Represent Reminder: Sasol New Signatures closing!
*ARTISTS this is just a reminder to get entering! Entries close 6 June* For the last two years now we’ve supported the Sasol New Signatures competition, the search for the freshest artistic talent coming through the ranks…last year they had a fat R100k to give away to the winners and this year it’s the same (what no inflation?). What we love about the competition is that there is a dedicated section for NEW MEDiA – yes that’s all you digital designer gurus. And you can enter your work online – now there’s no excuse but to give it a bash. The other two categories include installation, photography, drawing, sculpture and painting so it’s pretty broad. You’ve got a month to create your winner… so Artists get going. Make sure you’re over 18 and make sure you abide by the rules and get your work in by/on Tues 5 June and Wed 6 June. More info here. Online entries for the Sasol New Signatures Competition 2007 are open. Aspiring young artists can register and enter their works between 2 May and 6 June 2007 at www.sasolsignatures.co.za. The online facility provides artists with a secure and cost-effective platform to present works for the first round of judging. It also extends accessibility to the competition beyond the six national collection points and physical submission dates. To enter online, artists are required to register a profile on the website before submitting a work. Online entries must be submitted in one of three categories: * Category A includes all two dimensional artworks and incorporates drawings, photography and all types of paintings. * Category B includes three dimensional artworks such as sculptures and installations. * Category C is for all new media. This may involve videos and electronic applications. Feedback from last year’s entrants showed that the cost of transporting works to the exhibition is a barrier to entry for many young artists. For the 2007 competition Sasol has entered into a partnership with Stuttaford Van Lines to sponsor the transportation of works selected for the exhibition from the regional collection points in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban and Bloemfontein to Pretoria. Artists will be responsible for the secure packing and of crating works for transportation. The online submission facility and a transportation partnership with Stuttaford Van Lines provide an inexpensive and safe option for young cash-strapped artists to take part in the competition. Physical submissions will be accepted on Tuesday, 5 June 2007 and Wednesday, 6 June 2007 between 10:00 and 16:00 at the national collection points in Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and Pretoria. The competition is open to up-and-coming South African...
Just who is milking it?
If you’re a drinker of long-life milk as I am, you may have noticed that there has been NO LONG LIFE MILK on the shelves for the past month nearly. And when we say NO MILK we mean it – there’s a huge gap on the milk shelves at all 5 of the supermarkets in our area….Spot the lonely full fat box lying on it’s side waiting for a full-fatter to snatch it up, or the soya milk boxes who stand confidently tall waiting for dairy drinkers to convert (out of desperation mind you). Well soya milk is supposed to be better for you, especially for your heart. Maybe it’s the push we need to get healthy? Maybe not. I’m starting to resent rationing my cups of tea a day so that I can save milk for my cereal. Spoilt? Maybe. Better get used to it – looks like it won’t ease off ’till Spring. The Star tells us it’s all about the money. Why does that not suprise us? We’re sick of greedy people, companies and big shots screwing the little guys. Come on farmers, tell us like it is. Supermarkets we’d like to understand your mark up from R1,80 a litre to R5, R6 even R7 something. What I always think in these situations is about the little, little guy – the unemployed, the poor, the old… how on earth do they afford milk? Here’s the story from IOL – click here for more: Milk will be in short supply until September or October and the industry is blaming supermarkets. The number of dairy farmers has been whittled down from 80 000 to only 3 350 over 40 years. The Competition Commission is probing the role of dominant milk buyers, including Clover and Parmalat, in keeping dairy farmers’ prices...
BENG BENG BENG – Femi Kuti here on Fri!
*UPDATE: BengBengBeng – don’t miss Femi Kuti guys – it’s this Friday start planning now. We are finding out the concert schedules/times for you and will let you know shortly. * Time for some good news! We have been waiting a long time to see one of Africa’s most incredible performers in SA. Get ready for an energetic, sexy, move your bones performance from the inimitable Nigerian SupaFunkArtist Femi Kuti, son of the legendary Fela Kuti right here on Southern African soil. There’s no excuse not to be there ‘coz it’s a FREE concert in one of Jozi’s coolest places, Mary Fitgerald Square in Newtown, all in celebration of AFRICA day – damn it feels good to be African today. Lets ALL go downtown. Support the city, the country and the continent! If you don’t know Femi, buy his music now. So put Friday night the 25 May in your diaries now and REPRESENT with more brilliant music from Ringo, the mysterious SAMA winner Lesego, Louis Mhlanga and others on the night… It just gets better on Saturday the 26th May with another free concert in Jukskei Park in Alex featuring Kwaito’s flavour of the moment (We heart LVD) L’VoVo Derango, the soulful Siphokazi and the ever popular Flabba then if you still ain’t partied out, head on over to Mofolo Park SOWETO on Sunday the 27th May for more Femi and our best girl Lira and our main man HHP, hopefully with his full band. SHO! It’s seriously jam-packed. Here are the details: The weekend-long Africa Day celebrations are about to commence, and preparations are at an advanced stage for the various events that will take place on the weekend of May 25th. This years Africa Day activities, hosted by the City of Joburg, the French Institute, Arts Alive, the Lotto and SABC will take place as three free events throughout different areas of Joburg, namely Newtown, Alexandra and Soweto. The festivities kick off on May 25th, with a concert at the Mary Fitzgerald Square, featuring Nigerian afro-beat star Femi Kuti, South Africa’s Ringo, Lesego, Corlea and Louis Mhlanga, Zambian vocalist Lindiwe, Ugandan Kinobe as well as the Vuvuzela Orchestra. The concert, which is free to members of the public will be televised on SABC2 and SABC Africa from 22h00 – 00h00 on Friday, 25th May. The next day, May 26th, the move is in Alexandra’s Jukskei Park, where a fashion show with a difference will take place along the banks of the Jukskei River, followed by performances by Flabba, L’vovo Derango and Siphokazi, all open to the public at no charge. The final part of the Afro-centric celebrations takes place at Soweto’s Mofolo Park, where Femi...
Digital solution for Zim Crisis: Mukuru.com
Interesting… an sms/cell phone service has been set up by enterprising Zimbabweans and South African’s in London that enables UK based Zimbabweans and South Africans to easily help their cash-strapped friends and family at home. It’s a voucher-based system – cash is paid over in the UK for a specific service like petrol or fuel at a garage, friends and family are sent an sms voucher to redeem the goods. So in other words, you can buy petrol for your family in Southern Africa in pounds and all they have to do is show the voucher at the garage and fill up with petrol. Author CK Prahalad talks about exactly this kind of notion, how creative digital solutions can help the developing world, specifically in reducing poverty. It’s a great concept – well done guys. Let’s not get bogged down but look for solutions instead. See Makuru here. BBC Africa has more here: Text messages from abroad have never been received so eagerly by cash-strapped Zimbabweans. The “beep beep” signals an end to hours spent queuing at petrol stations. “Hey… you have been sent a Mukuru Voucher for 40 litres of Petrol from…” reads the message. A voucher number follows which allows the recipient to swap the pin number for coupons redeemable at certain garages. This is all the handiwork of Mukuru.com – a website set up by Zimbabweans in the UK to help their fellow countrymen in the diaspora pay for petrol, satellite TV or transfer money to their friends and relatives at home. It properly got off the ground last year, and its customers are steadily growing as news of it spreads. [Click here for rest of BBC Africa article]...
Represent Review: The Maids @ WITS
Sharpile Linda for the review – catch The Maids at WITS before the 26th May: Do yourself a favour – read the play by Jean Genet (or read something about it) before you go and watch this stage adaptation. The opening scenes are vague, abstract. I felt a bit lost in the beginning, but I was fine again when I eventually realised that there were two characters playing each of the maids. The first scene opens in a boudoir, opulent with red velvets white lace and flowers, where the two maids, Solange and Claire (played by four characters) take turns acting out the part of their employer, Madame. This ritual, which they perform nightly, is great parody, mimicking and exaggerating Madame’s whims and irrational demands – almost reminiscent of our own “Madam and Eve”, only more sinister. In the maids’ game, they try to kill Madame. Madame is obnoxious and completely self-absorbed, languishing after her lover (Monsieur) who is in prison because a whistleblower alerted the police to his involvement in shady dealings. The master/slave relationship is depicted with poignancy and depth. The maids envy Madame’s lifestyle and wealth, but pity her loneliness and are at turns amused and disgusted by her condescending attitude towards them. Madame is plagued by guilt and sometimes irritation at the maids’ obsequiousness, but also has a malicious streak. In one scene she gives them gifts – a fine evening gown and a fur coat, but soon changes her mind and takes the gifts back, paying scant attention to the maids’ humiliation and disappointment. The maids’ imaginary desire to kill Madame has self-destructive consequences for them, but I won’t give away the story. The acting is superb and there are some really intense moments. The play has some powerful messages about the imbalance of power in domestic workers’ relationships with their employers. In one scene, Claire makes a profound statement, “her joy feeds off our shame”, which certainly gave me pause for thought. I would love for someone to take the bold step of adapting this to a South African context. Catch this play at the Wits Amphitheatre from 16th to 26th May. Tickets at Computicket....
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