Alex High School art festival to expand to other schools

The third edition of the Sibandla Theatre Festival 2022 was held recently at Alexandra High School following a two-year Covid-19 hiatus.

Launched in 2018 by the school’s art teacher Lihle Nene, the festival, held in partnership with the school and Utnubu Movement [which is Ubuntu spelt in reverse).
The festival had close to 30 learners that have taken arts as part of their curriculum participating. Parents came to witness the theatrical work of their children.

The artwork exhibition involved a mixture of visual arts in the form of paintings done by the learners and the dramatization of what is known as physical theatre, which is a form of acting without words but using body actions to express and tell a story.

Asked why Utnubu, Nene said Ubuntu was a Nguni word spelt in reverse whose significance is that it then allows other nationalities and different language speakers to adopt it as their own. Utnubu provided the festival with lighting equipment, some of which came from Ntshieng Makgoro of the Olive Tree Theatre.

Nene said the two-day festival on September 22 and 23, attracted a lot of interest from parents who came in droves and had encouraging comments afterwards which have also inspired her to expand the festival to other Alex high schools and also extend it to those on the peripheries of what has become known as greater Alexandra.

“I will soon start conversations with other schools in Alex with the aim of bringing them on board and will expand further to include those in greater Alexandra as well. Ntshieng [Makgoro of Olive Tree Theatre], who has been running these theatre workshops programmes with the schools, gave me her blessing to run with the idea,” Nene said.

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