rhythm, a flair for colour
of different fabrics, patterned and plain – all set off by
and, finally, a firm sense of order and discipline underneath the
Swarovski crystals that glitter and sparkle with brilliantly
appearance of an imagination running riot. Grobler’s instinct for
tinctured reflected light – its unbridled exoticism may reflect
interval and the play of solids and voids is also impeccable and
India, where it was conceived and executed.
achieves an almost musical quality. But there is also a darker side
So, what on earth is Maybe Time can Fold actually about?
to the artist that comes to the fore in What Remains, a suite of 49
Grobler claims that the goal of her art ‘is to confound all
works that look decidedly sinister, like hoary antlers, and evoke
expectations, make dreams tangible, take a step beyond
something primal and predatory, like fangs, claws and snakes,
reality and usher the viewer into a parallel universe. Hopefully
which immediately prompts shuddering recoil in the viewer.
this will shift the way the audience perceives and experiences
‘There is a strong sense of assertion. Every work boldly
reality and make them more reliant on feeling and intuition,
cries out, “this is me”. At last Grobler’s work has achieved
rather than reason.’ The artist proclaims, ‘ours is a colourful
a new coherence and vigour. Finally, the artist has come
and amazing world where universes explode, space collapses
into her glorious own,’ commented the gallery director,
into bottomless holes, time sags and slows near a planet, and
Charles Shields, and I can only concur that this devastatingly
the unbounded extensions of interstellar space ripple and
original artist surpasses most of her rivals, working far-out
sway like the surface of the sea…’ Her creations mirror the
on the cutting-edge. CF
Creative Feel / May 2017 / 57
KRUGERRAND:
Celebrating A Modern-Day Classic The Krugerrand brand has become synonymous with gold coinage the world over, since it was first introduced in South Africa on the 3rd July 1967.
I
ssued under the authority of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), the Krugerrand is the world’s leading legal tender bullion gold coin, designed for investment purposes and a more premium version is produced in
limited quantities for coin collectors. The coins are minted by the South African Mint, a subsidiary of the SARB, in partnership with Rand Refinery. At inception, the Krugerrand was developed as a 1-ounce gold investment coin and interestingly, although
coins have only ever been available in fine gold, since the
Krugerrands are legal tender, they do not have a face value
expansion of the range in 1980.
(denomination). The value of each coin is directly related
In celebration of half a century of pioneering coin-
to the value of its gold content, based on the daily gold
making, the South African Mint has issued an alluring
price. Other gold bullion coins, on the other hand, have
range of collectable Krugerrands, in addition to the four
a face value (currency denomination – e.g. R50) that is
traditional gold bullion coins. Once-off, collectable coins
significantly below the value of gold. In South Africa, the
to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Krugerrand
SARB guarantees the purchase of any Krugerrand tendered
include new large coins in the massive 50-ounce and
for the ruling gold price on the day, whereas with other gold
5-ounce gold coins; as well as much smaller ones in the
coins, the issuing government only guarantees the face value
¹/20-ounce and ¹/50-ounce gold coins.
(currency denominated on the coin).
For the first time in 2017, the Krugerrand has been
In 1980, fractional bullion Krugerrands were
minted in metals other than gold; a Premium Uncirculated
introduced in ¹/2, ¹/4 and ¹/10 ounces, as well as the
fine silver coin, a proof-quality fine silver coin as well as a
collectable, proof-quality range of Krugerrands. The
highly desirable fine platinum 1-ounce coin.
58 / Creative Feel / May 2017
The iconic prancing springbok that the very first Krugerrand bore in 1967 has remained consistent on all new Krugerrands. Modern coin making technology has been used to enhance and accentuate the details of the design of all the new coins, across the various sizes in all different metals. The Krugerrand today is the world’s most recognised gold coin, having been the first in this category. While many other countries have followed in issuing gold investment coins, they have done so with 24 carat gold, while Krugerrand coins are manufactured from 22 carat gold. The alloy material in the coins is copper, which was chosen to enhance hardness and therefore durability of the coins. Krugerrands, therefore, live beyond any of their 24 carat gold counterparts, as they are harder and have stood the test of time. To honour the legacy of this South African icon, a book released in February 2017, Krugerrand Golden Jubilee was written by Professor Francois Malan. The book gives a definitive narrative on how the Krugerrand became the world’s favourite gold bullion coin and follows a neat chronological order of events while offering insights into the coin’s early life, tumultuous growth years through apartheid and sanctions to the legend it has now become. The complete range of 2017 anniversary Krugerrands,
CONTACT DETAILS Tel: +27 (0) 12 677 2460/2482
Krugerrand Golden Jubilee book and other collectable coins
Email: Coinworld@samint.co.za or
commemorating various flora, fauna and prominent South
numismatics@samint.co.za
African icons and events, can be found at the South African
www.samint.co.za
Mint’s retail shop, Coin World, and at the South African Mint premises on Corner Old Johannesburg Road and Brakfontein Interchange. CF
Creative Feel / May 2017 / 59
THE MARKET SQUARE
The newly built Market Square has brought an interesting new dynamic to the arts hub in Newtown. The award-winning architecture, with stunning interior murals created by Artist Proof Studio, is the new home for the Market Theatre Foundation as well as a campus for students at the
T
he Market Square, the new addition to the Market Theatre complex, features ultra-modern spaces that include a theatre, library, auditorium, rehearsal rooms, dance studios, boardrooms and offices. It is
appropriately located between streets named after two of the country’s foremost vocalists – Miriam Makeba and Margaret Mcingana. The latest addition to the Newtown cultural precinct also stands adjacent to Mary Fitzgerald Square in
Market Theatre Laboratory and Market
the middle of Lilian Ngoyi and Rahima Moosa Streets. Former
Photo Workshop.
historic 1956 Women’s March.
62 / Creative Feel / April 2017
Bree and Jeppe Streets were renamed in memory of the
The Market Square PHOTO Mpho Mokgadi – a graduate of the Market Theatre Photo Workshop
‘I had a long-held desire to create a platform in South Africa for young people who had fallen through the cracks of apartheid and who have been victims of Bantu education to find their voice to speak out about issues that concerned them and their communities – and to give them the skills to do this,’ says Dr John Kani. The Market Theatre’s training and developmental wing was seen by the founders as an artistic and academic space where tutors and students could imagine and create theatrical works that reflected their vision of a free and decent society for all. It also offered an intellectually stimulating environment where students from underprivileged backgrounds could interact with some of their role models in the theatre world. The Lab opened in October 1989 in a small warehouse under the highway in Goch Street, Newtown, where professional tutors ran practical as well as theoretical courses for aspiring actors. The Lab quickly became a platform for young artists to meet and engage creatively and collaboratively, first in apartheid South Africa and later in the new democracy. With the success of the drama school, other programmes were initiated, including the community theatre programmes that have resulted in the annual Community Theatre Festival and Zwakala Festival, which showcase performances from around the country and which have unearthed hidden theatrical talents. Today the Market Theatre Lab has developed into one of the premiere training facilities of its kind in Southern Africa. It has trained exceptional performers and theatremakers including Olive Schreiner Award winner Phillip Dikotla; three Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year winners, Monageng Motshabi (2016), Prince Lamla (2013), and Mncedisi Shabangu (2014); and SAFTA award winners Harriet Manamela, Warren Masemola and Lindiwe Ndlovu. Scores of Lab graduates are working in the theatre industry as actors, writers and directors, and many are household names in South Africa today.
The Market Theatre Laboratory has always trained
‘Work started on the Market Square in 2011 and we
actors and theatre-makers. Founded by Barney Simon
moved in in December 2016,’ says Christine McDonald, Chief
and Dr John Kani in 1988, it is the educational arm of the
Financial Officer of the Market Theatre Foundation. ‘Five
world-famous Market Theatre and was the brainchild of
long years, but worth the wait. 2016 was also the year that
Barney Simon, co-founder of the Market Theatre. The idea
the Market turned 40 and the Market Square was a special
for the Lab was born in response to the community theatre
gift to the Market for a special birthday. The gift was made
sector’s need for high-quality training, and to provide
possible by National Treasury through the Department of
a seedbed for the creation of new South African plays.
Arts and Culture who funded the R100 mil project. The
John Kani, then Associate Artistic Director of the Market
Market Square was the result of the collective effort of a
Theatre, raised funds from the Rockefeller Foundation to
talented team of professionals who put in far more that what
set up the Lab.
was expected and contracted for: Badat Developments –
Creative Feel / April 2017 / 63
The Market Square PHOTO Mpho Mokgadi Project Manager; KMH – Architects; Walker Marè- Quantity
Foundation, Ismail Mahomed, at the time of the opening of
Surveyors; Protection Projects – Fire engineers; ADA –
the Vanessa Cooke Computer Room.
Structural engineers; Interiors for Change – floorplan design and furniture layout.’ The latest addition to the Market Square has been
The Market Photo Workshop is now also housed in the Market Square and continues to play a pivotal role in the training of South Africa’s photographers, ensuring that visual
a state-of-the-art resource centre, the Vanessa Cooke
literacy reaches neglected and marginalised parts of our society.
Computer Room, named after the actress who starred
Since it was founded in 1989 by world-renowned photographer
in the Market Theatre’s first play, Anton Chekov’s The
David Goldblatt, the Photo Workshop has been an agent of
Seagull, in 1976 and was for many years the head of the
change and representation, informing photographers, visual
Lab. Cooke officially retired from The Lab in 2008. Dan
artists, educators, students and broader communities of trends,
Robbertse took over as education officer between 2011
issues and debates in photography and visual culture.
and 2013, when he handed the reins to Clara Vaughn.
The alumni of the Market Photo Workshop include
Cooke is still a member of the Market Theatre family
some truly impressive names like Jodi Bieber who studied
and continues to contribute to the creation of new
at the Market Photo Workshop in the early 1990s and has
productions. The most recent play she directed at the
gone on to win countless awards, most notably the 2010
Market Theatre has been a revelation. Written by Siphiwo
World Press Photo of the Year award for her portrait of
Mahala and starring Sello Maake kaNcube, The House of
Bibi Aisha that featured on the cover of Time Magazine.
Truth (2016) has been sold out since its premiere at the
Today Bieber also mentors students with their grants to
National Arts Festival.
produce projects, and she gives lectures and photographic
‘We want our alumni and the teachers that they work with to take full advantage of arts education through the digital space,’ said Chief Executive of the Market Theatre
64 / Creative Feel / April 2017
workshops all over the world. Zanele Muholi, who completed an Advanced Programme in Photography at the Photo Workshop, has
The Market Square PHOTO Mpho Mokgadi gone on to become one of the most acclaimed female artists in South Africa. Muholi’s interest lies in the black
Bureaucracy of Everyday Life, Haus der Kunst, Munich (2013). Mpho Mokgadi completed the Advanced Programme
female body in a frank, yet intimate, way that challenges
at the Market Photo Workshop. He was the second
the history of the portrayal of black women’s bodies
runner-up in the Pretoria News and Nikon South Africa
in documentary photography. She has won numerous
competition in 2012. Group exhibitions include New
awards, including the Fine Prize for an emerging artist
Black and White Photography (2013) at 6 Spin Street
at the 2013 Carnegie International; a Prince Claus
in Cape Town; the African Film Collective in 2012 at
Award (2013); the Index on Censorship – Freedom of
the Exposure Gallery in Johannesburg and at a group
Expression Art Award (2013); and the Casa Africa Award
exhibition by Market alumni at the Joburg Fringe in
for Best Female Photographer and a Fondation Blachère
2015. In the same year he presented a selection of works
Award at Les Rencontres de Bamako Biennial of African
at THATARTFAIR in Cape Town. He participated in the
Photography (2009).
Gwanza Month of Photography in Harare in 2014. As
Sabelo Mlangeni studied at the Photo Workshop from
part of a residency at Pro Helvetia, Mokgadi developed
2001 to 2004. He won the Tollman Award for the Visual
the self-published photozine titled It’s kind of a difficult
Arts in 2009. In addition to shows at Stevenson Gallery, he
task. His first solo exhibition, IN SITU, was held at ROOM
has held solo shows at Aula der Akademie der Bildenden
Gallery & Projects in 2016.
Kunste Wien, Austria (2014); Goethe-Institut, Johannesburg
The Market Theatre is currently conducting weekly
(2013); and Iceberg Projects, Chicago (2012). Notable group
90-minute tours of the precinct on Wednesdays and
exhibitions include Public Intimacy: Art and Social Life in South
guests can hear about The Market’s four-decade history
Africa at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco
through anecdotes gleaned from the playhouse’s
(2014); Apartheid and After at Huis Marseille, Amsterdam
anniversary coffee-table book, 40 Years of Storytelling:
(2014); Rise and Fall of Apartheid: Photography and the
1976-2016. CF
Creative Feel / April 2017 / 65
Zenzi and Miriam Makeba
A celebration of our nation’s Between 29 June and 8 July, some of South Africa and the world’s top young and established jazz musicians take to Grahamstown for the Standard Bank Jazz Festival. This year’s programme promises to be exciting and different and, as always, excellent.
‘W
e celebrate two exciting anniversaries
into jazz in Grahamstown, as Standard Bank Young Artists;
this year,’ says Festival Producer, Alan
or in the Standard Bank National Youth Jazz Band (SBNYJB)
Webster. ‘Twenty years of sponsorship
or Schools’ Bands (SBNSBB); or simply as youngsters having
of the jazz festival by Standard Bank, a
their minds blown by what they have seen on the DSG stage.
corporate funder who has altered the cultural landscape of
Welcome to a celebration of the past and future of our
South Africa in its support of the arts; and 25 years of the
nation’s jazz!’
Standard Bank National Youth Jazz Festival (SBNYJF) – a
Neo Muyanga is the 2017 National Arts Festival Featured
festival that has provided musicians, teachers and students
Artist, performing in various musical styles across this year’s
with key networking opportunities and exposed them to
festival. Born in Soweto, he studied the Italian madrigal
the world in a fashion unique in South Africa and possibly
tradition with choral maestro Piero Poclen in Trieste, Italy
the world, catalysing the growth of our national jazz
and in the mid-1990s he co-founded the acoustic duo, Blk
identity in the process.’
Sonshine, garnering a following throughout Southern Africa
Webster adds that the 2017 programme is ‘threaded
and internationally. His music is hybridised, playing along
through with musicians who have made their initial forays
the boundaries of the crafted and the improvised, or as he
66 / Creative Feel / May 2017
Jimmy Nevis
Kyle Shepherd
explains, ‘sound as a median between thought and practice.’
attended the Jazz Festival since he was 15 and been selected
The Neo Muyanga Trio, featuring Neo Muyanga (voice,
for the Standard Bank National Youth Jazz Band three times.
guitar), Peter Ndlala (bass) and Andre Swartz (drums), will
His sound is clearly rooted in church and South African
perform at the DSG Hall on Sunday 2 July at 12:00.
music and he hopes that, with every performance, a listener
Grahamstown is renowned for its unique opportunities
is given a musical biography of his life while also sending
for musical collaboration, which this year includes Tumi
them on a journey of hope, upliftment and encouragement.
Mogorosi and Gabi Motuba working with Swiss musicians,
Made up of musicians Benjamin Jephta (bass), Sisonke Xonti
Feya Faku also with Swiss, Zoe Modiga with Germans and
(sax), Marcus Wyatt (trumpet), Keenan Ahrends (guitar), Kyle
a host of other interesting opportunities. On top of that
Shepherd (piano) and Sphelelo Mazibuko (drums), the Sestet
are two international superstar performances – Israeli/
will perform on Tuesday 4 July at the DSG Hall at 19:30.
French pianist Yaron Herman with drummer Ziv Ravitz,
Jephta will also present ‘Akoustik Elektrik’, featuring
and Brazilian bassist extraordinaire, 21-year-old Michael
Sisonke Xonti (sax), Justin Bellairs (sax), Marcus Wyatt
Pipoquinha with his trio – as well as heavyweight South
(trumpet), Kyle Shepherd (piano), Bokani Dyer (piano),
Africans Judith Sephuma and Marcus Wyatt (with his
Sphelelo Mazibuko (drums), Eden Myrrh (voice) and
Bombshelter Beast) and the hip young bands of The Kiffness
Jitsvinger (MC). His second Standard Bank Young Artist
(with Matthew Gold), The Soil, GoodLuck and Jimmy Nevis.
performance fuses his love for jazz with hip-hop, electronic
The Benjamin Jephta Sestet has been together since
and rock music, reflecting the influence of popular culture
Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz 2017 Benjamin Jephta
on young people in the 21st century. ‘Akoustik Elektrik’
recorded his debut album Homecoming in 2014. Jephta has
aims to blend or manipulate acoustic instruments with
precocious talent, having performed since the age of 14 with
electronic synths to create a sound that cuts through hip-
various orchestras and small ensembles in Africa, Europe
hop, electronic and jazz to form something fresh and new.
and Asia, and is a true veteran of Grahamstown, having
As with all of his compositions, Jephta is constantly dealing
Creative Feel / May 2017 / 67
The Soil with the concept of identity – as an artist or as a human
instrumentalist, playing at virtuoso level on all the brass,
being. Akoustik Elektrik will be #keepingitfresh on Friday 7
piano, saxophones and double bass. He has been guest
July at the DSG Hall at 19:30.
soloist with the London Symphony Orchestra and Berlin
On 5 July, Jephta will join Dutch guitarist/composer
Philharmonic, and performed with artists such as Dizzy
Anton Goudsmit; South African saxophonist living in
Gillespie, George Benson, Phil Collins, Ray Charles and
Norway, Shannon Mowday; and Norwegian drummer
Wynton Marsalis, headlining festivals such as the Montreux
Torstein Lofthus for Funk! at 19:00 at the DSG Auditorium.
and North Sea Jazz Festivals and playing in the world’s great
Anton Goudsmit is one of the most impressive and diverse
jazz clubs. Morrison composed and performed the opening
musicians on the Dutch music scene – a scene that is world-
for the Sydney Olympic Games, and in 2013 conducted
renowned for both its technical precision and its creativity.
the World’s Largest Orchestra of 7 224 musicians, setting
In addition to her Funk! collaboration, highly skilled
a new Guinness World Record. He also established the
saxophonist Shannon Mowday will also perform on Tuesday
James Morrison Academy of Music (partnered with The
4 July at 22:00 at the DSG Hall. The Standard Bank Young
Juilliard), has a pilot’s license and hosted Top Gear Australia.
Artist for Jazz in 2007 attended the very first SBNYJF in 1992
The James Morrison Quartet consists of James Morrison
with her father, a woodwind teacher in Cape Town and she’s
(trumpet, trombone - AU), William Morrison (guitar - AU),
come a long way in the past 25 years! Skilled on multiple
Harry Morrison (bass - AU) and Patrick Danao (drums -
woodwind instruments, she has specialised in baritone,
AU), their performance will take place at the DSG Hall on
bass sax and bass clarinet but has also become a renowned
Wednesday 5 July at 19:30.
composer and arranger with a focus on combining South
Not only is this year’s Festival Big Band a collection of some
African and Scandinavian music styles. She has performed
of South Africa’s top jazz musicians (led by Fredrik Norén,
all around the world in many ensembles, and is presently a
leader of the Stockholm Jazz Orchestra) but it is also a tribute
member of two top Scandinavian bands – Ensemble Denada
to the impact of 25 years of the Standard Bank National Youth
and Nils Landgren’s All-Star Big Band. She shares the stage
Jazz Festival – every South African member of the band (with
with musicians with whom she has collaborated in Africa
three older exceptions) was a member at some stage of the
and Europe, including Jeroen van Vliet (piano – NL), Shane
Standard Bank National Youth Jazz Band! The James Morrison
Cooper (bass) and Torstein Lofthus (drums – NO).
Quartet & Festival Big Band is made up of James Morrison
The artist that has taken Alan Webster ‘17 years of
(trumpet - AU), William Morrison (guitar - AU), Harry Morrison
pleading to get here’, James Morrison from Australia, will
(bass - AU), Patrick Danao (drums - AU) and Sax: Shannon
perform on 5 and 6 July with the James Morrison Quartet
Mowday, Justin Bellairs, Marc de Kock, Sisonke Xonti, Mike
and with the James Morrison Quartet & Festival Big Band.
Rossi; Trumpet: Fredrik Norén (SE), Marcus Wyatt, Robin
James Morrison is undoubtedly the world’s greatest multi-
Fassie-Kock, Sakhile Simani, Marco Maritz; Trombone: Andreas
68 / Creative Feel / May 2017
Africa Plus
Linda Sikhakhane
Rotevatn (NO), Justin Sasman, Kelly Bell, Murray Buitendag;
is Michael Phillips on bass, Leagan Breda on drums and
Piano: Bokani Dyer. This exciting performance takes place on 6
Lindelani Lee (percussion).
July at 19:30 at DSG Hall. Performing on 30 June and twice on 1 July, Andy Narell
The last time Zenzi Makeba Lee performed in Grahamstown was with her grandmother. That performance
has spent more than a quarter-century exploring the
decades ago has stuck in her mind as special: ‘There was,’
subtleties and complexities of steel-pan playing and grafting
she says, ‘such a vibe in Grahamstown and an appreciation
them to the jazz idiom. Narell introduced the steel drums
of jazz as art.’ Born in New York, Makeba Lee grew up
to jazz as a solo instrument, playing not only Caribbean
surrounded by music, singing as backing vocalist for her
and Latin melodies but R&B, funk, and straight-ahead
grandmother, Hugh Masekela and Dizzy Gillespie, and then
jazz. Never satisfied with the musical status quo, Narell
studying at the Manhattan School of Music, majoring in
continuously pushes the boundaries of musical innovation
composition and vocals. She received a KORA Award for
and performance. On 30 June and 1 July Narell, with Louis
‘Most Promising Female Artist’ and as a prolific composer
Mhlanga (guitar), Peter Sklair (bass), Vusi Khumalo (drums)
she has contributed towards several internationally
and Tlale Makhene (percussion), presents a fascinating
awarded albums, such as her co-written songs for Miriam
collaboration of steel pan fused with World Music and jazz.
Makeba’s GRAMMY Award-nominated album Homeland.
Both performances take place at the DSG Hall at 22:00 and
She continues to record and perform internationally and
12:00 respectively.
in March this year released her latest album, entitled Wipe
For his second performance on 1 July at the Standard Bank
Your Tears, to critical acclaim. Makeba Lee performs again
Jazz & Blues Café at 22:30, Narell explores jazz standards and
with Afrika Mkhize (piano), Michael Phillips (bass), Leagan
African and Caribbean fusions with guest musicians.
Breda (drums) and Lindelani Lee (percussion) on 1 July at
You don’t get a more aristocratic South African jazz
17:00 at the DSG Hall. CF
pedigree than the marriage – personal and musical – between the granddaughter of Miriam Makeba and the son
These incredible musicians are just a taste of what this year’s
of Themba Mkhize. Zenzi Makeba Lee and Afrika Mkhize
visitors can expect. For ten days, the Standard Bank Jazz
have carried the family musical torch further, with Makeba
Festival in Grahamstown (incorporating the Standard Bank
Lee a well-respected vocalist with a career forged in New
National Youth Jazz Festival) will present a programme of some
York and Mkhize the mercurial winner of the Standard
of South Africa’s top jazz and jazz-inspired musicians alongside
Bank Young Artist Award for Jazz in 2012 with a prolific
their international colleagues from the Netherlands, Switzerland,
record of performance, composition and production. The
Norway, Sweden, France, Israel, the US, Australia and Brazil. For
Standard Bank Jazz Café will be a very pleasant place to be
the full programme, visit www.standardbank.com/naf,
for late Friday night jazz on 30 June at 22:30. Joining them
www.youthjazz.co.za or www.creativefeel.co.za.
Creative Feel / May 2017 / 69
Book Reviews Recently published
The Hearts of Men | By Nickolas Butler | Publisher: Picador, an imprint of Pan Macmillan | ISBN: 9781509827916 Camp Chippewa, 1962. Nelson Doughty, age thirteen, social outcast and overachiever, is the Bugler, sounding the reveille proudly each morning. Yet this particular summer marks the beginning of an uncertain and tenuous friendship with a popular boy named Jonathan. Over the years, Nelson, irrevocably scarred from the Vietnam War, becomes Scoutmaster of Camp Chippewa, while Jonathan marries, divorces, and turns his father’s business into a highly profitable company. And when something unthinkable happens at a camp get-together with Nelson as Scoutmaster and Jonathan’s teenage grandson and daughterin-law as campers, the aftermath demonstrates the depths – and the limits – of Nelson’s selflessness and bravery. The Hearts of Men is a sweeping, panoramic novel about the slippery definitions of good and evil, family and fidelity, the challenges and rewards of lifelong friendships, the bounds of morality—and redemption.
The Artist’s Way | By Julia Cameron |
I am Pandarus | By Michiel Heyns
Cult Sister | By Lesley Smailes
Publisher: Macmillan, an imprint of Pan
| Publisher: Jonathan Ball | ISBN:
| Publisher: Tafelberg, an
Macmillan | ISBN: 9781509829477
9781868427758
imprint of NB Publishers | ISBN
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
I am Pandarus is a retelling, from a
9780624080404
provides a twelve-week course that
modern perspective, of the story of
After matric Lesley took a gap
guides you through the process of
Troilus and Criseyde, as previously
year to the United States. Before
recovering your creative self. It aims
told by Chaucer and Shakespeare.
she left, her mother, in jest or
to dispel the ‘I’m not talented enough’
The narrator in Michiel Heyns’ lively
premonition, said: ‘Don’t get
conditioning that holds many people
iteration is the go-between, Pandarus.
married and don’t join a cult’
back and helps you to unleash your own
But the novel opens in a gay bar in
– but Lesley ended up in what
inner artist. Its step-by-step approach
present-day London when an editor at
is considered one of the most
enables you to transform your life,
a publishing house, recently abandoned
dangerous existing cults in
overcome any artistic blocks you may
by his lover, is accosted by a charismatic
America. In this book Lesley shares
suffer from, including limiting beliefs,
stranger. The stranger turns out to
the story of her life-changing years
fear, sabotage, jealousy and guilt, and
be the modern avatar of Pandarus,
with this group – living out of a
replace them with self confidence
intent on getting his version of events
backpack, an arranged marriage
and productivity. The Artist’s Way
published; countering the unflattering
to a Brother, having home births,
will demystify the creative process by
portrait of him that Shakespeare has
threats of losing her children and
making it a part of your daily life.
given to the world.
surviving in strange, glorious ways.
70 / Creative Feel / May 2017
TURN UP THE QUIET The multiple GRAMMY® Award-winning jazz pianist and world-renowned singer Diana Krall’s highly anticipated new album Turn Up the Quiet will be released on 5 May by Verve Records.
Y
ou only need to hear a few bars of Diana Krall’s new album Turn Up the Quiet to sense the joy the
most beautifully chosen orchestrations by Alan Broadbent. A quintet with Karriem Riggins on drums and Tony
artist took in making this recording. The first
Garnier on bass features the fiddle of Stuart Duncan on ‘I’ll
words Krall sings are, ‘Lately, I find myself out
See You In My Dreams’, while Marc Ribot provides some
gazing at stars’. Minutes later, the same voice asks, ‘Isn’t it
of his most lyrical guitar playing with the band’s exquisite
romantic?’ with such tenderness that it is hard to disagree.
version of ‘Moonglow’.
‘I have thought about these songs for a long time,’
The third ensemble on Turn Up the Quiet with guitarist,
says Krall. ‘Being in the company of some of my greatest
Anthony Wilson, bassist, John Clayton Jr. and drummer, Jeff
friends in music allowed me to tell these stories just as I’d
Hamilton provides some of the most hushed and cinematic
intended. Sometimes you just have to turn up the quiet to
performances of the record; ‘Sway’ suggesting the story that
be heard a little better.’
continues after other movies have faded to black.
Diana Krall is first and always a jazz pianist. This time
Krall has always reached back into the riches of the past
out she is most determinedly the bandleader. She has chosen
to animate and inhabit songs in the present moment but
the repertoire, conceived the ensemble arrangements and
here on Turn Up the Quiet, she shakes any remaining dust
gathered three distinct bands for these sessions.
from some of the finest leaves in that greatest of songbooks.
Turn Up the Quiet is a co-production with Tommy
Themes of love and hope are to be found in her choices
LiPuma, producer of many of Krall’s most acclaimed albums,
but this is no mere escapism. Turn Up the Quiet is the work
including, All For You, The Look Of Love and Live In Paris. The
and play of a woman in the best days and nights of her life.
record was once again peerlessly engineered and mixed by Al
Diana Krall is the only jazz singer to have eight albums
Schmitt at Capitol Studios in Hollywood, California. Turn Up the Quiet begins with the trio of Krall, bassist,
debut at the top of the Billboard Jazz Albums chart. To date, her albums have garnered five GRAMMY® Awards,
Christian McBride and guitarist, Russell Malone, who take
eight Juno® Awards and have also earned nine gold, three
a marvelous ride through ‘Blue Skies’. This lineup returns
platinum and seven multi-platinum albums. Krall’s unique
near the close of the record to be at the very heart of Johnny
artistry transcends any single musical style and has made
Mercer’s ’Dream’, which is also graced by one of the album’s
her one of the most acclaimed artists of our time. CF
Creative Feel / May 2017 / 71
THEIR FINEST DIRECTOR: Lone Scherfig STARRING: Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin, Bill Nighy With London emptied of men now fighting at the Front, Catrin Cole lands herself writing copy for propaganda films that need ‘a woman’s touch’. Her natural flair quickly gets her noticed by dashing movie producer Buckley whose path would never have crossed hers in peacetime. With the country’s morale at stake, Catrin, Buckley and a colourful crew work furiously to make a film that will warm the hearts of the nation. As bombs are dropping all around them, Catrin discovers there is as much drama, comedy and passion behind the camera as there is onscreen.
72 / Creative Feel / May 2017
GEMMA ARTERTON SAM CLAFLIN
THEIR FROM
NIGHY
FINEST AND BILL
LONE SCHERFIG, THE ACCLAIMED DIRECTOR OF AN EDUCATION AND ONE DAY
THE SPIRIT OF THE NATION IS IN HER HANDS
13
AT CINEMAS 2 JUNE Creative Feel / May 2017 / 73
encore Dave Mann is the managing editor at Between 10and5 and co-editor of
Ja. magazine. He has been awarded a 2015 Eastern Cape Arts Award for his writing on the arts in Grahamstown, and a 2016 BASA gold award for longform journalism.
Name three artworks that you love and why.
exclusionary and that the internet is beating them at their
Visual art: Moses Tladi’s Highveld Summer Rainstorm. It’s a
own game, which is making for some exciting new ways in
beautifully macabre painting, rich with emotion. Looking at
which art is being presented and consumed, locally. Artists
it always helps me feel calm.
themselves seem to be realising more immediately when
Music: I’m currently obsessed with Jumping Back Slash’s
they’re being used as an aesthetic or as a tool for profit by ad
‘Khula Naye’. It features vocals by a singer/songwriter
agencies and the corporate hellbroth, and they’re pushing
named Hlasko who is just incredible.
back against it which is brilliant to see.
Illustration: Hannah Shone’s illustrated series This Must Be The Place. It shares a name with my favourite Talking
Name one thing you think would improve the arts and
Heads song and is a wonderfully simple body of work. I
culture industry in South Africa.
have the title artwork ‘This Must Be The Place’ hanging
Complete democratisation of the arts: The breaking down
above my desk. It reminds me that home is less of a place
of the idea that art is this sacred, upper echelon medium of
than it is a mindset.
communication or understanding. The sooner we realise that art is simply another way of understanding the world, the
Name one artist you would love to meet.
sooner we can break down the largely elitist structures that
Ernest Hemingway. He’s dead now so it’ll never happen, but
surround it.
I’d love to ask him where he got all that courage from! What is your most treasured possession? What are you reading at the moment?
Probably my camera. I can’t do much in the way of brilliant
Zadie Smith’s On Beauty when I sit on the balcony at home,
photography, but I do love documenting my life and the
and Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore when I’m in bed.
people in it through more than just words.
What is in your car’s CD player?
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
A cacophonic mix of exclusively local electronic artists,
Advertising. Always advertising.
bands, instrumentalists, and vocalists. What is it that makes you happy? If you could change one thing about yourself, what
My partner, Youlendree. Music. Good writing. New art. My
would it be?
little family of plants. Having the time to really appreciate
I’d like to finally master the act of writing more instead of
all of these things.
sitting around and whining about how I never write enough. Describe a defining moment in your life. How have the arts industries in South Africa changed
Reading a piece of writing and thinking, ‘I’d quite like to do
over the last ten years?
this with my life.’
Arts media has died and come back to life a thousand times, always reinventing itself, but never in a very sustainable
Name one goal you would like to achieve in the next
fashion. That’s okay though, it seems to keep the writing
twelve months.
fresh. Artistic establishments such as theatre houses and
Get some writing published that’s more than just me
galleries are starting to realise that they’re historically
waffling on about how much I love art. CF
e Johannesburg’s premier event showcasing the leaders in décor and design. From 12 to 14 May, DESIGN JOBURG, featuring Rooms on View, will transform the Sandton Convention Centre into the continent’s most coveted and inspirational design destination. With roomsets and collaborations at the heart of the show, DESIGN JOBURG will provide a three-day platform for visitors and exhibitors to mingle and discover the very latest trends and innovations. ASSOCIATE SPONSORS:
Creative Feel / April 2017 / 75
IMAGES COURTESY OF: (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) KOHLER, ST LEGER & VINEY, STUDIO 19, GENERATION, CREMA
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