Arts centre celebrates women
This year’s festival is themed HERSTORY- re-birthed, re-told and re-lived.
If you prefer to be entertained in the comfort of your home, then Sibikwa Arts Centre has a production for you on August 27 and 28, with a live performance on August 29.
Sibikwa is a South African multi-disciplinary arts centre, co-founded by theatre stalwarts Smal Ndaba and Phyllis Klotz.
It boasts a 33-year legacy of productively contributing to the socio-economic fabric of South Africa, and a footprint that can be seen across the continent and its global connections.
“Over the years the centre has cemented its long-standing tradition of advocating for creative women in the performing arts,” said Napo Masheane, artistic director at Sibikwa Arts Centre.
“With this in mind, Sibikwa Arts Centre will have artistic threads of feminine works inspired by Charlotte Mokgomo Mannya (Maxeke) centenary, and 20 000 women, mothers, sisters, and daughters, of all races who marched to the Union Buildings on August 9 in 1956, against the pass laws.”
This year’s festival is themed HERSTORY- re-birthed, re-told and re-lived.
“While the festival will be hybrid series of drama, poetry, music, dance and other live performances it also aims to provide unique world-class ‘platformances’ where women creatives from South Africa, Brazil, Nigeria, Ghana, United Kingdom, United States, and Sweden will amplify and enhance a plate of creative ideas, across different artistic disciplines,” Masheane said.
“This of course is a collective way of promoting artistic legacies that draw from other women creatives, who are passionate about reclaiming and re-instilling African identity, pride, intellect and political values.”
Masheane’s added: “Women creatives must stop navigating and negotiating space in a culture that often mutes or censor their artistic talents and abilities.
“So, my take is that, as sister-friends, we need to collectively create our own spaces where the focus will be igniting each other’s sparks while sharing parts of ourselves unapologetically.”
For more information, contact the centre on Liverpool Road on 011 422 4359.
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