Art centre appeals for aid
THE Centre for Fine Art, Animation and Design has appealed for public help to secure its future.
The centre, launched in 1994 by renowned artist and cartoonist Nanda Soobben, is among the oldest art colleges in the country.
But students and staff have been on tenterhooks awaiting the reinstatement of accreditation by the Department of Higher Education and Training.
The centre was stripped of its accreditation in 2016 after five robberies at its previous premises in Cowey Road, Durban.
Last week Soobben was in a sombre mood in his office, decorated with towering art pieces and vintage artefacts.
“The students are struggling,” he said.
Centre spokesperson, Shabnam Palese Mahomed, said: “The robberies led to a massive loss of equipment and information. The crimes, to the best of our knowledge, were never investigated, but because information was stolen, our accreditation as a private learning institution was taken away.”
Months later, the Sectoral Education and Training Authority (Seta) was investigated for alleged corruption and bursaries to students were frozen.
“Many could not pay but Soobben kept them on. This came at a cost,” Palesa said.
Mounting public pressure, including an online petition, saw the department extend a helping a hand. But its promises have apparently fallen short.
“The department agreed to fast-track the reinstatement of accreditation and the new registration. We were led to understand this would be finalised in three months. Yet we are still in limbo and have been inundated with calls from people who want to study art,” Palesa said.
Learning, however, is under way at the centre, though without first-year art students who missed the first quarter of the teaching year as funding dried up.
Palesa said: “The tragedy is that if education was truly free, not only would students benefit but those who wanted to educate and empower themselves would too.”