Up from the ashes

By Anmané Eckard

South Africa went from bushmen cave art to contemporary reinvisioned traditional art. All was not without some struggles. Apartheid, corruption and a lack of government funding, forms only a small part of the struggles artists had to go through and is still going through, to express and exhibit their art. The history of art in South Africa, was initially élitist, projecting the white mythology of the western man onto the South African situation, however, a new reinvisioned approach introduced a new cross-cultural awareness and appreciation.

Community groups started to form across South Africa where artists could express themselves because they were ignored by their own government that did not provide art centres to them. This sort of engagements among community members in townships, showcasing their art, helps people to reveal, provoke and to get healing. Expressing themselves through art helps people to find themselves as well as seeing beyond what they see now.

There are a few ways that art can improve struggles in communities. Art promotes interaction in public places. By creating an art exhibition in a public space there will be interaction and will result in exposure for the artists and community members. Engaging the youth in the exhibitions, contributes to social and economic aspects of community building. It will also bring in more investors and other community members to understand the struggles youth go through in the townships. This involvement will help improve the conditions of the youth. By mentoring, coaching and educating the youth, it will help them address issues they go through and can most likely mobilise the untapped a reservoir of volunteers. When people have a true sense of ownership of a place, the community becomes a better place to live, work and visit. This may be possible, however there is still a lot of struggles the township members of Ikageng go through because of the lack of support from the government.

Organisations and township members create their own opportunities for growth. For instance, during the 2019 Aardklop National Festival, people could go to Ikageng to view township members art in their homes. This created an opportunity for exposure for artists. Other members in townships start their own initiative to create a platform for the youth to express their art.

Events hosted by the initiatives showcase artists’ work, creates a platform for them as well as exposing the community to different forms of art. These events help residents who would not have access to art and brings the art into their homes showing them that there is more in life.

By taking their own initiative, Youth Invasion started. Youth Invasion is a youth-founded and led non-profit organisation in Tlokwe (Potchefstroom, North West) that works hand-in-hand with various communities in the area to effect change and assist make services available and accessible to the communities. The organisation does this through various initiatives, including awareness campaigns and social development activities in Tlokwe and surrounding areas nearby.

The organisation was founded by young people from various townships in Tlokwe who aim to effect change by assisting young people with skills development programmes and encouraging youth to be able to access various facilities to assist in their development. Katleho ‘Pholy’ Mogorosi is one of the co-founders of Youth Invasion that gave more insight to what the group does.They try and improve the livelihood of youth in the township by using their skills and talent in order to close the gap between government and township and how they help the youth with certain things they go through.

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Video: Youth Invasion was founded by young people from various townships in Tlokwe who aim to effect change by assisting young people with skills development programmes and encouraging youth to be able to access various facilities to assist in their development. Katleho Pholy Mogorosi is one of the co-founders of Youth Invasion that gave more insight to what the group does.

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Recently, Youth Invasion collaborated with the North-West University (NWU) to showcase their art. This not only gave exposure to the artist because of their work, but also helped the artists to see where they can take their artistic level. This showed them the relevant opportunities that are beyond the township. “They used to know there was a university but did not have access to it. Now through the exhibition they have access and they can see that there are more opportunities. Youth Invasion gave the artists a platform to move forward,” said Mogorosi. Youth Invasion try and close the communication gap people in the township have. They may have a certain skill but don’t know how to use it or implement it to move forward. Mogorosi said that the youth does not think the university can help them because they don't have the relevant information.“Youth Invasion gives them the opportunity to improve themselves as well as providing information about the university and what it can offer them,” said Mogorosi.

Most of the youth that is involved has a township background and understands the struggles. “Your background in the township can lift up the youth,” said Mogorosi.

They get together every day in someone’s back room studio, where they chill around, work on something and come up with some ideas. Mogorosi said that all of them are tied to the Hip Hop space because it gives them a creative space to grow them as individuals, unlike the nine to five job that oppresses them. Most of them do not like the nine to five life and art helps them to express themselves.

As mentioned before, the University hosted a Kasi Vibes Exhibition to showcase the Hip Hop subculture that is a global cultural phenomenon that extends to music, education, art, fashion and deejaying. They looked at how music consumption represents the self within a social context and how subcultures enables youth “to act proactively and productively in the townships as Kasi vibes. They also showed how Hip Hop in Ikageng, Potchefstroom, operates as a cultural capital in the fields of everyday interaction in the face of abandonment. Kgothatso Dire -”K-Tasso”, a rapper and producer, said that it showed him that there is more places and people he can reach to show them what they go through.

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Video: The artist show how they go about to create their art. K-Tasso raps and shows how he produces a song. Vusi talks about what he noticed people like to wear and Ore the Don talks about the struggles the youth face in townships.

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“If you have a skill and want to do something with it, we will make it work,” said Mogorosi. He said that they want Youth Invasion to go beyond the borders of Ikageng and would like to create a platform for the youth to express themselves in other townships. This has happened where another student on the NWU Potchefstroom campus got involved with Youth Invasion in order to distribute pads in townships.

Passion led them here.

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Video: K-Tasso and Katleho talks about how they are the rolemodels in the township because the youth does not see lawyers and doctors.

Their frustration and passion for this NPO also features as they talk.

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