WOMEN in the spotlight at the festival in NEWTOWN
In celebration of Women’s Day, the best South African talent in theatre, music, dance, craft and photography will be showcased in the Newtown Cultural Precinct during the fourth annual Women in Arts Festival, from the 5 to 9th August 2005.
Having attracted nearly ten thousand visitors to the Festival last year, Johannesburg Development Agency has set up a show-stopping programme…
to attract double that number this year.
Major financial support for this year’s Festival has been received from Transnet Foundation and Peugeot Motors SA. Kaya FM have come on board as the official radio partner and sees this Festival as a platform to launch the station’s move into Newton on 1st August. Other financial support for specific events was received from Edgars, Pro-Helvetia and Swiss Development Corporation.
Transnet Foundation’s Eunice Maluleke says, “The arts has the ability to bring people, from across cultural barriers together and Newtown is one such place where we are defining, through the arts, who we are as South African people. Through our strategic partnership with Newtown Cultural Precinct and as the founding sponsor of the Women in Arts Festival, Transnet Foundation continues to contribute towards nation building. This Festival is also an opportunity to assist in creating a full fledged cultural industry in SA, in line with Government’s cultural growth strategy. The Foundation’s objective is to take arts and culture to the people, literally and figuratively speaking!”
Lee Luck of Peugeot Motors SA says, “We have seen a massive increase in women buyers of our vehicles, right across the range. Thus the fit between Peugeot and Women in Arts is an obvious one and we are delighted to be associated with dance, photography, music drama and craft”.
The Festival consists of a host of cultural performances taking place in the various venues during the day and the evening from Friday 5th to Tuesday 9th August. Many of these have low entry fees or even free admission. The cafes, restaurants and nightclubs come alive from 21h00 with performances from the latest and hottest bands or musicians. In addition to this string of theatrical, dance and musical performances there are two other major public events.
The first is a Women’s Day Luncheon which will be held in a grand marquee on Mary Fitzgerald Square on Saturday 6th August. The newly appointed Deputy President, Ms Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, will make this one of her first public engagements. Entertainment by top SA band Malaika, goodie bags and free admission to other Festival performances will make this Gauteng’s top Women’s Day event. The opportunity to attend is open to 500 women who may book as individuals at R1000 per head or corporates can purchase a table and spoil their female staff at a cost of R10 000 per table of ten. For bookings call Nicole at Thebe Events on 011-794-8015
The ladies will be encouraged to linger a little longer by attending a mini concert from 14h30 in the Market Theatre Precinct at the restaurant tables of Moyo or Gramadoelas. The concert will feature vocal performances from the Afrika Mamas, Cutt Glas and Antonal, Spanish and Afro-fusion dance and a high-energy show from the four-piece SHE band. Other activities that are open all day during the Festival include the Seeing Women photo exhibit that explores the ideas and contradictions of women and femininity and the Bus Factory’s Women in Craft, which houses a colourful display of craft made by the beaders, embroiderers and ceramists that work from the Bus Factory. On Saturday 6th and Tuesday 9th August, the Bus Factory will also be hosting family workshops on Drumming and Printmaking at a nominal cost of R5 per head.
The second major public event is the free music concert on Women’s Day, Tuesday 9th August, on Mary Fitzgerald Square. The concert starts at noon and runs until 6pm. For six hours the feet of thousands of women, men and children will be kept tapping to the sounds of SA’s top Afro-pop band Malaika, Lebo Mathosa with her dance single that is on almost every radio station, the world renowned Mahothella Queens, Afrikaans rock act Karen Zoid, Ladies in Jazz and all-girl punk band, Running with Scissors.
The Market Theatre will be presenting Shreds and Dreams, written by Bongi Ndaba and directed by Claire Stopford, every evening at 20h00 and at 14h30 on Sunday 7th. This humorous and delightful drama shares the story of three young black women trying to make their way in contemporary Johannesburg, each with their own perspective on life and each with their own desires, fears and ambitions.
I of Dance is a new dance commission by Samantha Pienaar which will be on at The Dance Factory and will feature the cream of SA’s young female dance talent. The Bezst Theatre at Couch and Coffee will have performances each evening at 20h00 of Unsung Heroines, a musical drama set in rural Eastern Cape that pays tribute to Nontimbi Hoshela, a healer and diviner with a rare gift for helping barren women.
Newtown will definitely be the hottest music ‘spot’ in Gauteng over the Festival weekend. On Friday 5th August at Bassline, Edgars in association with 5fm, will present SA’s hottest commercial music property Freshlyground, the pop-rock act Louise Carver and the Gang of Instrumentals. On Saturday night Bassline’s artists include Thandiswa Mazwai, Simphiwe Dana and Zamajobe.
On both Friday 5th and Saturday 6th August, Shivava Cafý will play host to Uju, a new popular band peforming Afro-World music and Niki’s Oasis will jazz it up with Siya Makuzeni, a top female jazz vocalist and trombone player.
Horror Cafý will be rocking until the early hours of the morning on Friday 5th August with the Kwani Experience and on Saturday evening DJ’s Black Rabbit and Secret Crew will mix Afro-centric music. A ‘Touch of Something Feminine’ is the theme at Carfax with SA’s top female DJ’s including C4, Sistamic, Soulsista, Nina, Heather and artists TK and Thembi.
The Festival will encourage movement between the restaurants, cafýs and clubs as well as the theatres and cultural venues. With an action-packed programme such as this, the Women in Arts Festival will be the place to celebrate Women’s Day 2005.
For further information on tickets, bookings and performance times, call Manqoba on 083-319-5026 or Celestine on 073-253-7404.
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