National Arts Festival Experience 2021
T H E A RT S A N D G R I E F B Y M AT H A P E L O M O F O K E N G
Wi t h c l o s e t o 7 0 0 0 0 South Africans lost d u e t o C o v i d - 1 9, m a n y of us f ind ourselves i n c o n s t a n t m o u r n i n g. We m o u r n o u r l o s t livelihoods, loved ones a n d a l i fe t h a t d o e s n ’t r e q u i r e m a s k - w e a r i n g, sanitising and physical d i s t a n c i n g. T h e a r t s a n d culture sector - already a challenging landscape t o b e p a r t o f - h a s fe l t the insurmountable loss a n d i m p a c t b r o u gh t b y t h e p a n d e m i c ke e n l y. Many have been lef t without work and audience s, events have been cancelled, beloved o r ga n i s a t i o n s h a v e c l o s e d and so many of our colleague s have passed on.
On top of that, our mourning traditions have also been interrupted b y t h i s v i r u s . We f i n d ourselves unable to grieve a s a c o m m u n i t y, a n d ins tead, we are bur ying our loved ones over video c o n fe r e n c i n g p l a t fo r m s and left to mend our cr ying hear ts in isolation. Wo r k i n g t h r o u gh l o s s h a s become more challenging t h a n e v e r. O n e w a y a r t i s t s are facing this crisis is by relying on their practice s t o p r o c e s s t h e i r g r i e f. This, of course, is not a surprise because the ar ts have always been a p l a c e fo r e x p l o r a t i o n , proce ssing and ref lection fo r a r t i s t s a n d t h e i r audience s. The value of
their role at this time, to create and hold space s - be they physical or vir tual cannot be undere s timated. It is in those space s that we are able to explore and t r a n s fo r m o u r o w n l o s s e s . E a r l i e r t h i s y e a r, b e l o v e d c o - fo u n d e r a n d A s s o c i a t e Ar tis tic Director of Un m u t e D a n c e T h e a t r e , Themba Mbuli passed o n . Un m u t e i s a d a n c e company that has created f ive inclusive projects that have helped create acce ss and integrate people with and without disabilities in one environment. Nadine Mc ke n z i e , c o - fo u n d e r a n d A r t i s t i c D i r e c t o r, s a i d t h i s about their loss, “Our company is ver y small
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