Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa this week condemned the display of the old South African flag during the Black Monday protests. “The democratic values enshrined in the Constitution were severely undermined by the shameful brandishing of a symbol of the biggest crime against humanity – apartheid,” Mthethwa said. While the department was unreservedly sympathetic to the plight of farming communities, they were deeply disturbed by some of the symbolism that characterised the protest action. “Burning the new flag and flying of the old flag did not advance the cause for social cohesion and nation building,” the Minister said. –…
Author: Staff Reporter
Rhodes Music Radio organised a series of activities to benefit the community and strengthen its relationship with Grahamstown . In the beginning of 2017, RMR set up a community engagement representative in its RMR club and the marketing division was tasked with exploring projects for the benefit of the community. Inititally they collected sanitary pads for grade 12 learners. During the handover, messages of encouragement were also handed to the learners to ensure none would miss her exam due to the call of nature and also be a boost to confidence by eliminating one thing to worry about. Khuhliso Daniels…
Four controversial arts centres in Hamburg were handed to the local municipality this morning in an effort to make them operational and sustainable. The Amathole District Municipality (ADM) through its ASPIRE agency undertook a process of building four properties namely the Emthonjeni Artist Retreat, Arts and Craft Centre, Environmental Centre and Music Academy at Hamburg in the Ngqushwa Local Municipality. The Arts and Craft Centre, Environmental Centre and Music Academy were built as part of CDB Upgrade project at a cost of R16.9 million and Emthonjeni Artist Retreat was built at a cost of R35.1 million. The total value of…
The Mary Waters Secondary School Tourism department recently took a group of pupils on a tour of Cape Town. Nandipha Citwa, who heads the department, said they chose Cape Town “because it has world attractions”. The educators who accompanied the pupils were Citwa, Joanne Bailey and Giscard Jacobs.The main aim of the tour was “that learners could experience what they learn in textbooks,” according to Jacobs. Once their proposal was accepted by the school and school governing body, the fundraising for the trip began. “We finally took to the tour on 24 September”, said Citwa. The tour group stopped over…
Meet the 2018 Standard Bank Young Artist Award recipients. These are six of the brightest young creative talents working and living in South Africa today. Now in its 36th year, the Standard Bank Young Artist (SBYA) awards are the country’s leading arts award conferred by the National Arts Festival and Standard Bank on deserving young South African artists. This year the honours go to Chuma Sopotela (Performance Art), Guy Buttery (Music), Igshaan Adams (Visual Art), Jemma Kahn (Theatre), Musa Hlatshwayo (Dance) and Thandi Ntuli (Jazz) as the next break through creatives. These budding stars join a prestigious pantheon of award…
Thando Dlalani, Environmental Officer at Makana Parks and Recreation Department since 2014, shows off the garden on a traffic island that eventually worked. Grahamstown’s traffic islands have been a long story, that started a few years ago when the number of stray animals in town started growing – and became a big story when the effects of the drought really started kicking in. “Cows prefer grass,” says Dlalani. “But when there’s a drought, the cows will eat everything that’s green – leaves, bushes, vegetables. Even flowers.” The story of the traffic islands also involves the Grahamstown Residents Association, which repainted…
As education funding and access to jobs becomes an increasing challenge for South Africa’s youth, the Shoprite Group is offering bright, hard-working young people who need financial support a chance to become part of its bursary programme. There are 33 students in the Eastern Cape who are currently Shoprite bursary holders and, once they have completed their studies, they will be given the chance to join the nearly 10 000 people already employed by the group in this province. Candidates could qualify for a bursary of up to R70 000 – depending on the course of study and institution -…
Standard Bank has renewed their sponsorship of the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, one of the country’s longest and highest profile sponsorship investments, for a further three years. Standard Bank’s partnership with the iconic event will run until the end of 2020. “Our partnership extends back to 1984 and has endured ever since – most recently as the title sponsor of both the Jazz Festival and the Young Artist Awards, two flagship properties in the Festival stable,” National Arts Festival CEO Tony Lankester said. “The new agreement will see a deepening of the existing relationship, will bring a new project…
With the first Grade 12 exam papers behind them but several still to come in the weeks ahead, panic and anxiety over their children’s performance are starting to get a hold on parents across the country. But while it is understandably stressful if things appear not to be going well, parents should be aware that their fears can have a further impact on learners’ ability to perform, and parents should rather take action to ensure that children can still do their best on the papers that lie ahead, an expert says. “We are seeing a lot of parental anxiety…
St Andrew’s College has two former pupils who have won scholarships to Oxford and Cambridge, the two most prestigious universities in Europe. Shelley Frayne, Chair of the St Andrew’s College and DSG Rhodes Scholarship announced Aaron Michael Graham as the Rhodes Scholar-elect to Oxford University in 2018. Graham matriculated from St Andrew’s College in 2012 and completed a BSc in Mechanical Engineering (First Class) at the University of Cape Town, being included on the Dean’s Merit List every year. He is currently completing an MSc in Mechanical Engineering focusing on Continuum Mechanics and Finite Element Methods. “We have no…