LHM Abasha Bash! Festival 2023

13 June

(Text by Ayanda MaNgcobo Simelane)

Abasha Bash! is the performing arts of the Passbook Competition administered by the Durban Local History Museums. ARROWSA has been a long-standing partner of the competition and was once again represented in the 2023 installment of the competition.  The auditions took place on 16 and 17 May 2023 and the finals on 13 June 2023.

ARROWSA chair, Ms Luthando Ngema and Dr. Mary Lange (Mel) formed part of the adjudication panel. Other adjudicators were from eThekwini Living Arts, K-Cap and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education.  They witnessed amazing talent delivered by 17 schools from different parts of eThekwini.

The schools produced 10 minute performances under the theme: The Year of Imbokodo, in recognition of female leadership, the struggles and the role of women in society.

Ms Mohau Qalaza of LHM and founder of the Passbook Competition and Abasha Basha! in Durban (above)

Teachers and learners from Durban area schools attend the Abasha Bash! Festival at the Westville Civic Centre

Dr Mary Lange (MeL) and Ms Luthando Ngema (ARROWSA Chairperson) adjudicate at the Abasha Bash! Festival

ARROWSA collaboration: Education and Outreach

Text by Ayanda MaNgcobo Simelane

ARROWSA is engaged in education and outreach, through its partnership with the Bergtheil Museum, it has facilitated educational tours to schools from different parts of eThekwini. The tours are based on cultural heritage, incorporating classroom learning, museum education and the use of storytelling in heritage education. 

As part of the ARROWSA programme primary School learners are led through the Bergtheil Museum by Local History Museums staff.

(above and below)

MeL team Mary Lange, Aslina Madikizela, and ARROWSA alumni Jabu Nxumalo and Noluthando Shandu collaborate with ARROWSA and Durban Local History Museums to share with Grade 5 learners through experiential learning about sources of the past - including oral stories, (above) and indigenous dancing (below).

Palmiet Nature Reserve staff, Palmiet Nature Reserve Committee, Jean Senogles collaborate with ARROWSA, Durban Local History Museums (LHM) and MeL, Mary Lange and Aslina Madikizela in the LHM Passbook Competition visits to the Palmiet Nature Reserve. There the learners are part of an interactive archaeological demonstration (above) and nature walks. Both of these emphasise the central role of women in the past.

 

Telling Stories of Pain and Hope:                                                 Museums in South Africa and Ireland - Book Launch

written by Ayanda Ngcobo 

(ARROWSA Local Authorities Portfolio leader and Museum Officer Bergtheil Local History Museum Durban)

The book, Telling Stories of Pain and Hope: Museums in South Africa and Ireland, was launched on 9 February 2023 at Bergtheil Museum in Westville. The book is authored by Dr Mary Lange, Independent arts, culture and heritage researcher, ARROWSA management and CCMS, UKZN Honorary Lecturer and Prof. Emeritus Ruth Teer-Tomaselli  of the Centre for Communication, Media and Society (CCMS), University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) and published by the University of South Africa (UNISA) Press.  

The book launch was beautifully opened by performances by a group from ARROWSA Bechet, alumni and South Roots International youth that was captured in three videos and followed by a performance by ARROWSA alumnae, Monique Mukendi. 

The MC for the evening was Mrs. Mohau Qalaza, Senior Curator of the Durban Local History Museums and based at the Bergtheil Museum. 

                                           

Dr Nthoesane, representing UNISA Press, was the first speaker and his remarks on the book were centered on how it will set the stage for generations to bring life to what is kept in museums.

                                                    

Dr Lange, of ARROWSA management and CCMS,UKZN, in her talk focused on museums and storytelling and where it is used as a sources on the lifestyles, belief systems and moral and values of people in the past and forms part of experiential learning. The spiritual wellbeing of the individuals telling traumatic stories in museums and their connection to themselves, others and with the environment were some of the key points in her address. The book explores how individuals, or their descendants, who have suffered traumatic experiences, tell these stories which include conflict and forced removals and how doing this impacts their spiritual wellbeing. Some of the museums which are covered in the book include the District Six Museum in Cape Town, Ncome and Blood River sites in Dundee, KwaZulu-Natal.

Prof Emeritus Teer-Tomaselli, of CCMS, UKZN, focused on the spaces and places where traumatic events took place and why the sites need to be commemorated. She also explained how the book explores how these sites remain sustainable and what happens if storytellers move on. Her talk also discussed briefly how structures have meanings and stories to tell. Teer-Tomaselli referred to places like the Constitutional Hill describing how it urges one to imagine the spirits that are there. She also referred to the Bloody Sunday massacre that took place in Derry, Northern Ireland.

The first respondent was Dr Mlungisi Ngubane, the director of uMsunduzi and Ncome Museums. He started his discussion on issues of social cohesion and referred to the Ncome and Voortrekker reconciliation bridge. He emphasised how healing is still an ongoing process and the process of healing is needed for pain to go away. He referred to stories narrated at KwaMuhle Museum in Durban and referred to the movement against historical statues and museums that were created to address past imbalances. Ngubane stressed the need for museums to move away from being dumping sites but should rather be places that make people talk. People need to talk about what they see in museums. Overall, he emphasised how South Africa has not healed, histories like that of the 16 December 1838 war over land between amaZulu and the Voortrekkers are still painful and people have not healed. Ngubane reiterated on how the book addresses a contemporary need in museums.

                                                

The second respondent, Prof. Emeritus Donal McCracken pointed out how museums deliver a message and deal with controversial subjects. He drew on examples from Northern Ireland and South Africa to offer a discussion about stories of trauma that form part of museums. This includes civil wars in both Northern Ireland and South Africa.

                                                  

The main programme ended with closing remarks from Mrs. Innocentia Swanepoel who reiterated that the book is an important contribution to museum studies.

The book launch was well attended and attracted academics, museum professionals, local media and stakeholders from arts, culture and heritage spaces.  ARROWSA management and ARROWSA Bechet learners were also represented at the launch. 

ARROWSA Management (left to right) Prof Sarah Gibbons, Bheki Dlamini, Luthando Ngema (Chairperson), Dr Mary Lange, Prof Lauren Dyll, Ayanda Ngcobo and Vincent Salanji.

Copies of the books are available through Unisa Press. See https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Unisa-Press/Books/History-and-Political-Africa/Telling-Stories-of-Pain-and-Hope

ARROWSA presence at the South African Museums Association KZN Region Conference August 2022

The Local Authority representative on the ARROWSA management, Ayanda Ngcobo Simelane is the Museum Officer at Bergtheil Museum Westville, Durban Local History Museums and the Chairperson of the South African Museums Association (SAMA) KZN Region. As Chairperson of SAMA KZN, Ayanda organised the very successful SAMA KZN conference on the 24th and 25th August at the impressive Umgungundlovu Multi-Media Centre, Ulundi, KZN with a pre-conference dinner on the 23rd and tours on the 26th. The Keynote Address on 24 August was given by Dr Bongani Ndhlovu who is the SAMA National President.

                                     

The Museum Curator of Durban Local History Museums who is also a partner of ARROWSA, Mohau Qalaza, was one of the presenters on the same day and her presentation was titled "The Challenges and Opportunities Faced by Museums in Initiating and Sustaining Programming that Involve Sponsorship, Collaborations, Alliances and Partnerships in the post Lockdown era’.

On the 25th August Dr Mary Lange, of ARROWSA management and a Centre for Communication and Media in Society, UKZN Honorary Lecturer, was the guest speaker. Her presentation was based on her and Prof Teer-Tomaselli's co-authored book "Telling stories of pain and hope: Museums in South Africa and Ireland" forthcoming from UNISA Press. Her presentation focused on Museum communities, collaboration and sustainability and was well received and resulted in a lengthy debate after the presentation.

                              

A post-conference tour on the 26th went to the homestead of King Dingane and to the grave sites of 2 Zulu Kings.

ARROWSA congratulates Ayanda on the success of the conference! 

                               

Photos by Nhlanhla Mzobe with permission

 
ARROWSA presented at the Webinar: Arts, youth conscientization

 and environmental issues at COP 26: Reflections on Phone call to

 the world on 28 April 2022

The webinar was part of the Centre for Civil Society - Special Webinar Series that took place

between March and May 2022. The series is titled Reflections on COP26 and remains online

for 2022.

ARROWSA Speakers were: Mary Elizabeth Lange and Luthando Ngema and ARROWSA invited

South Roots Int.  Noluthando Shandu and Rachelle Ngalula Mukendi  to present with them. Bheki

Dlamini of ARROWSA assisted in the devising of the presentation. 

The topic of the webinar was:

ARROWSA, a registered voluntary non-profit organization based in Durban South Africa, led South Africa’s participation in an international project titled Phone Call to the World. This collaborative project with youth utilized the arts to address environmental issues. It was led by Scottish Youth Theatre, funded by the British Council and culminated in a COP26 exhibition in Glasgow of outputs from the hubs in Scotland, England, Palestine, India and South Africa. Representatives of ARROWSA and their national partner South Roots Int. in the Cape Flats will in this presentation share how ARROWSA came to be involved in a COP26 project, who the participants from Durban and Cape Flats were, what methodology was used in the project, what the project outputs were and which of these were included in the COP26 exhibition. The challenges, success and impact of the project on the participants and the organization will also be explored in the presentation.  

 

Textile Women

South Roots International youth visit 

ARROWSA- SRI - Indra Congress -LHM collaborative exhibition

They Stand Their Ground 

The exhibition is at the Old Court House Museum, Durban and after seeing it and the nearby struggle exhibitions it triggered the youth to sing iNkululeko Freedom! Filmed and edited by Shanette Martin of SRI.

iNkululeko ingeyakho nawe

Freedom ingeyakho nawe

(Freedom belongs to you too)

 

#recycling  #theystandtheirgroundagainstgenderbasedviolence #theystandtheirground #oldcourthousemuseum #togetherforourplanet #freedom #theclimateconnection #phonecalltotheworld  #nationalartscouncil #durbanlocalhistorymuseum #gorsehillstudios #indracongress 

 Webinar 1 Phone Call to the World

Ecobricks as a tool for environmental education

by Jessica Ross

Jessica Ross facilitated our first ARROW-INDRA webinar as part of The Phone Call to the World project. One of ARROWSA's non-arts partners in the project, CCMS, UKZN organised Jessica's participation in the webinar. Jessica is a passionate advocate for the environment.  She has a MSc in Geography, and is currently a student teacher of Geography and English. Jessica's passion for the subject of Eco bricks shone through as she presented a PowerPoint on the subject. Jessica included her context, how to make Eco bricks and the process and results of her MSc on Eco bricks.

The webinar was attended by approximately 45 youth and leaders from South Africa, India, England and Scotland. 

                         

Mr Bhekithemba Dlamini of ARROWSA led the webinar and an ARROWSA Bechet participant Monique Mukendi warmed up the session with a beautiful rendition of "Hero" by Mariah Carey.  Monique opened the way for Jessica to show how we can be hero's in the fight for our environment. Or as Jessica said: "Eco warriors" and "Eco worriers"!

The break away sessions in the webinar, after Jessica's presentation, resulted in creative responses inspired by what she had shared. Some groups focused on what they would create from eco-bricks from chairs, tables, walls and dirt bins. Other groups focused on how they would create an awareness campaign on Eco bricks through media such as cartoons.

If the ARROWSA Bechet participants' inspired reaction to the project are anything to go by Jessica has sparked a renewed drive in how to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle plastics with innovative and creative products as an outcome.

#phonecalltotheworld #creativity #reverberation #cop26 #togetherforourplanet #theclimateconnection

               They stand their ground               against gender-based violence!

It was an exciting morning when partners from the ARROWSA Durban team of the They stand their ground against gender-based violence came together at the installation in Durban City Hall foyer. This is the Durban leg of the ARROW-INDRA SAUKINDIA part of the project. ARROWSA Bechet learners who are based at Bechet High School created two textile 'people' from recycled materials with the assistance of Mary Lange, ARROWSA chair and Bheki Dlamini, ARROWSA performance and schools portfolio leader and an educator at Bechet High School.  

The ARROWSA Bechet participants contribution was guided by three ARROWSA Bechet leaders namely Casey Spinner, Sne Mbisi and Mary Tsheteya. Banners in the installation included images from the South Roots International contribution to the project that will be exhibited in Cape Town. One banner included an image of Naledi.

The textile people from recycled materials were inspired by the work of Maggi Squire (see her instagram page @maggisquire) and one banner included an image of Maggi's She who stands her ground created by Maggi during lockdown. Maggi hosted an online workshop with the ARROW-INDRA participants from ARROWSA Bechet, Local History Museums and CCMS, UKZN from Durban, South Roots International from Cape Flats, Touchstones Rochdale and Gorse hill Studios in Manchester, UK and Study Hall Educational Foundation in Lucknow, India.  Maggi's workshop formed part of the ARROW-INDRA SAUKINDIA 'Scarecrow' project.  

The 'Scarecrow' project stimulated creative thinking of us as a community guarding each other against gender-based violence in the same way as a scarecrow guards the crops from predators.  ARROWSA Bechet created two textile 'people' from recycled materials such as empty dog food containers, old curtains, brooms and place mats. They created two 'people' one named Deli who represents abuse in the domestic space, either of wives, girlfriends and partners or of domestic workers. The other 'person' is Thanaka who represents the LGBTQ+ community, particularly boys and young men who are often ignored in discussions on gender-based violence. 

The installation is interactive as visitors are invited to add words of support to Deli and Thanaka. There is also a book where comments may be written down by visitors. Already the pages are filling with comments. Join us in standing against gender-based violence by visiting the installation at the Durban City Hall foyer - at the entrance to the library.

Thanks to National Arts Council for funding towards this project

Thanks for assistance with the installation to Local History Museums, DAG and Author Jewellers.

Photos by Frik Lange