Siyandiswa Mtyaphi (27) and Noziphiwo Mngcongo (36) believe so strongly in their art they say they don’t mind going to bed hungry just to pursue their dream of being artists.
“Everyone might be doing art but it depends on how and why they are doing it. If you can perform for free or go to bed hungry all in the name of pursuing a career in the arts, then you are an artist,” said Mtyaphi.
The duo who call themselves Black African Women in Arts, are more than just a quadruple threat-they do poetry, sing, dance, and act.
Their passion for the arts made them move from their homes- without any plans of where to sleep- to Johannesburg. Mtyaphi is originally from Marikana while Mngcongo is from the Eastern Cape.
“We met at work and we immediately got along. We did not waste any time when deciding to join forces and create our group,” said Mngcongo.
The art industry is a difficult industry to crack and the ladies realised this as soon as they started pursuing their dream. When they met a well-known actress, they thought “Finally!” but it was not so.
“You know when you finally meet up with someone who is already famous, you think to yourself you are finally going to break into the industry but it did not happen that way,” said Mtyaphi.
“I wish this industry could just look for talent before anything else in a person,” she added.
The ladies believe that art doesn’t necessarily need a qualification as it is something that an individual is born with.
“Yes we would love to obtain more knowledge about art in order to improve but a person doesn’t need to necessarily learn it. It is something that one is born with. How do you teach someone to act a role of a street kid? You can’t. It would have to naturally come from his /her talent and observations,” said Mtyaphi.
“We are not saying that education is not important, it is when it pertains to the business side. However you can’t learn how to emulate someone else’s life at school,” added Mngcongo.
Mtyaphi has had the opportunity to open up for International Motivational speaker Prem Rawat when he was in the country in 2014 for an event that was about educating and motivating people about the importance of inner peace.
Even with exposure of that magnitude they are still underrated and deserve to be given the recognition they deserve.
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