The kids were excited and eager to learn, the computers were connected to the Internet and Mabusi, our mentor, was ready to share her knowledge. I’m sure this school will be as successfull as the previous two!

The Sinomlando Centre presented two volumes of interview transcripts relating to the history of Mpophomeni which will be showcased soon at the Mpophomeni Eco-Museum in Montrose House. The project was funded by the National Lottery.

Interviews were conducted by community members trained in oral history by the Sinomlando Centre.  The two volumes of interviews represent a massive amount of information on the history of the township: 310 pages in English and 210 pages in isiZulu.

Sinomlando is isiZulu for ‘we have a history’. The mission of the Sinomlando Centre is to build capacity in oral history and memory work in people and communities.

Established in the vicinity of Howick in the late 1960s, Mpophomeni paid a heavy price as a result of the civil war between the UDF and Inkatha in the 1980s and 1990s. Hundreds of residents lost their jobs after a strike at the nearby Sarmcol factory in 1985.

A delegation from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in the United States, attended a week-long oral history workshop facilitated by the Sinomlando Centre in Pietermaritzburg, was present at the launch. They gained valuable insights for an oral history project they intend to conduct with former members of the civil rights movement; mostly African American activists, in the state of Virginia. The delegation included Henry L Marsh III, a member of the American Senate and a former civil rights activist himself.

Also present at the event were representatives of the Department of Arts and Culture and the Umgeni Municipality as well as community members and foreign visitors.

Ever since Paul Mashatile was appointed Minster of Arts and Culture, I have just missed meeting him on a number of occasions. However, yesterday I was privileged to spend some time chatting to him on his walkabout of public arts events included in COP17.

“We have encouraged crafters to create work with materials that are environmentally friendly or from recycled materials,” he explains. ”We felt this conference was the biggest opportunity to showcase South African art and crafts. This is an approach we are taking for the future. We need to use all major events to showcase our creative talents in this country.

“Whenever people come to conferences,” he adds, “they take a break and see what’s on offer. We must use these opportunities to tell the story of our people as well as showcase creative people and their products. We want visitors to come back. Very often, they don’t realise that there is such beauty here – all this creativity.

“For us, the approach is no longer craft for the sake of craft,” he continued. “These products become many people’s livelihood. Craft is already a major contribution to employment creation but we need to find more ways to expose this work.”

A tall man with an engaging smile, one is immediately drawn to his personality as well as his passion about his subject. He readily admits that he has no prior background in the arts – in fact, previous portfolios included Finance, Transport and Housing. However, it is his experience in finance that will prove a definite plus for arts practitioners, many of whom battle to stay afloat at all levels and in all disciplines.

The Minister was in Durban to launch Mzansi’s Golden Economy at COP17, a concept created this year which grew from an idea that arose when he attended a conference in Italy. “Creative culture was marked as a major contributor to the economy and the biggest driver of growth,” he explains. “This is true for us as well – and we have mining and gold!”

The vision is to create a much wider number of museums and heritage sites as well as to substantially assist the film and audiovisual industry.

Another project is the creation of a touring company to take craft around the country so that crafters are able to reach new markets. Government departments will be encouraged to buy products from this company to fulfil their large corporate gift requirements.

An additional – and extremely welcome – project is the creation of a national skills academy.

Another pro-active plan is to create exhibition spaces in all government buildings nationwide as well as embassies and consulates worldwide. Spaces in these institutions will be created for South African art which will be sold or auctioned at the end of every year.’ ’We want to put South African art on the map in a big way,” he explains. “We want to approach cultural attachés to promote our work. South Africa has a lot to share.”

When he was handed the Arts & Culture portfolio, the Minister remembers his initial response: “I thought: “Wow!” … because it’s very exciting. This sector is bigger than people imagine – and there is so much to do. But I am very positive about the arts and culture in this country”

At the official launch of Mzansi’s Golden Economy in Durban last evening (November 29), the Minister revealed his pièce de resistance – that of introducing the arts back into the school curriculum. If he achieves nothing else but this, during his time of office, he will have achieved a massive turning point in the training of professional, pro-active and sustainable skills in the arts at all levels.

Source: Article by Caroline Smart, Pictures by Betsie Greyling.

More info on their website http://ccrexpo.com

A number of free events are also being run concurrently. Most of the action will be concentrated along the Beachfront, from Ushaka Marine World to the uMngeni Green Hub near Blue Lagoon. Please refer to the attached docuemnt for names of the specific areas along the Beachfront. There will be lots and lots other events happening all over the City as well, some of which are listed in the attached programme.

Please watch the press and check the website www.cop17-cmp7durban.com for details of additional events, and updates on schedules.

FINAL COP17 EVENTS.pdf

The COP17 Tree at the Durban Beachfront

The Centre for Creative Arts (University of KwaZulu-Natal) and Poetry Africa will present a special Heritage Day programme as part of the 100 000 Poets for Change project. This bold endeavour, initiated by Californian poets Michael Rothenberg and Terri Carriòn, will see worldwide poetic action on September 24th, in 500 cities in 93 countries across the planet. The project invites poets and poetry organisations everywhere to compile their own programmes around social, environmental, and political change.

The Poetry Africa event in Durban, supported by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, will especially focus on environmental challenges, as poets, musicians, artists, and humanitarians gather in a collaborative effort to drive environmental awareness.

This free outdoor event takes place from 15h30 at Durban’s Green Hub, an environmental sanctuary nestled among trees near Blue Lagoon, where the Umgeni River enters the Indian Ocean. The programme includes live music, open mic opportunities for poets to express their thoughts and feelings about the environment and related issues, and a poetry weaving session where everybody will be able to take part by writing on a sheet of cloth a few lines of poetry focusing on the environment. Guest participants include Gcina Mhlophe, Patrick Bond, Busisiwa Gqulu, Sakhile STP Shabalala, Siphamandla Xaba, and the New Diva Jazz Ensemble. A riverside clean-up commences at 14h00 and is part of a full day of Green Hub activities such as the 2nd River Revive Bicycle Ride (09h00), Green Info Booths (11h00), and Greening Workshops (13h00).

The evening will conclude with a special sunset film screening of the Lucy Walker film Waste Land, which won three awards at the 2010 Durban International Film Festival – Best Documentary, the Amnesty International Award and the Audience Choice Award.

A free shuttle service will run between Aliwal Street (opposite Exhibition Centre) and the Green Hub, from 10h00 until 21h00.

The 100 000 Poets for Change programme is aligned to the newly formed World Poetry Movement (WPM), which although only two months in existence has already been joined by 100 international poetry festivals and over 500 poets from all continents. Poets and poetry organisations are invited to join the WPM and strengthen the voice of poets, and add African representation to this growing international organisation.

Poets can register at worldpoetrymovement@gmail.com or visit the World Poetry Movement website at www.wpm2011.org.

The 100 000 Poets for Change project is an advance programme for the 15th Poetry Africa international poetry festival which will take place in Durban from 17 to 22 October 2011. See www.cca.ukzn.ac.za for more information.

This year’s Living Legends were Mbongeni Mtshali, Jonathan Rhodes, Sam Ramsamy, Dr Angelo Lambiris, Dudu ‘Lady D’ Khoza, Graeme Pollock, Thandie Ngonelo, Felicity Keats, Professor Paulos Zulu, Mato Madlala, Don Mkhwanazi, Susan Barry, Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, Lucas Nel, Professor Thandinkosi Madiba, Dr TP Naidoo, Ndikho Xaba, Lorraine Scott, Vivian Reddy, Roslyn Narain, Miriam Cele and Obe Mlaba

Profiles of each Living Legend will be added to the Ulwazi Community Memory.

The Bat centre is now sporting a new look thanks to nine volunteer artists from Durban along with the help of a renowned German artist. The eThekwini Municipality and the BAT Centre officially unveiled the new BAT Mural recently, which has been completed as a project between the Sister Cities of Bremen and Durban. City’s Head of International and Governance Relations Eric Apelgren said “Contact between these cities is particularly strong with co-operation ranging from sport, eco-tourism, climate change and arts and culture, amongst others. This year also marks the 17th anniversary of the existence of the BAT Centre so a project was developed to give the BAT a new and fresh face” he said.

He said arts and culture are tools that bring people together: “The idea of the mural was to allow people from different cultures to work together to develop common symbols representing what BAT stands for.”

Mural artist Edeltraut Rath from German’s city of Bremen spent a month in Durban working with 9 artists from the BAT centre. She said symbols, icons, patterns, emblems and letters to depict the activities of the BAT Centre were used to create the mural.

“The artists created and used stencils so that the artworks merged with no art style dominating another. The Zulu symbols merge with other signs in a modern artistic style. The artists worked with a limited palette: blue black, magenta, pink, sky blue, orange, and turquoise making the facade a bright, vibrant and informative new addition to the port of Durban’s skyline” said Edeltraut .

She said the unveiling of the mural was a fitting tribute prior to the Mayor James Nxumalo’s visit German later this year. Nxumalo is expected to visit Bremen in October to strengthen ties with the city. A memorandum of understanding between the sister cities is also expected to be signed.

Unveiling the new mural titled “Together 2011” Municipal Speaker Logie Naidoo said: “On behalf of the City we want to say thank you to Edeltraut and the artist who volunteered for this project. The Bat centre needed a fresh look. We all know that the Bat centre is a melting pot of cultural activities. The best and greatest artist on the African continent has graced this place. This place has also produced many artists.”

Chairman of the Bat Trust Dr.Aubrey Mokoape said “We treasure the relationship we have with the City of Durban and other various stakeholders including the port authorities. We would like to thank everyone who volunteered their services even though sometime the weather was bad people would come to work on the mural and even on weekends.”