Samanthole Arts Foundation

The Letter Reader  tells an intuitive coming-of-age story shot in a remote mountain village in the magical Drakensberg - it is impossible not to enjoy the scenery of the veld, of open spaces with earth huts planted scarcely on this dusty and misty village, the simple beauties of river and mountains, the clean line of the horizon. It highlights the power of the pen and the written word through the eyes of a 12-year-old boy, Siyabonga affectionately called Siya in the film. The 30-minute film which was released in late 2018, is currently streaming on Netflix and Showmax. The drama is about a young Johannesburg boy called Siyabonga played by Bahle Mashinini, who relocates to a village in KwaZulu-Natal to live with his grandmother while his parents work through their marital problems. Many people can relate to Siya's life having to go stay with his grandmother because grandmothers played and continue to play a pivotal role in cushioning children from the traumas of failed marriages or

Today I feature on this blog arguably one of the pioneers of modernist Black South African theatre makers. Selaelo Maredi is synonymous to local and international theatre making. Maredi the actor, director, playwright, teacher movie star and mentor having been one of the founding members of Experimental Theater Workshop 71 founded in 1971 which propelled him for reaching greater heights in the global theatre industry.  I met him for the first time few years ago at the Olive Tree Theatre in Alexandra township during the opening reception of Roelf Matlala's play titled Birthday   . This was after many years of cajolement by Matlala to meet this great man because Matlala he thought we will relate, which we did as Maredi affectionately calls me Mahlo A Tau - Lion's Mane. However, I have encountered his work long before that through my friends Roelf Matlala and Moses Rasekele D who both at some point produced and directed Maredi's work. Rasekele produced and directed Maredi'

Professor Mongane Wally Serote pic by African News Agency  This is rather a difficult task and one of the first attempts to review a book for my blog, especially of a national Poet Laureate, Professor Mongane Wally Serote. I first came across his work when I was in high school through his poem called City Johannesburg . I loved this poem so much that I plagiarized it, I did with it as I pleased. Replaced Johannesburg with Phomolong which was the name of my high school. I was incredibly proud of myself. I was excited and I showed this poem together with others I wrote to my English teacher Mr. Dan Marolen. From reading just first line, Mr. Marolen remarked 'Chepape this is not your poem but that of Professor Mongane Wally Serote. I am glad he influenced you to attempt writing poetry."  Later after high school when I moved to Johannesburg to study art, I then encountered Professor Serote through interviews he conducted that were screened at Johannesburg Art Gallery w

It is rather challenging for me to put in words the appreciation and admiration of Tlokwe Sehume's music. Factually his genre is described as “Mmino wa Thaba”, or music of the mountain' which is without a doubt music that journeys you into the wild, with therapeutic melodies of mountain birds here and complete variety of sounds emitted by wild animals there. It as an ancient sound inspired by African spirituality, which denudes a connection to the African lineage and ancestors. Tlokwe Sehume visiting my studio early 2020  Speaking to a James Mahlokwane of  IOL  Sehume punctuates his genre as a genre 'deeply rooted in African spirituality and inspired by the true connection Africans have with their ancestors'. From this statement one deduces the Pan-Africanism or Black Consciousness Sehume ascribes to. Tlokwe Sehume, his daughter Mpotseng Makgopa Sehume and band members performing at Joburg Theater in 2019  Personally, Sehume's music has made

It must have been early 2000s when I encountered the work of sister Bongi Bengu because I remember clearly the spreadpage profile in Y-Mag that featured largely local news on arts, culture and politics. The headline of the profile feature on Bengu, one page was ART IS LIFE and LIFE IS ART on the other. I must say that I did not have enough grasp of the English language to really understand that article then but the mere headline spoke to me and the pictures of her work captured my interests for the arts. This magazine was one of the treats my eldest brother  Leshoka Legate  used to offer me by securing copies of when he comes back home in Makotopong village.  Bongi Bengu, South African Artist At this time he was doing apprenticeship at the Bag Factory through The Artist Press. From then on I lived with Bengu on my walls for the next few years as I had plugged pages of the feature from the magazine on the walls of my room. The feature on Bengu became one of my inspirational

Self Portrait of George Milwa Mnyaluza Pemba (1912-2001) made in 1980 George Pemba was a South African painter and writer. During his lifetime, he illustrated a number of books and was also a teacher. Pemba dedicated his life to learning about his culture and traditions and they are emulated in his art. He was posthumously awarded the Order of Ikhamanga. Black artists then and now even when they're fully established, they're often referred to as emerging artists. I remember writing a  review of a Three man show called So Called Emerging Black Artists curated by a black sister Gaisang Sathekge featuring luminaries such as Professor Pitika Ntuli, Mbongeni Buthelezi and Vusi Mfupi.  Uhuru Celebrations of Independence, 1992, Oil on Board by George Pemba  The case of our grandmaster of South African visual arts, George Milwa Mnyaluza Pemba was a bit different because the scope of his output reveals the limitations of the generic term ‘township art’ which cer

We all find it embarrassing when foreign filmmakers are the ones making the biopics of South Africa’s history. A few films that focus on our historical past lack a local representation, making a huge gap because foreign stars play leads in telling our own stories. Even films about Nelson Mandela have been consistently driven by international production houses. It's a great highlight to have a local talent portraying a significant role of Mandela in An Act of Defiance film on Braam Fischer - South African lawyer of Afrikaner descent, notable for anti-apartheid activism and for the legal defence of anti-apartheid figures, including Nelson Mandela at the Rivonia Trial. And today's feature celebrates contributions by one of the most talented artists, Sello Motloung.  Sello Motloung vising my studio in 2018 Writing about An Act of Defiance biopic for channe24 , Gabi said "I also think it might be one of the first times that Mandela is played by a South African - Sel