Cue Online (Grahamstown)
Gilly Hemphill
2 July 2009
Street artists who play to the public on pathways, alleys and verges during the National Arts Festival will stand taller this year.
The Phezulu Project (Isizulu word meaning 'upwards'), is a new development initiative to help street performers reach for the stars.
In an attempt to revive the traditional, vibrant and festive carnivalesque atmosphere of the festival arts and craft markets, the National Arts Festival has launched The Phezulu Project which will literally help street artist to get their feet off the ground. Phezulu has embarked on teaching a small number of disadvantaged street performers a new skill of stilt walking that will ensure that they stay head-and-shoulders above the rest.
Street artists have always been a regular feature at the National Arts Festival, and since 90’s became increasingly popular when the street markets and Village Green expanded and flourished. More competition sparked an innovative range of styles and genres including dancers, singers, musicians, percussionists and contortionists.
The 1995 Rugby World Cup victory popularized the “Shosholoza” with groups of young children belting their musical hearts out in Grahamstown’s streets. The “Shosholoza” singers could be found in every nook, cranny and street corner of Grahamstown for ten days non-stop.
Just when it got to the point when words had almost lost all coherence and meaning, and the song had worn thin, a new form of busking / street performance was introduced with hundreds of children becoming ‘statue-mimes’.
Whiteface
This titillated attention and invoked intrigue and this ‘new’ art-form attracted meant that little clay-faced statuettes soon became as ubiquitous as people selling “Ann’s Fudge”. Unfortunately, it only took the first few days or so for the novelty, inventive costumes and idle virtuoso to become as tired and static as the performers themselves. On the upside – it was relatively unobtrusive to the festival visitor, but more importantly, it was SILENT!
This year The Phezulu Project, headed by Richard Antrobus, a resident performer for the First Physical Theatre Company, has given a handful of young buskers an alternative perspective on street performance. Instead of being looked down upon and disregarded, The Phezulu Project will equip 5 individuals with the ability to walk tall and stand out from the crowd.
“I want the Phezulu Project to create new incentives, promote innovation and local talent, excite festival goers, and give the whole atmosphere of the festival a new lift”, said Anthrobus.
Antrobus admits: “It’s risky business but I am confident that the public will support this project and help it to develop, grow and expand into other styles of street performance. We simply have to take it one step at a time!”
Busking business
The Phezulu Project is one of four new development initiatives which will give a revived energy to street “busking” in Grahamstown.
“Street busking is a feature of all major arts festivals. Over the years, street “busking” by children in Grahamstown has evolved as its own art form. Hundreds of children line the pavements desperately wanting to become part of the Festival experience”, according to Festival Director Ismail Mahomed. “The Festival has responded to this challenge by offering training to groups of young people in different kinds of skills which will assist them artistically and which will also address some of the many socio-economic challenges in the city," he added.
The Arkworks Project is an equally exciting project which will see street artist converting waste plastic bottles into exciting banraku-styled puppets for street performances. The Arkworks Project is led by Dylan McGarry, a researcher in the Environmental Sciences Department at Rhodes University.
“It’s really exciting to see how the artists are responding to their new skills”, he quipped elatedly. “Suddenly, old discarded bottles and other containers are picked up and are being redesigned to form new kinds of “art props” for the street artists”.
John Walters, a Masters of Fine Art candidate at Rhodes University is working with a group of 3 visual artists from the university and 3 community-based storytellers to present the Japanese-styled Kamishibai Theatre on Grahamstown’s streets during the Festival. Grahamstown’s Kamishibai project has received funding from the Representation of Flanders and will be complimented by two arts educators from Belgium’s acclaimed ABC Project further assisting the group to integrate street storytelling with visual arts.
Street kids
“This is an excellent opportunity. As artists we are feeling particularly chuffed as our work will now benefit a broader community - outside of the white cube exhibition space. This is a very good idea, and I can't wait to see how it all works out”, Walters commented.
The Art-Factory is a partnership between the National Arts Festival and the Sakhuluntu Community Arts Project which works with children who loiter in the streets. During the ten day festival period, The Art Factory will offer street children training in various art forms as well in life skills. Children who attend The Art Factory will receive nutritional lunch-packs. Those who attend the full duration, will be given the opportunity to perform in a community-based concert as well as to take home a grocery bag for their families.
“We prefer to have children in a safe space where they can be fed and taught skills than have them on the streets. We encourage supporters of the project to drop off food items at The Art Factory rather than to throw coins at the children in the streets. Unsupervised on the streets, the children with money are easily exploited,” she said.
“Whilst the Festival is essentially about celebrating our cultures and our arts, we cannot ignore the responsibility that we all have to meet the many challenges of our society. South African artists have a long history of social activism. The Festival’s development programmes creates a happy marriage for growing the arts and for building our societies through the arts”, said Mahomed.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 Cue Online. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
