A taste of the new Selaelo

LEGENDARY African jazz musician Selaelo Selota s dream of hosting Exclusive Diaries, a new musical art experience, will not be halted by a lack of financial support.

The hitmaker said he would dig deep in his pockets to produce the show himself.

He said his only sponsor, in the form of equipment and instruments, was Marshall Music.

Everything, from theatre hire to guest artists, is paid for by me through my company Exclusive Diaries,” Selota said.

The muso said he formed the initiative as a way of entering the art entrepreneurship and media space.

I m also interested in the audience having a new experience and in building more platforms for them to enjoy the arts,” said Selota.

As artists, we always wait for someone to call us into activity when they create an event. I want to create new events that would form part of job creation and empowerment.

Selota, echoing Don Laka s sentiments, said that local musicians and artists were not fully supported in this country.

We need such initiatives in South Africa so we can take back our own industry that continues to be the harvest of foreign artists,” said Selota.

The more we have of such initiatives, the better we ll learn to know and appreciate our own. The better we know of our own, then we ll learn to invest and nurture our own, creating communities that take pride in who they are.

There isn t enough support for the arts in this country. The structures are in place, but there is either too much red tape or support is given to those who subscribe to certain ideologies.

Arts agencies have kept the same people, who have been unable to open the doors, for the past 21 years.

Selota said Exclusive Diaries was a music and arts experience event, where music and other art forms were staged and experienced in a detailed storyline format.

Here, the audience gets to know the story behind the music and the art.

During each event, Selota will collaborate with all the artists, sharing his own interpretations of other artists songs.

Exclusive Diaries bill includes visual arts, fashion, poetry and literary works.

The first installment, featuring jazz musician Paseka Tefu, will take place at Atterbury Theatre in Pretoria on Saturday.

The event starts at 8pm and tickets are available at Computicket for R180.

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