Tribute to fallen Standard Bank Young Artists as festival turns 50 and Standard Bank Sponsorship 40
“Have you ever seen a celebrity here? I am no celebrity. Shabangu effortlessly warmed himself into the hearts of many, simply because he remained humble.
By Edward Tsumele, CITYLIFE/ARTS Editor at National Arts Festival in Makhanda
Usually as journalists, we do not take kindly when someone, especially a PR person tries to tell us, no matter how subtle they try an angle or perspective we might want to consider to approach an article. However in Makhanda for the National Arts Festival last week, driving with a PR person working at the festival, who picked me up at Port Elizabeth International Airport, I made an act of accommodation I rarely do, and accepted that Neo Mothlala’s idea was in fact correct. He had apparently flippantly suggested that perhaps looking at the late past winners of the Standard Bank Young Artists Award over the years could be a good idea. This is given that, he motivated, the festival this year turned 50, the Standard Bank sponsorship of the festival has reached its 40th anniversary, and this year, the country is celebrating its 30th democracy anniversary. Even with my inbuilt, almost automatic rejection of ideas about how to approach a story from a PR person, this I had to admit, was a brilliant idea.
After all, in this age of a fast paced life, where the attention span of an average person is short, due to how fast the news cycle is, and therefore daily life experience being controlled by social media content that is on overdrive, it is too easy to forget artists that once graced our lives and consciousness. These are young artists at the time when they received the Standard Bank Young Artist accolade, touched many of those that love the beautiful human endeavour of creativity, be it dance, jazz or theatre.
I know there are several of them to name over the past 40 years that Standard Bank honoured as a partner of the festival, and I cannot even imagine mentioning all of them here, save mentioning just a few of them that have just come into my mind. But here I am risking making some of you angry that I have omitted to mention your favourite Standard Bank Young Artist that may have touched your life.
Having said that however, let us start here with Moses Taiwa Molelekwa, that genius of a jazz pianist. Who will forget his cool demeanour and his almost meditative demeanour behind the piano? He died just too young, and tragically so, when that day he is said to have taken his own life and that of his beloved wife Flo. I still remember meeting him and chatting to him at the Market Theatre that very same week. It was a casual talk, and I would not have suspected that a few days later he would be gone in their Melville home. Life became cruel to him. He was posthumously awarded the award in recognition of his contribution to jazz.
Then there is Bra John Ledwaba, a person who had a lovely personality, he remains one of the underrated playwrights this country has ever produced. When he passed on, I remember how people wore really sad faces at his funeral in Diepkloof, Soweto. In fact me and another journalist, afterwards went to a bottle store in the township to buy our drinks and try to come to terms with the fact that our friend Bra John was gone, and we were never going to see him again. Our idea of having a few drinks in his Ekasie after the funeral was in fact intentional. While alive we shared quite a few drunken talks with him on a number of occasions, and he was lovely company Bra John, who loved telling stories, especially about when he toured The Kingdom of The Netherlands successfully with a show.
Sibongile Khumalo, who in fact trained as an opera singer, but chose to perform and record professionally as a jazz artist, and successfully all over the world, was another one of people’s favourite, me included. She remains one of the artists that have such a beautiful voice, and listening to her several of the songs she has left behind, will remind you of the fact that we humans are very close to Angels.
I had the privilege of interviewing her while she was preparing to perform at the Market Theatre only a year before she passed on. We shared jokes about past events that both of us knew as we crossed paths in this crazy world called art. What a beautiful singer.
I only knew Matsemela Manaka for a brief period, but knew about him as one of the foresighted thinkers to emerge out of this country. That is when I was relatively young and not yet a practising journalist. And when he passed on, I felt robbed, just like those that would have loved to see what his artistic output would be as South Africa’s democracy matured as a painter, playwright, poet and writer. I was hoping to one day interview him. However we never got to witness his full artistic spectrum as he passed on in the 1990s. That is why when an exhibition and a symposium dedicated to him, which took place at Umhlabathi photography hub n Johannesburg early this year, many of us who admired his work turned up there.
Maishe Maponya is one of the playwrights who played an important role during apartheid, penning plays that toured globally including the US and the UK during those tough years. My sense is that he is an artist which post apartheid South Africa did not do much favour as a playwright. I feel he should have played a more active and prominent role as a playwright and poet in post apartheid South Africa and that he was given an opportunity by invisible forces to do so. Of course I know about his stint as director of arts, culture and heritage at the City of Johannesburg, which did not end well. Here I will not dwell much on that.
And what about Gloria Bosman, and who like Khumalo, trained as an opera singer at the then Pretoria Technikon, but instead of becoming a professional opera singer, chose jazz, and she too did very well. She and I had a common connection, as I started my journalism education journey at the same institution. Bosman has left behind an important jazz archive in the form of the songs that she released and certainly in the form of memories of her great performances still ached in our minds and hearts.
When that fire engulfed the Newtown based then, Artist Proof Studio in 1990s,, burning it to the ground, and with that perished one of the visual art visionaries Nhlanhla Xaba, it was a tragedy that touched many, beyond those that he worked with, such as co-founder Prof. Kim Berman. It was one of those tragedies that will form a sad part of South Africa’s art history. I mean this visual artist still needed to practise fully and share his knowledge and vision for arts education with the rest of the country. He should not have died during his prime, and in the tragic manner in which his demise happened. However what gives comfort to the visual art sector is the fact that the institution he co-founded, is still there and is thriving, giving an opportunity to young artists, especially from the township who otherwise are left out of formal university art education for one reason or another, to have a shot at art education of high quality that is offered at Artist Proof Studio today at its new home in the suburb of Houghton, Johannesburg.
Mncedisi Shabangu, the playwright and actor, we all loved, died just too young and when he was in his prime. He was an artist who was very successful, both on stage as well as on TV, who had everything going for him. He was one of the leading lights from The Market Theatre Laboratory, who went on to do great things as a professional. His death was just too much to accept. Shabangu , effortlessly warmed himself into the hearts of many, simply because he remained humble, being himself, despite the success and true celebrity status that if he wanted, he could have displayed around for all and sundry to see. But he did not.
I remember an incident in Newtown at a pub the art type frequent, the one that sells cheap beers in quarts, the one where your status in society or art does not matter and is left at the door, the one where everyone is equal. I mean The Place. Here was Mncedisi, and who for the longest of time I had never seen him get angry. But that moment he was. It was because this place that also attracts the ordinary in society, that day, saw one lady, surprised and overwhelmed by the presence of a great actor who seemed comfortable drinking among the ordinary, followed Mncedisi around, including to the bar where he was buying a drink.
“Have you ever seen a celebrity here? I am no celebrity. Please leave me alone.” Mncedisi almost lost it. I had to restrain him and explained that not everyone thinks he is ordinary because of his roles on TV. He cooled off. But later when I got out of the pub after what must have been two hours, I saw the same lady seated outside at the entrance of The Place. The poor lady must have been waiting for the celebrity actor Mncedisi to come out, who obviously was not aware of this as he enjoyed his beer inside.
Other notable Young Artists Award winners who passed on in the past 40 years include Christopher Kindo (dance), Peter Ngwenya (Theatre), Johnny Clegg (Music) and Mbongeni Ngema (Theatre).
And so good bye Makhanda, and the suggestion by Neo hopefully was not a bad idea after all..
.Edward Tsumele, was a guest of Standard Bank in Makhanda during the 50th anniversary of the National Arts Festival and the 40th anniversary of Standard Bank sponsorship of the festival in 2024.