NAC Newsletter - 5th Issue - 110214 (1)

NAC VOICE / 2

BREAKING NEW GROUND - ISSUE 5

Ed’s Note IT GIVES ME GREAT PLEASURE to present this bumper issue of the NACSA Voice. It is loaded with stories, ideas and inspirational articles. The NAC has been hard at work, developing new creative strategies around the role that it has to play in the country. Take advantage of the 2014 Call for Funding: Arts Projects and International Bursaries on page 5.

In this issue, we will meet the NAC’s Advisory Panel members who fulfil the statutory role of advising the Council on the merits of applications for funding and on any matters relating to the arts field they are appointed to.

On page 6 see how curating is taking a turn in South Africa. Regarding this practice, our Chairperson Mme Angie Makwetla gave a heartfelt speech at the NEWWORK13 exhibition. Find out more on page 8.

Thank you to all the contributors and the communications team for a job well done. We want to make the NACSA Voice as interactive as possible, so we encourage you to continue writing to us with suggestions on topics that you think will be of interest to our readers.

Enjoy the read!

Editorial Team

Managing Editor: Rosemary Mangope (CEO)

Editor: Carol Maluleke (Communications Manager)

Editorial Assistants: Thando Ndlovu and Mpho Mokoteli

Copy Editor: Bronwyn King

Distribution

Setty Mdluli

Editorial Policy: We welcome suggestions, story ideas,

poetry and prose. The NACSA Voice reserves the right to

edit or amend submissions. Please provide full contact

details with all submissions to: [email protected].

Design, Layout and Printing

Harry’s Printers, Pretoria

NACSA VoiceCommunication and Marketing

National Arts Council of SA66 Margaret Mcingana Street

Cnr Gwigwi Mrwebi StreetNewtown

Johannesburg2113

www.nac.org.za

Carol Maluleke Editor

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ContentsED’s Note

CEO’s Note

Call for Applications for Funding 2014

The Educational Turn in Curating

Angie Makwetla’s Speech at the NEWWORK13

Meet the NAC Discipline Panel Members

Lest We Forget

Welcome to the NAC

Appreciating People Living with Disabilities

Embracing the Challenge of Collaborative Strategy Execution

Mmabana Arts, Culture and Sport Foundation Presents Florence

Macufe Vibes

Printmaking Exhibition 2013

Street Art Exhibition 2013

The Fifth Annual Isipantsula Festival

Upcoming Events in 2014

Contributors

Ms Rosemary Mangope (CEO: NAC) and Ms Lindi Ngcobo (ADO*: Music),

Professor David Andrew (Senior Lecturer: Head of Division) from The Wits

School of Arts, Ms Puleng Lesala (ADO: Visual Arts), Ms Judy Henshall from

the Siyavuma Foundation, Mr Mohlala from Dikwena Tse Bo Tse Matsepe,

Mr Tshepiso Phetlhu and Mr Fitzgerald Goeieman (Mmabana Arts, Culture

and Sport Foundation: Florence), Simangele Chauke (ADO: Craft); David

Brown Fine Art, Mr Simon Phiri from Isipantsula Dance Festival and the

various NAC discipline panel members. Thank you for your interest in

writing for Waterways World.

We are always pleased to receive news items, illustrated articles and

photographs for possible publication. Before submitting an article, please

read the latest issue of the NACSA Voice available at the NAC office in

Newtown or call 011 838 1383 or e-mail [email protected] so that you can

get an idea of our style and content.

*ADO - Arts Development Officer

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CEO’s NoteIN MY FIRST 100 DAYS of work at the NAC, the

focus has been on developing a well-defined agenda

for change and transformation commencing with

a plan of action to achieve a number of important

outcomes. Under the stewardship of the Council,

we continue to provide the requisite leadership

for a strategically focused organisation that has to

effectively deliver on its objectives.

We want to continue to serve the best interests of

our stakeholders through positive performance and

realise our mandate. In this regard, the NAC staff

has been hard at work to bring to life the annual

performance targets in line with the strategic plan

of the NAC.

The NAC remains focused on its core mission to

promote and develop the arts and artists. A number

of projects will be launched between 2014 and

2017 that will raise the profile of arts and culture in

South Africa.

The NACSA Voice will be taking you through this

exciting journey, incorporating contributions that

will provide the ‘Golden Thread’. We intend to

mine the valuable information from our present

and previously funded projects that will inspire you.

The Golden Thread holds the story together like a

thread woven through cloth. It is golden because

the thread provides a valuable contribution, not only

by holding the parts of the story together, but also

by reminding the reader of an important theme or

element in the story.

We will celebrate with you the journey and success

of the projects we have funded and demonstrate

the significant role of the arts as a key driver for

socio-economic development.

Your partner in creating opportunities,

Rosemary Mangope

NAC CEO

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Call for Applications for Funding 2014Arts Projects and International Bursaries:

Performing Arts

Closing date: 25 April 2014 Outcomes date: 30 June 2014

THE NATIONAL ARTS COUNCIL hereby invites individuals and registered arts organisations in the following arts disciplines: Craft, Visual Arts and Literature to submit their applications for project funding. Applications are invited for projects of national significance that are involved in the creation of new works, arts development, arts promotion and that facilitate access to the arts and markets. Furthermore, applications that have a strong community base and have been conceived in collaboration with others working in similar fields will be preferable. Projects that celebrate the 20 years anniversary of freedom and democracy are also encouraged to apply.

Conditions for acceptance of applications:

• Allrelevantsectionsoftheapplicationformmustbefilledincompletely;• Allrequesteddocumentationmustbesubmittedwiththeapplicationform;• Applicationsmustbesubmittedonorbefore25April2014nolaterthan16H00.

This invitation is also open to arts organisations and individuals that support the involvement of women, youth and people living with disabilities.

Please note that late and incomplete applications will not be considered at all and no exceptions will be made. Application forms and funding guidelines are available from the National Arts Council office or can be downloaded from www.nac.org.za.

For more information, contact the Arts Development Officers at the NAC office.

PLEASE NOTE: ONLY POSTED, COURIERED AND HAND DELIVERED APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED.

National Arts CouncilPO Box 500

Newtown2113

66 Margaret Mcingana Street Market Theatre Precinct

Newtown2113

Tel: (011) 838-1383 Fax (011) 838-6363

Email: [email protected]

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CURATING HAS BECOME A SPECIALISED AREA of

study in the field of visual arts but it is, unfortunately,

only offered internationally. Local higher learning

institutions have begun to explore this qualification

further as none of these institutions offer curating as

a full-time graduate qualification but only as short

courses. This qualification is offered from a Masters

Degree onwards. This is a growing career path and

there is an increase in opportunities in South Africa

for those with the requisite qualifications.

The NAC Approach to Skills Development in

Curatorship

Currently, there are no universities in South Africa

that offer this course yet there are a number of public

institutions with unfilled posts that require this skill

and qualification. Those who occupy such positions

in South Africa have acquired their qualifications

from international universities. The skills learnt from

this course are highly specialised and are not easily

learnt though short and informal training. Areas of

specialisation within this field include conservation

and restoration in painting (oil and acrylics), wood,

ceramics, paper and metal works of art.

The NAC’s Visual Arts Panel proposed that a

scholarship in these areas of specialisation be

made available to contribute towards the current

lack in the sector. The scholarship award would

be structured as a project with a targeted number

of recipients and a specific project period. For

example, three recipients of a two-year Masters

scholarship at a credible university may be offered.

The Visual Arts Panel appointed an independent

institution, the Visual Arts Network of South Africa

(VANSA), to run the research part of the project.

The purpose of the research was to provide the

following information:

• The landscape of the current courses offered in

the country and the costs.

• Course content.

• What is considered a prestigious course in the

international context, its costs and offerings.

• Which institutions offer internship opportunities.

The research will be presented to the Visual Arts

Panel at its next funding meeting and the members

will be better able to make an informed decision

regarding its approach to this initiative.

The Educational Turn in Curating

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The Curatorial Talks

The Curatorial Talks are a series of public seminars

to be held annually with the focus on curatorial

and exhibition practices. Starting for the first time

in 2013, these talks were visualised to engage a

varied group of industry experts such as curators,

lecturers, museum directors, gallery owners,

archivists, anthropologists and exhibition makers

who would be invited to discuss their practices

in relation to their specific area of expertise. For

each year, a theme relating to this practice will be

chosen. The theme for 2013 was the “Educational

Turn in Curating” and looked at the development

of educational programmes in curatorial exhibition

practices. This turn asserts that curating increasingly

operates as an expanded educational practice

distinguished from theory.

In South Africa, this is evidenced by the increase

in curatorial workshops and the emergence of

curatorial courses in academia. These workshops

and courses are attracting a larger range of

students across various disciplines. The Curatorial

Talks project acknowledges that South African

exhibition practice is promoted by the rapid growth

in curatorially driven initiatives that give value and

meaning to contemporary art. It also acknowledges

that there is now an expectation of curatorial

thought behind every public show. As a result, the

project has also encouraged academic institutions

to begin curriculum development in curatorial

practice, given its growth as a professional practice.

The Curatorial Talks are thus aimed at contributing

to this on-going discourse through public forums

as a way of acknowledging and encouraging the

growth of this industry practice. The project also

assists in evaluating the need and impact of this

practice. It is hoped that this project will involve an

annual meeting with the purpose of discussing and

recording industry growth and monitoring changes

within the practice of curating and exhibition

making.

The Objectives

To acknowledge the turning point of curatorial

practice based on the growing interest from

museums, project spaces, commercial galleries

and academia.

To create a platform for discussing the emergence

of curatorship and to map the impact of the

profession within the South African landscape.

To consider the trends and learning modes, formats,

methods, programmes, terms, processes and

procedures of both curating and the production of

exhibitions.

To look at curating as a space of conversational

artistic practice that encourages research and

the creation of meaning for contemporary art and

space.

Who will benefit and how

Through funding from the NAC, the Curatorial Talks

will be offered free of charge to young emerging

curators. They will, firstly, be exposed to a group

of industry professionals for potential networking.

Secondly, they will be gaining insights into the

changing patterns, trends and relevant issues

surrounding this practice.

Compensation and transformation strategies

to offer transportation and accommodation to

emerging curators living in poorly funded areas

such as Limpopo, Vaal and the Eastern Cape will

be devised. It will also give exposure to young,

emerging curators who are beginning to receive

critical acclaim and who will have an opportunity

to speak about the topic and their areas of interest.

These young curators will also engage with other

forms of curatorship such as curating educational

programmes around art which can benefit schools,

projects and experimental spaces.

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THE NEWWORK13 WAS AN EXHIBITION of art

by the graduating class of the Wits School of Arts

(WSOA) for 2013. It was the public debut of a new

generation of young artists. As always, the annual

show took place at the Wits Art Museum (WAM) in

Johannesburg.

The group show was not curated, neither was

it held together by a single concept, a specific

material or a range of processes. The glue that

bound these young artists together was their

common engagement with their studies for the BA

Degree in Fine Art, for the duration of four years.

The exhibition was a diverse mix of contemporary

and current responses to questions that arose from

their location in Johannesburg, South Africa and the

world. The work spaned a range of media including

printmaking, painting, photography, sculpture,

installation and performance art.

The WSOA believes that a Fine Arts education

extends beyond the academic by encouraging

the students to participate in the wider art arena.

This, coupled with the combination of conceptually

and technically challenging studio practice and a

rigorous academic curriculum, equips graduates

with the skills to excel in many different fields.

The school’s graduates are among the top

professionals working in the arts world. Well-known

graduates of the DIVA programme include Tracey

Rose, Jane Alexander, Kemang Wa Lehulere,

Serge Alain Nitegeka, Candice Breitz and Kendell

Geers. The WSOA encourages interdisciplinary

partnerships, allowing for professional relationships

and collaborations to develop and continue beyond

graduation.

At the opening of the exhibition, Mme Matlhodi

Angelina Makwetla, Chairperson of the National Arts

Council, gave a heartfelt speech entitled ‘The Role

Played by the Arts in Living a Purpose Driven Life’.

Makwetla warmly congratulated all the students for

following their passions and for achieving what she

aptly called ‘the beginning of their dreams.’ The

Chairperson drew attention to the idea of leaving

a legacy and to its role in ensuring motivation.

NAC ChairpersonAngie Makwetla at the NEWWORK13Art Exhibition

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She said that leaving a legacy for young people

is her mission in life. Part of this mission includes

communicating to others that there is a reason we

are here. Makwetla encouraged the audience to

seek out their individual purpose and to understand

that being truly alive means being able to make

a contribution to humanity. The importance of

knowing oneself first before one can share with

others was also highlighted.

Makwetla stated that we all have something

unique to share with the world and illustrated this

by explaining that newborn babies, almost without

exception, come into the world with tightly fisted

hands. The reason for this, she said, is that each

one comes bearing gifts. She articulated the critical

nature of the arts in this regard, as they allow

practitioners to display creativity, share their inner

most thoughts with the world.

Referring to Rick Warren’s book entitled ‘The

Purpose Driven Life’, Makwetla spoke about our

life’s mission and the belief that, through the arts, we

fulfil this calling by sharing our gift of creativity with

both meaning and love. The mission of creativity,

Warren and Makwetla believe, is a wonderful

privilege. Makwetla described for the audience

why so many people derive joy from the creations

of “our hands and our minds” – art speaks to us

about the artist’s feelings and emotions that arise

from all aspects of life, feelings and emotions that

all of us experience. In this way, the arts play a role

in helping us define and live purposeful lives.

In conclusion, Makwetla reminded the graduands

that this is only the beginning of their journey and

exhorted them to do three things and do them

well: live a purpose driven life, love deeply and

passionately and, above all, leave a meaningful and

lasting legacy.

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Chairperson: Ms Phyllis Klotz

Phyllis Klotz is the Artistic Director and co-founder of the Sibikwa Arts Centre in Benoni. She has been involved in development theatre and training for over 30 years and she has toured extensively at home and abroad for plays dealing with a wide range of topics. Klotz is dedicated to establishing community art centres throughout South Africa and was instrumental in founding the Gauteng Organisation for Community Arts and Culture Centres (GOMACC). She is a member of the Advisory Artistic Committee for the Grahamstown National Festival of the Arts and a member of the CATHSSETA Chamber for the Arts.

Klotz is the recipient of several awards for her contribution to South African theatre and a finalist in the Women of the Year Awards. She was awarded a Naledi Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005 and voted by The Star newspaper as one of the ten major contributors to South African performing arts. She directed and co–wrote the seminal piece of South African theatre You Strike a Woman, You Strike a Rock.

Meet the NAC Panel Members

THE PANEL OF WELL-RESPECTED PROFESSIONALS in each field of expertise have a mandate to chair in their respective disciplines. The selection process for the funding of projects and delivery of the NAC’s Vision to promote, through the arts, the free and creative expression of South Africa’s cultures is the responsibility of the panel. The panel members also have the function of fulfilling the NAC’s Mission of developing and promoting excellence in the arts. In this section, we will introduce each NAC Chairperson and Panel member individually.

Dance

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Dr Vusabantu Ngema

Dr Vusabantu Ngema has recently been appointed as a senior lecturer in the Department of Performing Arts: Musical Theatre and Dance programme at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). Previously, Dr Ngema was a full-time lecturer for Dance Studies in the Department for Creative Arts at the University of Zululand. He holds Masters and Doctoral Degrees in dance and his studies are based on African dance performances. He is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Tourism and Recreation, focusing on cultural attractions around the area of the Lower Umhlathuze River Valley. In 2012, Ngema published a book entitled Symbolism and Implications in the Zulu Dance Forms (LAP Publishers).

Dr Ngema was the first to be appointed as a lecturer for African dance as a major subject at the University of Cape Town (UCT)

School Of Dance in 1998. Before the appointment at UCT, he piloted a two-year programme by the Western Cape Department of Education (DOE) aimed at introducing African dance as one of the subjects in schools.

Mr Gerard M. Samuel Gerard Samuel has been the Director of the School of Dance at UCT since May 2008. He holds a Diploma in Ballet from UCT which he completed in 1984. He obtained a Master of Arts Degree from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in 2002.

Samuel was a professional dancer with NAPAC Ballet Company and The Playhouse Company in the 1980s and 1990s. His career move to arts administration for The Playhouse Company sharpened his skills and he was promoted to the senior position of Dance and Drama Manager, and later to Arts, Education and Development Manager which he held until 2006.

Samuel is a pioneer of disability arts and integrated arts projects in Durban and in Copenhagen, Denmark with his Left Feet First dance theatre group. He has worked at tertiary institutions including UKZN and the Durban University of Technology and with some of South Africa’s leading contemporary dance companies such as Siwela Sonke Dance Theatre, The Fantastic Flying Fish and Flatfoot Dance Company.

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Mr Njabulo Jimmy Notuku Njabulo Notuku, during his ten years of experience in the performing arts,

has excelled in the roles of actor, musician, teacher, manager, fundraiser,

dance militant, adjudicator and critic. Notuku runs Gauteng Dance

Manyano and is involved in adjudicating at the FNB Dance Umbrella

and Zindala Zombili programme. He served as the Chairperson of the

Performing Arts of South Africa (PANSA) for the Gauteng region and as

project coordinator for Soweto Dance Theatre. Notuku represents the

Jim Jacks Arts and Culture Production, the lead company in the Carnival

Consortium, where he serves as the Chief Carnival Director and also as

the Routes and Logistics Director.

Notuku has worked extensively at the community and organisational

level in carnivals and street and community theatre. He has served as

Assistant Creative Director for Gauteng Heritage Day Carnival. He has

also served as the Carnival Director of the Joburg Carnival from 2005 to

2008. Mr Notuku’s involvement and commitment to the genre has led to his participation in carnival activities in the

UK and Brazil. Recently, he has re-launched the Soweto Carnival through his involvement with the Multi Projects

Youth Development. In 2004, Notuku led the Kliptown Carnival as the Creative Director and served as the training

coordinator for the Gauteng Carnival in 2005. Notuku performed at the Carnival in Zaragoza, Spain in 2008 as part

of the World Expo Exhibition.

The role Notuku plays in society is a reflection of humour motivated by the desire to manifest the quality of his integrity.

He has contributed to shaping the history of arts and of his people as a personification of wisdom, stability and power

in the affairs of human society.

Mr Alfred Hinkel Alfred Hinkel established his first dance company in Nababeep and O’Okiep in the Northern Cape in 1976. After a brief period in Windhoek, Namibia, and the creation of a second dance company there in collaboration with Dianne Sparks, he later relocated to Cape Town.

In 1986 he bought the Jazzart Dance Studios. Under Hinkel’s guidance, one of South Africa’s premiere performing arts training and performance institutions, The Jazzart Dance Theatre, was established. During his term as Artistic Director from 1986 to 2010 the impact of Jazzart’s work resonated within the South African dance industry both at the level of training and performance.

To date, Hinkel has received ten choreographic awards and a further five for various services to the dance community. In 1997 he received the Standard Bank Young Artist Special Award for Dance and in 1998 he was awarded the Gordon Reid Fellowship for Dance and Theatre. Hinkel has also been

the recipient of the Tunkie Memorial Award for Outstanding Dedication and Leadership in 2004, the Western Cape Cultural Commission Award for Service to the Dance Community in 2006 and the Annual Cultural Award in 2008 from the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport.

Hinkel has relocated to his birth place of O’Okiep in the Northern Cape where he plans to continue creating new work and train top class dance professionals.

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Ms Harley Lenie Magdalena Harley Lenie Magdalena holds a Masters Degree (Fine Arts) from Stellenbosch University and has worked in education for most of her career. She taught visual art at all levels, from pre-school to higher education institutions. She retired from the formal sector at the end of 2012. Her most recent position was as senior lecturer at the Elizabeth Galloway Academy for Fashion Design in Stellenbosch, teaching fashion illustration.

Lenie is also an active member of the Stellenbosch community where she lives. She is the Vice-chairperson for the Stellenbosch Association of Arts which is involved in numerous art and craft initiatives for the greater Stellenbosch area. She facilitates workshops and has been asked to adjudicate at several art competitions including the Wes Boland Eisteddfod. She is also the organiser for Visual Art and Design at the Stellenbosch Kunswedstryd.

Since her retirement from the formal sector, Lenie has taught sculpture classes for adults at her studio. She has won several awards including the Centurion Artist of the Year in 1994 and 1995, the PPC Young Concrete Sculpture Award in 1996, the Kempton Park Tembisa Fine Arts Award in 1997 and two Unisa merit awards.

Chairperson: Ms Erica ElkErica Elk is the Executive Director of the Cape Craft and Design Institute (CCDI). She was employed to establish the Institute in 2001 following research commissioned by the provincial government into the economic potential of the craft and design sector in the Cape.

Elk has a Postgraduate Diploma in Fine Arts from Michaelis (UCT), a BA in Fine Arts (Honours) (Wits) and a Teacher’s Diploma in Speech and Drama from the Trinity College of Music in the UK. A combination of practitioner, implementer and strategist in her professional life, Elk has worked for the National Land Committee as a media officer, the Rapid Phase Group (the creators of Madam & Eve), Soul City (radio drama), the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation and

Environment (Cradle of Humandkind Master Planning) and as a media liaison for both the Department of Land Affairs and the Ministry of Land and Agriculture.

In her current position at the CCDI, Elk also serves as a curator for the Design Indaba Expo and on the Wesgro Marketing Organisation board while playing an active role in strategy development for the visual arts, craft and design sector, as well as for the creative industries in general.

Craft

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Ms Susan Sellschop Susan Sellschop has had a lifelong interest in craft and crafts people. She has curated and selected craftwork for awards, exhibitions, fairs and markets and collaborated on several books on the topic as well as contributing to catalogues, journals and workbooks. She has a Masters Diploma in Ceramic Design from Technikon Witwatersrand (TWR) where she taught several ceramic modules in the Ceramic Design Department for a number of years. Sellschop has ceramic work in several collections including the Corobrick Collection and the Williams Humphrey Collections and is a Fellow of Ceramics South Africa

She joined the Craft Council of South Africa at the Bus Factory in Newtown where she co-ordinated and curated the ‘Beautiful Things’ Exhibition and managed the shop, craft training and development programmes that ran alongside the exhibition including the many Vita Craft Exhibitions curated by Wendy Goldblatt. Subsequently, Sellschop has been an external examiner for ceramics departments throughout the country.

Sellschop worked with the Artist Proof Studio on an HIV/AIDS art intervention, ‘Cultural Actions for Change’ and assisted in editing a book based on this intervention. She is on the board of the Africa Craft Trust and is in contact with crafts people all over the country. Presently, she paints abstract landscapes and plant forms on large canvas which she exhibits widely.

Mr Andile Magengelele Andile Magengelele is an independent contemporary art curator and a cultural all-rounder from Johannesburg with extensive experience in the arts and culture sector for the past 20 years. Between 1995 and 2001 he worked for the City of Joburg’s Department of Arts and Culture (DAC). Magengelele’s work for the City gave him experience with the public and private sector, with civil society and in creating partnerships. After Magengelele left the DAC, he worked as an arts and culture consultant before embarking on a scholarship programme.

In 2003, Magengelele was awarded an international bursary by the NAC to study in London where he received an MA in Cultural and Creative Industries. His course within the arts has taken him from

Africa to Europe, South America and the US, giving him a solid grounding in numerous artistic genres and in both Western and non-Western artistic practices. Magengelele has worked in almost all spheres of the arts and culture sector as a community arts officer, cultural activist, curator, writer, mentor and adjudicator for art competitions as well as sitting on various boards and arts panels.

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Chairperson: Mr Johnny MasilelaJohnny Masilela is a journalist who has worked for, among others, the Sunday Sun as news editor, Pretoria News as a political reporter and SAPA as a sub-editor. Masilela is an author, screenwriter and member of Ijima Letuthuko, a collective of intellectuals and traditionalists spearheaded by the Ndebele monarch, King Mayitjha III. Ijima Letuthuko’s main objective is to preserve and record Ndebele art and oral literature and Masilela is actively involved in this initiative.

Masilela is the author of the novel We Shall Not Weep (Kwela Books). The novel is prescribed for Grades 10 and 11 in South African schools as well as at the University of Vienna in Austria. Masilela is a contributing author to various anthologies and his work has been

translated into Dutch, Swedish, Danish and Afrikaans. It was against this backdrop that Masilela was appointed to the panel of judges for the Sunday Times Fiction Award in 2008.

Masilela is the scriptwriter for the short screenplay, “Christmas with Granny” which won the M-Net New Directions award. He is presently considering adapting We Shall Not Weep into a feature film.

Dr Linda L. Kwatsha Linda Kwatsha is a senior lecturer of isiXhosa and creative writing at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) Department of Language and Literature. She is also the Head of Department for Language and Literature (IsiXhosa, English, Afrikaans and French). In 2011 she was appointed Acting Director for the School of Language Media and Culture. She is a Port Elizabeth Opera House board member and serves in the editors’ forum committee for the DAC in the Eastern Cape.

Dr Kwatsha is the chair of IBUTHO, a forum looking at the development of African languages in the Eastern Cape. She is involved in language development, creative writing and a performance project driven by the Department of Language and Literature at NMMU and the Opera House.

Dr Kwatsha studied at Fort Hare, NMMU, Vista and Rhodes University. Her qualifications include a BA and BCom Degree, both achieved at the Honours level, a Higher Diploma in Education and a Doctorate in Literature. At national and international conferences on literature and multilingualism, Kwatsha has presented papers and she has also published articles in accredited journals and successfully promoted other MA and DLit students.

Literature

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Mr Vonani Bila Vonani Bila is from Shirley village in Limpopo and studied at Tivumbeni College of Education. His father was an amateur musician, his mother a historian and story-teller. A poet and musician himself, he is the founding editor of the Timbila Poetry Review, publisher of Timbila Books and founder of Timbila Writers’ Village which offers a writer’s residence in the rural context.

Bila studied for a Masters Degree in the Creative Writing programme at Rhodes University. He has written two children’s books in English and eight story-books for newly literate adult readers in Sepedi, Xitsonga and English, the latter two being the languages in which he writes poetry. Bila edited New Coin poetry journal in 2013, released a CD collection of music and poetry as well as four volumes of poetry. He has read and performed his poetry widely in South Africa and abroad and his poems have been translated into nine languages

including German, Finnish, Portuguese and Arabic. Bila’s poetry books are entitled No Free Sleeping (with Donald Parenzee and Alan Finlay), In the Name of Amandla, Magicstan Fires and Handsome Jita.

Dr Cynthia Mfusi Hoza Dr Cynthia Mfusi Hoza holds a Doctoral Degree in Literature and Philosophy from the University of Fort Hare in the Eastern Cape, a Masters Degree in Linguistics from the University of Stellenbosch in Cape Town and a BA Honours Degree from the University of Transkei in the Eastern Cape. She received a scholarship award from the University of Transkei for her outstanding performance in her BA to pursue her Honours Degree. Hoza also received three month associate status from the African Gender Institute at UCT.

Dr Hoza assumed duties as a lecturer in the Department of African Languages at the University of Transkei in January 1987. She gathered extensive teaching experience in a number of schools before becoming a lecturer, teaching at Maboboti Senior Secondary School in Centane, Msobomvu Senior Secondary School in Butterworth and Blythswood Training School in Nqamakwe in the Eastern Cape.

Dr Hoza has presented research papers at numerous academic conferences, both local and international. In 2007 and 2008, she presented research papers at the Hawaiian Islands in Honolulu. Her presentations have led to publication of a number of academic articles in peer reviewed, accredited journals such as the Southern African Journal of African Languages (SAJAL) and Alternation. Hoza has served as an external examiner for a number of institutions including Rhodes and Fort Hare University and is a moderator for isiXhosa as a first additional language for the DOE.

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Mr Mathene Mahanke Mathene Mahanke is currently the Head of Language Services in the Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation at the University of the Free State. He has a thorough background in literature, developed while serving as a university lecturer in the Language and Literature Department at the University of the North, Qwaqwa campus and as a member and Chairperson of both the Sesotho Language Board and the PanSALB National Language Body. Mahanke worked on a number of Sesotho terminology projects for the DAC and at a number of publishing houses as a proof-reader and advisor.

In 2006, Mathene was appointed Head of the Sesotho Literature Museum in the Free State. He later became Head of Provincial Museums, before moving to Language Services. Mahanke is a

founding member of Moaba Sesotho Writers Association and also belongs to the National Language Forum of the DAC and the African Language Association of Southern Africa (ALASA). He is a published author, literary consultant and accredited professional translator. Mathene has just completed a PhD in Literature with the University of the Free State besides his BA and MA Degrees.

MusicChairperson: Mr Nelson NtshangaseNelson Ntshangase is currently studying for his Masters in Zulu at UKZN and also serves on numerous professional boards including the NAC Sub-committee for Audit Risk, Cebisa Co-operative Bank and the KZN Provincial Arts Council. He is the personnel officer lecturer at UKZN, a position he has held since 1983, and has been involved in giving relevant talks, lecturing, tutoring and organising university programmes.

Ntshangase has written and co-authored books, produced research publications and many more initiatives that continue to develop the community.

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Mr Oupa Salemane Oupa Salemane was born in Orlando East, Soweto. He matriculated from Orlando West High School and thereafter studied for a BSc (Occ Therapy) Degree at the Medical University of South Africa in 1983. It was during his time at university that the Jazz Foundation was formed. His passion for music was evidenced at primary school where he sang as a tenor. He plays the guitar and piano.

Early in 1988, together with Mongezi Goocin and Pat Mingana, Salemane established a popular jazz club known as the Gold Club Jazz Bar which had daily live performances at ShareWorld in Crown Mines, Johannesburg. Many popular local musicians including Allan Kwela, Mankunku Ngozi, Ezra Ngcukana, Darius Brubeck and Victor Ntoni performed there.

Salemane is the founding member of the Jazz Foundation of South Africa, a member of Cosac Music Academy in Newtown and of Becomo Art Centre at the Walter Sisulu Centre of Dedication in Kliptown, Soweto. Salemane is also the Treasurer-General of the South African Music Promoters’ Association (SAMPA) and Chairperson of the Jazz-Fusion Update Appreciation Society in Soweto.

Throughout the years, Salemane has been involved in the development of the Jazz Foundation’s unique and artistically brilliant concepts such as the Mogale Arts Festival, the Jazz Meets Symphony Melodi and several international collaboration concerts.

Panel member: Mr Sibusiso Njeza Sibusiso Njeza holds an Honours Degree in Music and a Licentiates Diploma in Music from Rhodes University. He studied under the guidance of some of the top researchers in the country including Christine Lucia, Christopher Cockburn and Andrew Tracey, among others. He also studied musical composition under the guidance of Thanduxolo Mahlangeni, Michael Blake and Peter Louis van Dijk. Njeza is currently pursuing a Master of Music Degree at Stellenbosch University. Between 2006 and 2012 Njeza was a music educator at Msobomvu SSS in Butterworth and Simon Estes Music High School in Cape Town.

Njeza has extensive training as a choral and classical music practitioner. Currently, he works at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) as a cultural projects coordinator and conducts the

UWC Creative Arts Choir. Njeza is a music composer, conductor, orchestrator, accompanist, choir trainer and expert with a tremendous passion for using music to drive nation-building and moral regeneration among the youth. Njeza has been commissioned by Opera South Africa to write music for the opera Madiba: The African Opera with libretto by Unithi Mtirara, a grandson of the Regent King Jongintaba who raised the legendary Nelson Mandela. Madiba: The African Opera premiers at the State Theatre in Pretoria on 23 May 2014.

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Mr Mfanimpela Innocent MlamboMfanimpela Mlambo studied music at the Royal School of Music between 1986 and 1988 and in 1992 he completed a Bachelor of Music with UKZN. He also holds a Masters Degree focusing on copyright law and musicians in South Africa. Mlambo worked at the Market Theatre Foundation as the Kippies Music Coordinator from 1985 to 1988 and as a music teacher and coordinator for Ukusa Music Programme in the early 1990s.

In 1994 Mlambo was appointed the Orchestral Conductor at the University of Witwatersrand. Later he lectured at UKZN and the Durban University of Technology and was simultaneously the Music Director for The Bat Centre and Pepsi Music Magic Tour in the mid-90s. At Nelson Mandela’s Birthday Celebration in 1996 and 1997,

Mlambo served as the Music Director. He founded the Durban Youth Radio in 2000. Currently, Mlambo is the Managing Director of Sintu Productions and Amaciko Guest Houses and is an NAC and Playhouse Company Council Member.

Scene from the play Curl up and Dye

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Dr Niel Le Roux Niel Le Roux is currently the CEO of the Suidoosterfees. He worked previously as a drama teacher, lecturer and event’s organiser at the Afrikaanse Taal en Kultuurvereniging (ATKV) as well as a Performing Rights Manager at the Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Rights Organisation (DALRO). Dr Le Roux holds an Honours Degree in Drama and a Teacher’s Diploma from Stellenbosch University, a Masters Drama Degree from Pretoria University and was the first recipient of a Doctorate in Drama from a technikon (Pretoria, now TUT).

Dr Le Roux has received awards from Pretoria Technikon, the KKNK, Overstrand Municipality, the Western Cape Government and his alma mater, Paul Roos Gymnasium. Le Roux served on several

judging panels including the Vita, ARTES, RSG Radio Drama and Aardklop Aartvark Awards as well as the Nagtegaal Awards for newly written drama and cabaret. He was Chairperson of the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (KKNK) Kunstekabinet and Kanna Awards simultaneously. Le Roux initiated the Kalfiefees in Onrus River and was a drama student adviser at the Grahamstown Festival from 1992 to 2003.

Chairperson: Ms Nakedi RibaneNakedi Ribane is a South African actress and author. During her early career she worked as a fashion and beauty editor. She is the co-owner of a modelling agency and a former model. Ribane has hosted SABC talk shows such as Motswako, Opposite and Equal and Eva.

Ribane is better known to international audiences for her role as Nyasa Mathiba in the teen adventure series African Skies, a collaboration between the SABC and Canadian CBS which aired both in the USA and South Africa from 1992 to 1994. Ribane started her modelling career in the early 80s and advanced quickly to become one of South Africa’s top models of the time.

She began acting in the late 1980s and has since appeared in numerous local and international television series including Molo Fish, Soul City and the mini-series Mponeng: A Family Comedy (2006) and Human Cargo (2004). She is currently one of the leads in Inkaba, a South African first telenovella on DSTV. Ribane has also acted in the feature films Waati (1995) and The Long Run (2000), among others. In theatre, she won the 2002 FNB Vita Award in the Best Supporting Actress category for her role as Noria in an adaptation of Zakes Mda’s novel Ways of Dying.

Her ground breaking book for the beauty industry, Beauty... A Black Perspective, was published in September 2006. Nakedi has a Speech and Drama Diploma from the Oxford School of Drama, a Diploma in Public Relations and a certificate from the UNISA Bureau of Marketing and Research.

Theatre

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Mr Pascar Dube Pascar Dube is very well known in theatre circles from his years of work

in the genres of drama, dance and musical theatre. Born in Lamontville,

a small township in the south of Durban, Dube has been involved in the

arts since the mid-nineties and attended the ‘Steps into Dance Classes’

and ‘Reach-out Youth Project’ with the Playhouse Company where he

was trained in classical and modern dance forms. He was also selected to

represent Lamontville High School to perform in the Volkswagen Musicative

Youth Project.

Dube is a Drama Studies graduate from the Durban University of Technology

and has worked for the Playhouse Company as an artistic coordinator and

associate producer. He lectured at Mbongeni Ngema Academy of Arts and

served as an external examiner for the University of Zululand in the Drama

Department. Dube is highly regarded in Durban’s theatre community as an arts activist. In the latter field, he has worked

professionally with Jay Pather’s acclaimed Siwela Sonke Dance Theatre and Mark Harkens’ Fantastic Flying Fish Dance

Company. On the musical theatre stage, Dube gave a stand-out performance in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Joseph and the

Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, produced professionally at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre on the UKZN campus a few

years ago. Dube won special critical praise for this performance.

Dube has developed considerable skill in both the professional performing and non-performing arts environment, not only

as a dedicated and competent arts administrator, but also as a stage director. The production he directed, One for Road

(starring Sdumo Mtshali, 2010 Class Act Winner), for The Playhouse Company in 2007 is one of the highlights of the

company’s new stage programmes in recent years, winning him awards in that year’s prestigious Fools Awards and various

others in The Mercury Durban Theatre awards. His skills in choreography and directing have created further opportunities

for him in presenting theatre works for The Red Eye, Dance Umbrella and Macufe Festivals.

Ms Nobesuthu Rayi Nobesuthu Rayi is a graduate of the Stage World Theatre School and

obtained a Diploma in Performing Arts in 2007. She is also a graduate of

Trinity College of London, obtained an Associates Diploma in Preforming

Arts and a Grade 8 Certificate in Speech and Drama. Rayi is a former in-

house director of the Swii Arts Amendment, a company that dealt with

outreach programmes and staged plays around the Eastern Cape. She has

directed the productions Time of the Princess and Choice Amidst Waves,

both appearing at the National Arts Festival.

In 2012, she directed a play for the 25th anniversary of NUMSA called Asijiki

Asijikwa, performed in Port Elizabeth and later showcased at the Durban

Convention Centre. Rayi is also an actress and has graced the Wild Coast,

National Arts and Ikhwezi Festivals and performed in the rural areas of the

Eastern Cape. She has performed in the plays Time Out, and the musicals

Qongqothwane and Love is Never Enough. Rayi performed with the legendary mama Nomhle Nkonyeni in 2010 in a play

called Last Dance. Rayi is a former member of the Performing Arts Company of the Eastern Cape (PACEC) and a director

of the annual Udaba Dance Festival. Currently, Ms Rayi is working at the Port Elizabeth Opera House as a theatre producer.

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Chairperson: Prof Dominic ThorburnDominic Thorburn is Professor and Chair of Fine Art at Rhodes University in Grahamstown. He was awarded an MFA in 1983 from Rhodes University where he also heads the Printmedia Section. Thorburn was the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship in 1992, granting him a sabbatical at the renowned Tamarind Institute at the University of New Mexico where he completed a Professional Printer Program.

He received first prize in the ABSA Atelier Art Competition in 1994, allowing him a year’s residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris. Professor Thorburn’s achievements in academia have included many research grants and global travel awards. He has presented papers on diverse aspects of printmaking at numerous international conferences and is a widely-published author.

Mr Lucky Mosa Khuzwayo Lucky Mosa Khuzwayo specialised in Art History and Ceramics at the TUT

Department of Fine and Applied Arts under the supervision of Runette

Kruger and Jan van der Merwe. While studying, Khuzwayo was selected

to mentor Fine Arts first year students from 2008 to 2009 and worked as

a ceramic studio technical assistant in 2010. Currently, he is studying for a

Masters Degree in Visual Arts (MVA) at UNISA.

Khuzwayo participated in several art completions and group exhibitions

such as the PPC Young Concrete Sculptor Awards (2010), Absa L’artelier

(2011) and Arts Alive (2009 to 2012), to name just a few. He was also

involved in art community engagement projects at the Zoological Gardens

in Pretoria during 2008 and 2009, Wes-kopies in 2010 and the Library

of Disabled Children in 2012 and is currently working with the UNISA Art

Education Projects. Khuzwayo has assisted international and local artists Eddie Ruffle (Ireland) and Enric Pladevall (Spain)

in 2010 and Johannes Phokela (South Africa) in 2012. He has been part of the Visual Arts advisory committee at the NAC

since 2011 and currently contracts at the UNISA Art Gallery as a gallery and administration assistant.

Visual Arts

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Mr Pumlani MbanyaPumlani Mbanya is the Head of Department for Fine Art and a lecturer at Walter Sisulu University. He has been involved in a number of projects with the Border Rural Committee, the Eastern Cape Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture, Amahlathi District Municipality, Social Development and the DAC indirectly.

Mbanya is an active community development member of the Walter Sisulu University, seeking ways to promote development within communities and create an awareness of the importance of education and the golden economy of Eastern Cape arts and craft. Mbanya is a founding member of Abenzi Woodhouse under the Walter Sisulu University and actively promotes NAC opportunities for local and disadvantaged artists in the Eastern Cape.

Ms Nontobeko NtombelaNontobeko Ntombela is a curator based in Johannesburg. She currently holds a Master of Arts in Fine Arts from the University of the Witwatersrand where she also works as an associate lecturer in the History of Art and the Arts, Culture and Heritage Management Departments. Ntombela previously worked as a curator of contemporary art at the Johannesburg Art Gallery from 2010 to 2012, at the Durban University of Technology Art Gallery from 2006 to 2010 and at the Bat Centre Art Galleries in Durban from 2002 to 2006. Over the last 12 years, Ntombela has curated a number of exhibitions, mostly in the institutions where she worked and a few independently.

Some of Ntombela’s most recent curatorial projects include Spectaculaire (2013) at Frac des Pays de la Loire in France, The Two Talking Yonis (2013) at Constitution Hill (Women’s Jail) Room and Kalashnikovv Gallery in Johannesburg, A Fragile Archive (2012) at Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG) and Made in Africa (2012) co-curated with Andile Magengelele at Sandton Art Galleries, Johannesburg.

In 2010 Ntombela received a fellowship grant towards her studies from the Ford Foundation and was the guest curator of the MTN New Contemporaries exhibition. Ntombela has also participated in a few international curatorial programmes such as the Residency XXVII Ateliers Internationaux du Frac des Pays de la Loire (2013) in Carquefou, France, the Curatorial Intensive (2013), hosted by Independent Curators International in partnership with the Bag Factory in Johannesburg, the Bilateral Exchange Project: Germany and South Africa (2007) at Bochum Museum, in Germany and the curators’ workshop Close Connections (Africa Reflected) at Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam (SMBA) (2009).

Ntombela serves on two cultural committees, the Visual Art Task Team for the South African DAC: the Visual Art Panel Committee and the NAC of South Africa. Her research interests involve examining visual politics within the practice of curatorial and exhibition histories in South African contemporary art, an area in which she has produced and presented numerous research papers.

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Dr Collen Oupa MorareDr Morare holds a Medical Degree from MEDUNSA which he obtained in 1987. After completing his studies, he opened a private practice in Daveyton. Between 1996 and 2010, Morare practised Orthopaedics at the Natalspruit and Sunshine Hospitals. Since 1995 he has been a member of the Health Professionals Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and now serves on the Board of Health Funders.

There is however, more to the doctor than his medical career. Dr Morare is also an artist and collector himself. He works as an art consultant and is currently studying Art History with Unisa. Over the years Morare has made important contributions to the arts in South Africa. He established the first art gallery in Soweto and was the Founding Chairman of The Music Academy of Gauteng. Dr Morare is a patron of the Bag Factory Artist Studios, a friend of the Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG) and the CEO for Becomo Art Centre in Midrand.

Chairperson: Mr Bongani J TembeBongani Tembe has received international recognition as one of Africa’s leading arts administrators. He has been the Chief Executive and Artistic Director of the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra since 1996 after joining the National Philharmonic Orchestra as Deputy Director in October 1994. Tembe appeared at the National Theatre in Brazil and Alice Tully Hall in New York. He began his career as an operatic tenor in the 1980s after graduating from the Juilliard School of Music. In 2004, he performed in a televised production of Beethoven’s Fidelio on Robben Island as part of the celebration of ten years of democracy in South Africa.

Tembe is, in fact, the first African professional tenor to emerge from South Africa. During his prestigious performing career, he sang in many of his best-loved roles in the operatic repertoire including Steurmann in Wagner’s Der Fliegende Hollander, Tamino in Mozart’s Die Zauberflote and the title role in Gounod’s Faust. Tembe has also proven to be one of South Africa’s most successful arts administrators. More recently, he was appointed as the South African Commissioner-General of the France-South Africa Seasons for 2012 and 2013.

Multi-discipline

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Mr Malesela Aphane Malesela Aphane studied Drama at the FUBA Academy School of Arts in Johannesburg. He then completed an MA in Arts, Culture and Heritage Management at Wits University.

Aphane worked as a theatre practitioner and ‘luminary’ in a host of productions during his stage career. Aphane has research experience stemming from the National Funded Companies Projects and Arts Students for Individuals and Groups in 2010. He complied a report for the Moshito Music Conference and Exhibitions Project in 2009, the Human Resource Development Strategy Project for the NAC and the National Film and Video Foundation Feasibility Study Project in 2005.

In 2008, Aphane was nominated and awarded the Lifetime Arts Achievers Award for best theatre director/producer at the Mapungubwe Festival. As a creative artist, he has written poems that were included in three poetry anthologies. Some of his poems are entitled ‘Meandering Paths’, ‘Reunited Siblings’ and ‘Of Money, Meanderings and Peasants’. He is also the author of three books, Teeth of the Earth, Raindrop! and Cry for the Unborn, all published in the UK.

Currently, he serves as a board member for the African Cultural Heritage Trust and is employed by the House of Memory as a Senior Researcher and Project Manager where he provides professional solutions to clients for heritage, museum, exhibition and public programmes.

Mr Jerry Mabuza Jerry Mabuza is the Chairperson of the Gauteng Arts and Culture Council, advising the MEC on policy matters, development and the promotion of arts and culture in the province. Mabuza provided input for the annual work plan, monitored the expenditure of allocated grants and adjudicated grants-in-aid. He is the current Chairperson of the Gauteng Organisation of Community Art Centres (GOMACC), an organisation that sees to the wellbeing of community arts centres.

From 1989 to date, through Osauka Satopa Curios, Mabuza has managed a variety of events and conferences. He has also participated in various international exhibitions and trade fairs. In 1999, Mabuza participated in the Houston International Festival, the Foire de Nancy in France in 1998 and the New Orleans Jazz Festival in 2000. He has facilitated workshops on craft product development, marketing and financial management, ran the Macufe Theatre workshop and assisted with the Gauteng Pale ya Rona Carnival.

Mabuza is also a sound engineer and recipient of numerous awards such as The Diplomed’ Honneur – Fourie International de Roeun in 1996, the Sanlam Sowetan Entrepreneur of the month as well as the Arts and Culture Trust Award in 1998. Currently, Mabuza works with the Arts and Culture Chamber in CATSETTA as well as the NAC.

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Mr Skin Sipoko Skin Sipoko served in the foreign mission of the ANC for 15 years. He studied and graduated with a BA Honours in Graphic Design from the Norfolk Institute of Art and Design at the University of Anglia, UK. Upon returning to South Africa in 1994, he established and managed Mthatha Community Arts Centre.

Sipoko worked as a manager for the Theatre and Performing Arts Sub-directorate at the Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture in Bisho in the Eastern Cape from 1996 to 2008. He established the Inyathi Arts Company and has done theatre work in Belarus Republic, at the Hong Kong Easter Festival and the Shanghai Expo in 2010 and at the Third BRICS Summit, a cultural evening at Sanya, China in 2011. In 2012, Sipoko designed the

Madiba’s Children Festival for Peace campaign. Sipoko is a board member of Emthonjeni Arts Retreat Centre in Hamburg and was part of the team that produced the ANC Eastern Cape 100 Years History.

Ms Zaide Harneker Zaide Harneker has nearly three decades of experience in the cultural and development sector. Her experience includes co-ordinating the part-time classes at the Community Arts Project in the Western Cape. She was an active member of The Congress of South African Writers (COSAW) and, as a cultural activist, performed in various community events. Harneker was the coordinator of the Cultural Work course at the UKZN. During the same period, she started working with the late Jazz Musician Zim Ngqawana.

In later years, she was a fundraiser and performer in Zanendaba Story-tellers. For the past seven years she has been working as a grant-maker for an international NGO. Her commitment lies with supporting the arts as a voice of expression for the underprivileged

Call for New Panel MembersThe tenure of the current Advisory Panels will end on 31 May 2014. The Advisory Panels are required to review, assess and make recommendations on the merits of an application and to advise the Council on policy-making and any other matters pertaining to the arts sector.

The NAC will soon make a public call for nominations by inviting all competent, suitably qualified and interested persons to serve as members of the Advisory Panels. Individuals with expertise in Theatre, Dance, Crafts, Literature, Music, Multi-discipline and Visual Arts are required.

Candidates may be nominated by any member of the public. Nominators are required to submit a detailed motivation for the nominee, along with the nominated candidate’s curriculum vitae.

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Lest We ForgetBy Rosemary Mangope and Lindi Ngcobo

THIS ARTICLE IS INSPIRED BY THE NARRATIVE delivered by Lindi after her trip to Petrusville in the Northern Cape. The NAC newsletter for the second quarter featured an article as well as pictures of the project “Flock-Ladies of the Karoo”. The article showed the innovation and the complete diligence of this group based in a small, almost forgotten area and it reminded us of just how crucial the arts sector is to the socio-economic growth of our beloved South Africa.

Petrusville is situated in the Northern Cape, one of the most disadvantaged provinces in South Africa. People live there along the dusty streets and in the barren terrain, but it is evident that the harsh environment has not suppressed their creativity. The Flock-Ladies of the Karoo are ample proof that creativity is inherent in all of humanity, regardless of their exposure to the creativity of others. Petrusville is a traditional South African farming community where the husbands are the main bread winner while the wives stay at home caring for the children. Every two weeks the husbands receive their pay-

checks which was just not enough to sustain the families. It is for this reason that the project “Flock-Ladies of the Karoo” was born. Initially, no one realised the extent of the economic impact these ladies would play later on and their contribution to the Mzansi Golden Economy. The project’s main goal was simply to improve the living standards and transfer skills, particularly to the youth who had already reversed what could potentially have been a negative spiral into alcohol and drug abuse.

The Flock-Ladies of the Karoo operate in a small farming community of Petrusville and, with their creative use of sheep’s wool, they produce functional products that generate income. The ladies’ creative thinking led them as they made use of what they have at their disposal, maximising their simple resources (such as wool and old fashioned wool machinery) to create proudly South African products, ready for export. One major benefit of the initiative is that both the young and the elderly ladies find common ground where they learn from each other and ensure mutual future growth.

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What we know for sure is that the NAC’s contribution will be evident in Petrusville as we are committed to translating this into a “Flagship Project”. The intention is to identify a few such “Flagship” or lead projects in each province and support these through several levels of growth. We wish to invite you as our readers and stakeholders to track our progress. We welcome your views on the process as we embark on implementing our five-year strategy.

Through such initiatives, the NAC is proud to play a pivotal role in utilising the arts to build social cohesion while creating a caring and sustainable nation. We should never forget that our role is to uplift and redirect all the artistic efforts of communities to enable lasting transformation in the lives of their members.

Artworks by FLOCK: Ladies of the Karoo

Artworks by FLOCK: Ladies of the Karoo

Zahn Spies, Founder and Owner of FLOCK with Simangele Chauke ?

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Welcome to the NACHOW AN ORGANISATION FURNISHES ITS OFFICE space may not always matter but a nicely furnished reception is not just a matter of aesthetics. Grabbing whatever piece of furniture is at hand and arranging it without considering what the organisation really is about and what it requires can put it at a major disadvantage in terms of productivity and first impressions.

However, improving staff performance involves more than finding comfortable chairs; it also involves creating an office space that functions as a marketing tool to be used for clients, customers and consumers who visit. It is important to reflect on what visitors will experience when they see the office from the inside. Will they be overwhelmed by the noise from a department near the entrance? Or will they see a series of closed doors, making them think that no activity is taking place? Visitors must not be bombarded with office chaos as they walk through the building but they should see signs of life and get a glimpse of the daily activities going on in the organisation.

Ergonomics is personified at the NAC reception area in the design, arrangement of furnishings and space used to fit the natural movements of the human body in and around a particular area. With a space such as this, furniture needs to be neutral while still complimenting the arts field. The Siyavuma Foundation team did however, ensure that the cultural contemporary pieces reflect the diverse South African identities and these multiple identities that stand proudly within the creative space. At the same time, the Foundation, an NAC funded project, aimed to use resources intelligently, without wastage. The NAC intends to maintain contact and a working relationship with its funded projects. This project by the Siyavuma Foundation involves the purchasing of all the relevant material needed to complete the project and the upholstering of furniture with a culturally themed design among other activities.

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The Siyavuma Foundation was initially financed in 2012 and its projects include high-end traditional and Afro-chic products ranging from garments, jewellery and bed linen to conference bags and folders. Their primary goal, with every order, is to create job opportunities within the community they serve and conduct their business.

Furthermore, Siyavuma’s products have many traditional elements from the tailoring itself, to the beading and embroidery performed by the women and men whose skills have been handed down from generation to generation.

Ms Kanyo Ngobane is one of the Siyavuma Foundation’s great success stories. She was a member of the team of women who assisted in the manufacturing of the Xhosa-inspired couch including the bead work on the front and sides of the couch. Ngobane started her journey with the Foundation as a trainee in one of the NAC sponsored skills and upliftment training projects. She displayed major potential in both sewing and bead work, eventually becoming a trainer herself. Since becoming a part of Siyavuma’s outreach programme, she has grown from strength to

strength. We are very excited to announce that Ngobane has been given the opportunity to work in Europe as a dresser for a touring South African music production. We wish her success in this new venture.

Decor tips for keeping a neutral palette exciting:

•Selectthefinishandfabricofyourbiggerfurniturepieces to blend in as closely as possible with the finishes used in areas such as the floors and walls.

•Playwithaccentcoloursinaccessories.Itismucheasier and more cost effective to change a scatter cushion than to replace a sofa.

• Less ismore. Do awaywith clutter.When youhave a neutral palette and only the necessities, you can create your own calming oasis in which you are able to focus on the things that really matter: love, peace and happiness.

Images courtesy of Mpho Mokoteli from NAC

Images courtesy of Judy from the Siyavuma Foundation

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DIKWENA TSE BOTSE TSA GA MATSEPE celebrated the

International Day for People Living with Disabilities with

immense joy and compassion on 27 November 2013

at Ga Nchabeleng, Le Rena Re Ka Kgona Centre for

People Living with Disabilities. The purpose of this event

was to promote Bapedi indigenous music, encourage

people living with disabilities to participate in cultural

music, engender acceptance of and responsibility for

the disabled within the communities and convince

people living with disabilities that they are not disabled

in any absolute sense but rather that they are physically

challenged.

The overall event emphasised that people with physical

challenges are neglected within the communities and

are normally excluded from entertainment events. With

the support of the NAC, Limpopo Arts and Culture, the

greater Sekhukhune Municipality and the commutity, Mr

Mohlala of Dikwena initiated the event, sharing the day

with fellow local musicans such as Marumo ‘a Ngwato

and Mafolosha Nkwe who performed for the children and

encouraged them to take part in music and in the arts as

a whole.

Mariam Sekgala, who is physically challenged herself,

explained how her ‘disablity’ has not prevented her

from living her life. She has children of her own and,

even though she is in a wheelchair, she says that she

still feels like a lady who puts on make-up while taking

responsibility for her children. Sekgala made a strong

appeal to parents not to be ashamed of their ‘disabled’

children nor to hide them behind closed doors because

they have dreams and aspirations for the future which

must be recognised and encouraged

Le Rena Re Ka Kgona Centre for People Living with

Disabilities’ art teacher, Mrs Moswane, said that she has

learnt from the event and that the centre will no longer use

music for the purpose of entertainment only but also for

education and learning about the diverse South African

cultures. Moswane intends to search for talent among

her learners and venture into the commercial industries.

The event was well received by the community as a whole

and attended by various community leaders such as Oupa

Makua from the Limpopo Arts and Culture Department,

Mariam Sekgala from the Mohlaletse Disabled Group and

Cheryl Maepa from My Career Corner Project.

Mariam Sekgala expresses her support for the event

Appreciating People Living with Disabilities

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Mr Mohlala of Dikwena Tse Botse Tsa Ga Matsepe

Ladies of the Dikwena dressed in their dance attire

The NAC has played a key role in the establishment and growth of Dikwena Tse Botse Tsa Ga Matsepe with the objective

of creating a multi-cultural facility which has now become the centre of tourism in the Sekhukhune District. With this

partnership, the NAC has contributed to improving the standard of living for Dikwena’s members, their families and the

communities through the generation of income and to the promotion of indigenous culture by preserving the heritage of

the area.

Furthermore, the NAC noticed the potential of an organisation like Dikwena to fill a social vacuum through the provision of services which can contribute to the improvement of the lives of the people, based on its high managerial and ethical principles. Therefore the NAC has made it its mission to assist in creating a cultural village and conference centre that will foster a spirit of entrepreneurship, tourism, job creation and economic empowerment in the rural community by combining South Africa’s rich culture and heritage with modern business practices.

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The NAC has embraced the notion of collaborative strategy execution in order to successfully deliver on its five-year strategy. To this end, key strategic partners have been identified. The first of these is Business and Arts South Africa (BASA).

The NAC recognises that it must build on its successful, well-established capability as an efficient funding administrator in order to move to its overall mandate of developing, supporting and promoting the arts. The NAC is mindful of the fact that it cannot do this alone but should focus on working with key partners to leverage available intelligence and funding so as to build sustainable capacity and achieve real impact for the arts community. This will require the NAC to move away from simply reacting to funding proposals but rather to pro-actively identify potential opportunities that will make a real, sustainable impact on the communities it serves.

To this end, the NAC has embraced the need to partner with BASA on its three-tier education programme. This initiative will address the strategic thrust of development and the support of the arts. The programme is composed of the three tiers outlined below.

BASA Basics

BASA Basics is aimed at arts organisations and individuals wishing to start a non-profit or profit organisation. The programme aims to introduce emerging artists to the legal registration options and processes necessary to establish an arts organisation. Further development of the arts organisations will result in a workable business model to take the organisation forward.

BASA Intermediate

The intermediate programme is aimed at registered arts organisations with a basic business plan. The intention of the intermediate programme is to focus on the strategic objectives developed from the business plan and to delve into specific problem

areas that require further planning and strategy for improvement. For example, if marketing is a key objective of the organisation, with most of the revenue emanating from ticket sales, a marketing mentor would be provided to assist the organisation with developing a plan tailored to increase ticket sales. This should lead to sustainability and future growth. In the same way, the focus can be on the operations, finance or human capital aspects.

BASA Professional

This programme is aimed at arts organisations that have been in operation for a few years but are faced with strategic organisational challenges. The professional programme will question ways of thinking in terms of income generation and creating an innovative business model that can ensure long-term sustainability. Furthermore, organisations at this level may be paired up with a business mentor to assist and advise them in meeting their strategic goals.

The BASA Mentorship Programme is designed for the arts sector to introduce better business skills in areas such as marketing, financial planning, audience development, cash flow management and much more.

Furthermore, through the BASA Education Programme, new organisations and individuals who are not yet fully established can be tutored and supported to a point where their ability to create equitable partnerships and become sustainable is increased. While the majority of the Education Programme operations take place in the urban areas, with the support of the NAC, BASA hopes to increase its impact in peri-urban and rural areas. While the NAC has supported capacity-building endeavours over time, it believes that the partnership with BASA will enable it to have a wider and more effective reach.

Embracing the Challenge of Collaborative Strategy ExecutionBy Rosemary Mangope

NAC VOICE / 34


FLORENCE IS A PLAY about a young girl who lives on a farm in Jan Kempsdorp, Northern Cape with her family as farm workers. When the owners of the farm migrate to Australia, they sell the farm to new owners. The new owners kick the family off the farm. Heartbroken and disappointed, the family move to Pampierstad but Florence’s father dies of a heart attack. She buries her father on the side of the road next to his beloved farm and then goes to Johannesburg to earn money to buy the farm and give her father a decent burial.

The play is an age-old story about land and its rightful owners. For over 100 years, black people have been disowned of their land. It is only natural, as they become liberated, that they have the urge to want it back. It was taken through religion, a barrel of a gun and unlawful apartheid laws. The initial owners want their land back just as the Native Americans land and the Khoi San in the Cape. Florence merely wishes for a piece of land to bury her father. All the while, however, acres and acres of land are held by multinational organisations until they become barren and exhausted.

The cast of Florence has Portia Sambo in the title role supported by Aobakwe Phetlhu and Thato Morokane. This innovative and exciting theatre piece is directed by Lebogang Inno, a young theatre practitioner born and bred in Mahikeng. Inno improved his artistic skills at Mmabana Arts, Culture and Sport Foundation before he went on to study further at the Market Theatre Laboratory in Johannesburg.

South African theatre offers everything from indigenous drama to traditional and modern music and dance. At the NAC, we believe that training is critical for the development of the performing arts and culture in the country. For the industry to remain influential and to attain its full potential in artistic and economic terms, the NAC continuously supports directors and artists such as Inno. The NAC strives

Mmabana Arts, Culture and Sport Foundation Presents Florence

Images courtesy of Tebogo Kekana, Blue Stones

to create vibrant platforms for the youth so that they too can engage in matters of their heritage while presenting and planning for a prosperous future. The Mmabana Arts, Culture and Sports Foundation in Mahikeng, the custodian of South Africa’s diverse culture and artistic heritage, offers such a platform with theatrical plays like Florence.

NAC VOICE / 35


THE MANGAUNG AFRICAN CULTURAL FESTIVAL (Macufe) was launched by the Free State Provincial Government in 1997. Since its beginning, Macufe has become one of the biggest cultural festivals on the African continent and has received international praise. Over the years, the festival has grown in leaps and bounds. The Provincial Government’s mission is to develop Macufe by showcasing the best local and international African artists from various genres, providing quality professional performances through an extensive and structured marketing campaign utilising the multi-skilled staff, established infrastructure and resources at its disposal.

With the 2013 theme, ‘When Your Heart and Soul is African’, Macufe was certainly one of the biggest, most culturally balanced showcase of African arts and culture in the world. The line-ups included Hugh Masekela, Jimmy Dludlu, Judith Sephuma, Zonke Maleh and Mafikizolo who demonstrated the heartbeat and personality of Africa and African people and electrified the audiences.

Macufe is renowned for bringing international stars to our shores and, for those who visited the Free

Macufe Vibes

Images courtesy of the Macufe website

State for the first time, especially Bloemfontein (the City of Roses), last year’s event was the perfect opportunity to experience it with international stars such as Keri Hilson and Anthony Hamilton who were on stage doing what they do best.

The NAC has supported Macufe Craft Market for 2012 and 2013 with funding through the Free State Provincial Arts Council Committee. The NAC Communications Team attended the festival with the distinct purpose of disseminating information about the organisation. Free State Premier, Mr Ace Magashule, visited the Craft Market and expressed his gratitude to the NAC for reaching out. The elderly women were out selling vibrant traditional attire, the youth promoted their fashion labels and puppet shows entertained kids and adults. Visual artists showcased their work and chefs sold traditional food. All who visited the market were able to experience the incredible diversity of South Africa and this is thanks to sponsors like the NAC who continually identify the value of such markets and who promote the appreciation, understanding and enjoyment of the arts.

NAC VOICE / 36


Printmaking Exhibition 2013

THE PRINTMAKING EXHIBITION at the Old Sandton Gallery included street and graffiti art, photography and installations

by 62 top South African street artists and photographers such as Rasty, Veronika, Jestr, Zesta, Curio, Rekso, Zar, Delme

Thomas and Jane Cutler, to name a few.

Over 300 works were on display from four different studios in Johannesburg, Cape Town and White River. The media

exhibited included etchings, lithography, dry point, monotypes, woodblocks, linocuts, photograms and intaglio. The

exhibition ran from 25 September to 8 October 2013 and was opened by Steven Sack. The project showcased artists

and exposed them to the processes of curating, marketing, pricing and negotiating the sale of their products and thereby

introducing them to the professional environment of art sales. The project was a huge success with approximately 400

people attending the event and visiting the exhibition. The message received from the artists and viewers was that ‘art is an

irreplaceable way of understanding and exposing the world’.

Street Art Exhibition 2013

THERE WERE 42 ARTISTS that exhibited at the Street Art Exhibition last year and over 250 artworks were displayed. The exhibition media included graffiti art, photography and installation media from talented South African street artists and photographers. The graffiti art and body painting demonstrations held during the exhibition were also well received by the audience.

The exhibit opened on 26 October and closed on 2 November 2013 and over 400 people visited. The exhibition displayed colourful vibrancy and granted street artists exposure in the creative industry market. We are pleased to inform our readers that about 90 employment opportunities were created in the field of visual arts as a result of this exhibition.

Image courtesy of David Brown Fine Art

Images courtesy of David Brown Fine Art

Both the printmaking and street art projects had a huge impact on the visual

arts community, creating awareness and market access for the artists who

exhibited across multiple platforms. The NAC prides itself in acknowledging

the diverse disciplines within the arts by means of these initiatives.

The exhibitions were curated by David Brown Fine Art in conjunction with the

City of Johannesburg DAC. For further details visit www.davidbrownfineart.

co.za.

NAC VOICE / 37


Both the printmaking and street art projects had a huge impact on the visual

arts community, creating awareness and market access for the artists who

exhibited across multiple platforms. The NAC prides itself in acknowledging

the diverse disciplines within the arts by means of these initiatives.

The exhibitions were curated by David Brown Fine Art in conjunction with the

City of Johannesburg DAC. For further details visit www.davidbrownfineart.

co.za.

The Fifth Annual Isipantsula Festival

THE ISIPANTSULA FESTIVAL is a Gauteng project that aims to identify promising Isipantsula dance groups and solo artists. The dancers took part in the 2013 Festival and revived Isipantsula dance as part of the township culture. The Festival informs communities that the dance genre should not be associated with township gangsters but rather, it should be seen as a way of life and upliftment, particularly for the youth. Participating dancers were given an opportunity to partake and display their talent. On 18 November 2013, rehearsals were held at Tsholo Hall in Katlehong location, Ekurhuleni, to fuse their works into a collage, forming a dance team that performed for 67 minutes and closed with a grand finale.

The Fifth Annual Isipantsula Festival proved to be an outstanding success with the assistance of the NAC project funding that covered all the logistical costs, from the hiring of the equipment to its transportation. The 2013 Festival identified, developed and promoted the Isipantsula style that has remained largely untapped and somewhat marginalised within the dance sector. The Festival helped previously-disadvantaged dancers to tap into their potential by creating a platform for the development of new talent and this time we had the pleasure of introducing female pantsula dancers as well.

The beneficiaries of the project at large were the community members of Katlehong Township who came in their numbers to witness this memorable Festival.

Image courtesy of

NAC VOICE / 38


What’s

happening

The Old Mutual Kirstenbosch

Summer Concerts

When: Every Sunday from 24 November 2013

until 6th April 2014

Web: http://dogreatthings.co.za/music/kirstenbosch

The Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra

Season 1

When: Wednesday, 5 February 2014 to

Thursday, 13 March 2014

Venue: Linder Auditorium, 27 St Andrews Road,

Parktown, Johannesburg and the

ZK Matthews Hall, Unisa, Pretoria

The 15th Annual Cape Town Jazz Festival

When: Friday, 28 March 2014 and

Saturday, 29 March 2014

Venue: Cape Town International Convention Centre,

Convention Square, 1 Lower Long Street,

Cape Town

Calendar and Events

Poetry from our Readers

Uhamb’olude olubhek’enkululekweni uluhambileWasicabela ondlela yenkululeko;

Wasicabela indlela yentandoyeningi;Wasibhulela ulaka kondlebe zikhany’ilanga,

Namhlanje siyisizwe ngobubanze,Siwumful’ongashi ongashabalali ,Siyisiziba esizonzo esizonzobele,

Siyonga baba wesizwe , Siyabonga silomo somhlaba,

Ngob’asisandlan’imilala ngalaka ; Halala ntishida eyothiwe yisizwe sasangululuka;

Halala langa esilothe imilotha ,Yothuthuva yabheka phezulu ;

Uyingqongqo maqaqa koboshiwe kwezobandlululo,Uyingqongqo nyez’okhanye phezu kwe Afrika,

Siyazigqaja ngawe Holihlahla,Siyaziqaja ngawe Madiba,

Ngoku dibanisa izizw’ezalanayo;Yiyabonga ukwanda kwaliwa umthakathi.

DALIBHUNGA !!!!!!!!!!UJU LWENYOSI BHEKANI NDWANDWE

ProfileBhekani.P.Ndwandwe is from Empangeni in Kwazulu Natal, where he grew up. From a very young age he had always loved the traditional arts, culture and heritage, and it is where he’s love for praise singing started. Ndwandwe obtained a certificate as “Best Praise Singer” by SA Poetry Invasion Competition. He has sang praises for the Honourable President of South Africa President Jacob Zuma, sang praises for His Majesty; King Goodwill Zwelithini Kabhekuzulu, played a role at the annual Grahamstown Arts Festival. Ndwamdwe sang praises for the premier of Kwazulu Natal, Dr Zweli Mkhize. He has visited Swaziland with a purpose of narrating the history of the Fakude Clan and is the spokesperson for the youth of the Ndwandwe Clan. He went to Canada in June 2010 for Praise singing and narration of the Zulu culture. He welcomed the Nigerian soccer team as they were hosted in Richards Bay as a praise singer, performed with Lira at the University of Zulu Land in 2010 and published a poetry book entitled; “Uju LWENYOSI”.

‘INKONDLO KA MADIBA (A POEM FOR MADIBA)SIYABONGA MADIBA’by Bhekani. P. Ndwandwe

NAC VOICE / 39


Woordfees

The leading festival of its kind in South Africa,

the Wordfest of the University of Stellenbosch,

is a celebration of the word in its multiple forms

poetry, prose, debate and different genres of

music and drama.

This popular festival, which is held in the first

week of March each year, focuses on Afrikaans

and the languages it has historical and

geographical ties with. It is aimed at the general

public, students and scholars.

When: Saturday 1st March 2014 to

Sunday 16th March 2014

Web: http://www.woordfees.co.za

Artisitic Discplines: Literature, Drama, Music,

Debate, Cabaret, Poetry, Prose and Afrikaans

Woordfeeskantoor

Kamer 616

Lettere en Wysbegeerte

Universiteit van Stellenbosch

Stellenbosch

7600

Western Cape

South Africa

South African Music Awards

Where: Sun City, South Africa

When: Tuesday, 1st April 2014 to

Wednesday, 30th April 2014

Web: http://www.samusicawards.co.za

Artistic Disciplines: Music

Splashy Fen

Established in 1990, Splashy Fen is South

Africa’s longest-running music festival, which

every Easter attracts thousands of people to

a farm near Underberg in KwaZulu-Natal for a

unique outdoor music experience.

The festival offers a four-day line-up of some of

the country’s hottest acts, top-class sound and

lighting, plus a wide choice of outdoor leisure

activities for the whole family. Add to that the

beautiful scenery of the southern Drakensberg,

an abundance of different food and drink

outlets, colourful arts and crafts, a crèche and

children’s entertainment programme, as well as

various camping and accommodation options

and you’re set for a winner of a long weekend!

Splashy Fen has something for everyone; in

fact there’s nothing else in South Africa quite

like it!

Date: Thursday, 17th April 2014 to

Monday, 21st April 2014

Email: [email protected]

Tel: 033 701 1932

Fax: 033 701 1932

Web Address: www.splashyfen.co.za

Artistic Disciplines: Music

NAC VOICE / 40


NACSA VoiceCommunication and Marketing

National Arts Council of SA66 Margaret Mcingana Street

Cnr Gwigwi Mrwebi StreetNewtown

Johannesburg2113

www.nac.org.za

Documents

NAC Newsletter - 5th Issue - 110214 (1)