Samanthole Arts Foundation

Started as Nozincwadi Literacy Campaign by Dr Gcina Mhlophe in 2001 touring rural areas in South Africa promoting the importance of reading and the dawn of another literacy development initiative called school library boxes. In 2008 Nozincwadi became a fully fledged small literary festival that has been conducted annually around the country. The name of the festival is in honour of her great  grandmother "...who could not read or write but collected anything with words on it," remarked Dr. Gcina Mhlophe. It has been for me a great honor and privilege to have attended for the second time their 13th annual installment which spun four days in different locations. It is important to note here that Dr Mhlophe had been involved in the art of telling our stories the world over spanning four decades.  Day One of this year's installment was History-Telling at Luthuli Museum in Groutville Durban with Dr Elinor Sisulu as the key speaker. Day Two was Virtual Seminar on

I have always heard and read - at glimpse - about the name Mazisi Kunene in few publications and most recently from the editorial statement of African Poetry Edition  Vol.1 | Issue 3  of Imbiza - Journal For African Writing by Dr Siphiwo Mahala. It is a common knowledge that Professor Mazisi Kunene was the inaugural National Poet Laureate of the South African Republic post-apartheid. Born in Durban on May 12, 1930, at McCord's Hospital. His mother Eva Kunene (nee Ngcobo) was a teacher and his father, Mdabuli Albert Kunene, a labourer.He grew up at Amahlongwa on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast and attended primary school there and later Kwa-hluzingcondo High School.    Khehla Chepape Makgato, Mathabo Kunene, Futhi Mbongwe, Lamakhosi Kunene and Hector Kunene 📸 by Bongani Gidide This blog post is to simply highlight my experience and journey to Mazisi Kunene Museum. My visit to this incredible museum, incredible in a sense that I felt more at home than any other museum I vi

Tshikhuthula’s depiction of rural landscapes and the public space in which it is received are not simply zones of entertainment but are active productions of knowledge in rural day to day moods along with the temporal occasion to display, discuss, and debate what it means to be raised in remote areas. His charcoal drawings, wood and linocuts are lyrical, spiritual and poetic. ‘In this body of work I used various objects to depict my grandfather’s presence. For instance, the water pipe is a common feature as my grandfather used to work for a company that repaired water pump pipes. These pumps in urban standard are outdated but back home they are still in use and relied on by surrounding communities. Every time I come across an old pump, I remember my grandfather’ says Tshikhuthula.  Tshikhuthula’s prints display an ever conscious awareness of his formative surroundings in Limpopo, subtly and almost subconsciously alluding to ethnic design and symbolism. His w

On Tuesday I had another sit down session, with Mme Helen Mmakgabo Mmapula Mmankgato Sebidi, which you'd be forgiven to term it 'Afternoon Tea with Mme Mpule'. I learn so much from these kind of sessions. The focus today is not on Mamogolo Helen but on one of her teachers and mentors John Koenakeefe Mohl. Mohl was born in 1903 in Zeerust in the North Western province of South Africa and died in 1985 in Soweto.  John Koenakeefe Mohl, pic from internet.  John Koenakeefe 'Mohl' Monnyane (little one) and later  written Mohlangkana (Young man) , popularly known as Mohl was born in 1903 in Zeerust in the North Western province of South Africa. His last name was changed to the palatability of the European tongues as they always claim that African names are difficult to pronounce. John Koenakeefe Mohl was a Pioneering spirit in making a mark for the black modern visual art in South Africa and his name and contributions are often omitted, erased and deliberately

Gogo NoStokana,  Though you have heard  The doors of Western Art bang  In the wind of global art scene,  Nudging to corrupt or influence creatives At large, your soul and conviction  Felt unanchored  From yourself,  From your mother's language,  From the wisdom of your ancestors  From the land of your forebears,  From your Humanism,  Through it all, you maintained your stay  In Mpumalanga, where the sun rise I feel the patterns and colors  Of masterpieces from your primal being Many a times,  I watched you travel the world Tons of television interviews  You bring voices of your ancestors  Through your language of Ndebele alive You inspired me to secure my door of creativity with a strand of wire To stop it from banging about in the wind  Emerging in the arts, mine door has been  Banging so long I ceased to care  Until like now, I wanted to calm  So I could listen and learn  To be true to my conviction and  Authentic to my craft  All the time on the land of my ancestors,

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'