By Wandiswa Nxumalo
As part of Human Rights Month festivities, the KwaZulu-Natal Society of Arts (KZNSA) Gallery in Glenwood, Durban, hosted its Transformative Journeys in Mentorship art event that saw works of local artists being placed on show.
One of the artists showcasing their works is internationally renowned, Zanele Muholi. “My images are portraits, so if my work is being exhibited, someone else’s existence is also being affirmed. What matters is having a dialogue with people, with institutions and with history. It’s a collective project of reclaiming space,” explains Muholi.
South Africa observes March as Human Rights Month because of a massacre of peaceful protesters who were murdered by apartheid police on 21 March 1960. They were opposed to pass laws which saw black South Africans being forced to carry an identity document called a dom pas in the land of their birth. There wasn’t free movement of black people and they had been uprooted from spaces where they could enjoy life and placed in congested townships with large families in small homes and homes built on top of one another.
The mentorship programme is facilitated by the Unlearn to Learn organisation and has enabled many artists to use their platforms to create art that speaks of their journeys and experiences in order to inspire and challenge norms. Artists use different forms that include paintings, sculptures and drawings.
“With this mentorship project that we help run, we help artist develop their art based on their experiences, living in Durban and also their surroundings,” said contemporary artist and exhibition curator, Rohini Amratal.
Young artist, Manelisi Nene, says he gained a lot here – especially from mentor, Zamani Makhanya. “He’s one of those artists that paved the way for us, his work advocates on people having the freedom to create what they want, when they want, it could be in the arts, music or whatever, especially the youth, create the work you want, his work is inspiring people to be free,” explains Nene.
