Celebrating Khayelitsha's unique culture
Arts festival set to entertain with music, comedy, crafts and cutting-edge fashion, writes Orielle Berry
KHAYELITSHA will be in the spotlight this weekend as it celebrates its first Khayelitsha Arts and Culture Festival. Pioneering arts, culture, crafts and performing arts from dance to fabulous jazz to a range of rhythmic shows and thought-provoking plays – these and more have been what makes Khayelitsha the place for vibrant diverse communities in its sprawling environs.
But the weekend will see all these all come together in a range of locations that will be easily accessible, along with a plethora of dining experiences, and unusual and cutting-edge shows.
Organiser and director Siyasanda Ntsizi says the festival includes more than 25 local artists, with many more joining crafters and fashion designers in showcasing their creations.
Expect some real treats in the eclectic range of entertainment on offer. In Diski Nites tonight, Khayelitsha born-and-bred international footballer, Ayanda Patosi, will be a guest on the show. Patosi, who plays professionally for Cape Town FC and Bafana Bafana as a left winger, will tell his story.
Comedy lines will be coming thick and fast on Friday, November 17, with a full-on comedy show at the Look-Out Hill from 6pm till 10pm. Headlining the show is funnyman Sqhazolo Ntsika. While still relatively new to the world of comedy, Sqhazolo has made quick progress in a short period of time.
His name means laughter in his native isiXhosa and to make people laugh, he laces his show with his play on words, one-liners, comments on current affairs and observational comedy, delivering his own brand of humour seamlessly.
While he’s a guy who likes doing things his own way, he says that the only pressure he has ever succumbed to was when his close friends and family begged him to try his hand at comedy.
He’ll be just one of bunch of talented local comedians who’ll be tickling the audience’s funny bones.
From comedy to arts, the Iqhayiya Arts and Crafts Centre will be the place to be to see what’s happening on the Khayelitsha art scene.
Iqhayiya is the Xhosa name for pride and the group was formed in 2005 by a group of crafters and artists around Khayelitsha. Based in Harare section in a temporary shelter, it was established because of a growing, and almost urgent need in the community, for a space to showcase projects.
Sithembele Mgadi is one of the founders. He came to Cape Town in 1987 from the small village of Dumalisile in the Eastern Cape. With a daily struggle to make ends meet and find employment, his lucky break came after creating a picture to send to his parents made out of bits and pieces of scrap. When he went to the post office to package the parcel to send to his home town, the postmaster took one look at it and offered to buy the artwork from him. And that is how the 3D shack picture was born.
Art in the form of fashion will be showcased with clothing label Black Embassy displaying their trendy garb.
Founded in 2015 by Nkosinathi Nathee Mahlanyana, Black Embassy is a brand that promotes the idea of putting local into the labels and aims to empower young Africans by implementing their talents and dreams.
A host of top performers, including DJ Milli Bala, will really get the party started. Bala was born in Cape Town and raised in the Eastern Cape until her early teens, when she returned to the Mother City and signed onto the Mo’ Fire Music record label in 2010. Since then, she has released her 10-track debut album, House Maepa.
Finally, what would a festival be without magic in the air? Visitors will be able to enjoy talented magician Mawonga Gayiya, who became a student at the College of Magic when he was just 10 years old, where he honed his magical skills and his uniquely approachable style of comedy magic. Another born and bred Khayelitshan, Mawonga has been featured on the popular 100% Youth show on SABC 1.
He’s garnered an impressive list of accolades and awards: In 2008 he was selected to represent South Africa at the World Magic Seminar in Las Vegas, and then went on to win the Western Cape Junior Magician Championships.
He has also starred in the acclaimed production Imagine at the Artscape Theatre and represented African magic in China at the 2013 International Magic Championships. In 2014 Mawonga produced his first oneman show, Astonish, which was a hit at the 2015 Cape Town Fringe Festival.
● The festival runs until Sunday, November 19, and will take place in various venues around Khayelitsha including the Look-Out Hill Tourism Centre, False Bay College, Chris Hani Arts School, Makukhanye Art Room and many more. There will be shuttles operating from the Look-Out Hill centre.
The festival opens on Friday November 17 at 10am at the Look-Out Hill, to which, as with many of the shows and events, there is free entry.
● For more information call Siyasanga on 065 955 5318; Xolisa on 082 533 3507 or Kholeka on 084 626 7922.