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You would be forgiven to think that you are in a restaurant somewhere in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, while you are just dining in the cultural precinct of Maboneng at Arts On Main.
Els Salome Restaurant is situated in uptown Johannesburg near Jeppestown, in what has become a modern arts and cultural hub in Joburg. The smell of African spices from a patterned cafeteria lulls you to a peaceful dining table for one. The spices and coffees from Ethiopia are brewed right before my eyes. The manager comes round with a smile and warmth of presence. He gives us free finger-snacks for a starter. He then explains the menu to me and what is on special for the day. He is dressed in dashiki suits and worn a Jesus Christ’s like sandals. In the background Eretria’s songbird, Aster Awake plays. Her magnetic and profound voice makes you feel at home. The music is a collection of African Female musicians from the continent. From the menu I ordered the Ethiopia’s favorite cuisine. The food that consists of injera (a type of porridge) – a fermented teff flour and wat (a thick stew) made of beef, lamb or chicken. I ordered Mango and Coconut smoothies and the food was a
Art allows us to be independent and think creatively in whatever that we do, says Leshoka Legate
Leshoka Joseph Legate is a Masters graduate of Tamarind Institute of Fine Art Lithography from the University of New Mexico. He is the second African Master Printer after his former boss Master Printer Mark Attwood. He was born and raised in a small village called Makotopong, in the outskirts of Polokwane. Master Printer Leshoka Legate, Founder of LL Editions In 2004 after Legate worked for Mark Attwood at The Artist’s Press for 6 years, he was granted a scholarship to study his Masters in Lithography in Mexico for two years. “It was indeed a great highlight in my career to be selected and shortlisted to be part of the Masters programme to study at Tamarind Institute. Almost 300 printers and artists from around the world applied and only six were shortlisted, what a great honour to be among the six selected to study Masters in Lithography. It was a great experience for me; especially because it was the first time I went outside South Africa and spent two years in
Congolese artist uses his art to amplify stories of street children in Africa
“The exhibition at Lizamore Gallery is a kind of introduction of my work to the Johannesburg art scene” says Thonton Kabeya about his work in the third annual edition of New Voices at Lizamore Gallery in Jan Smuts Avenue. Kabeya’s work opens a window and gives a sight into the socio-political and socio-economic struggles facing many children in Africa. His work does not only explore political incorrectness and the negligence of children by the leadership and society at large but it also jolts one to see the beauty of life through the innocent eyes of the children. Life Made In China, Painting, 2014 The exploration of children’s innocence and fragility through a use of portrait, using his daughter as a model of portrayal, reminds us of his childhood memories of regular tribal conflicts, genocides and human made homelessness culture of children. He is a Kasayian tribe – a tribe which was heavily affected by genocide inci
Tales of the humiliated people kept alive by Sizwe Banzi Is Dead
The Market Theatre stages a modern classic play entitled ‘Sizwe Banzi is Dead’. The new-generational embodiment of Sizwe Banzi is Dead, starred by contemporary South African actors Athandwa Kani (John Kani’s son) as (Styles and Bantu) and Mncedisi Baldwin Shabangu as (Sizwe Banzi and Robert Zwelinzima) hits the Market Theatre stage after almost four decades. The production which was pioneered through collaboration between the white South African playwright Athol Fugard and the black actors John Kani and Winston Ntshona in the 70s is one of the great South African classics in the theatre landscape locally and internationally. Sizwe Banzi is a chronicle of the dehumanizing treatment of South Africa’s black population under apartheid. The play starts in a small photography studio called Styles Photography studio and follows a comic story of a man who is willing to keep himself alive but his name dead in the manner of speaking. His quest to survive without his real passbook tells a
South Africa's talent fusion makes celebration a bang
“I AM AN AFRICAN - I owe my being to the hills and the valleys, the mountains, the rivers, the deserts, the trees the flowers, the seas and the ever changing seasons that define the face of our native land”. These words by former president Thabo Mbeki reverberates in the theatre play entitled KETEKANG – loosely translated from Sepedi/Setswana, which means celebration. The ‘I’m An African’ speech he delivered on the 8 th of May 1996 in Cape Town gives substance to the play and contrasts the dawn of democracy with the celebrations that happened almost two decades ago. The production features Aubrey Poo, Nokukhanya Dlamini and assortment of talented musicians, choreographers and poets that give the twenty years of democracy celebration a bang. Nokukhanya Dlamini, Aubrey Poo, Caroline Borole, Dionne Song, Lebo Toko, Lesedi Job, Sonia Radebe, Vuyelwa Maluleke and Zimkitha Kumbaca ©Ruphin Coudyzer A fusion of music and thea