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Date: 06/08/2005
Source: The Presidency
Title: Mlambo-Ngcuka: Women in Arts Festival


Address by the Deputy President, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, at the cocktail party of the Women in Arts Festival, Mary Fitzgerald Square, Newtown

Programme Director,
Head of Transnet Foundation, Eunice Maluleke,
HR Manager Peugeot SA, Kgomotso Bokaba,
Madame Speaker of City of Johannesburg, Nandi Mayathula-Khoza,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is an honour and privilege for me to be with you today in this festival when we are celebrating women in arts, through music, theatre, film, craft, photography exhibition, dance, poetry, drama, painting, and in other art and cultural forms.

In one of his last letters before he was murdered by his captors Patrice Lumumba of the Congo wrote: “Africa will write its own history, and it will be, to the north and to the South of the Sahara, a history of glory and dignity”.

For centuries we as South Africans have been writing our history through song, dance, poetry, painting, sculpture, storytelling, and many other cultural forms. We are known worldwide for our love of the arts and music. Indeed art became a critical instrument of struggle during our dark days of apartheid. Through music, drama, poetry and stories, we found sustenance as we joined battle against apartheid rule. Throughout that period were women, whose artistic inclinations and cultural connectedness became grist to the mill for our struggle.

Through their artistic expression, these artists, in their different fields managed to convey the essence of what Patrice Lumumba must have been thinking about in writing about Africa’s pursuit of a “history of glory and dignity.”

This glory and dignity that Lumumba spoke about is today reflected in the significance our National Women’s Day has placed on celebrating the women of our country. 20 000 of them marched to the Union Buildings in 1956, singing as they went along, shaking the foundations of apartheid with a spirited rendition that of that anthem to the power of the woman folk: “Strydom Wathinta abafazi, Wathint’imbokodo, Uzokufa”

Throughout history great artistic works have been judged by their ability to entertain, to uplift people’s spirits during difficult times and in times of civil strife, to stimulate their minds, to appeal to their imagination, to inspire hope, to excite critical awareness and thought in people about their conditions, enriching their lives by touching areas hitherto beyond the reach of normal discourse.

In a free and democratic South Africa, women in art are challenged to take art beyond political expressionism. As we continue to normalise our society, post apartheid, we have to face up to the criticism of art having become too political. This needs to be done without necessarily negating the existence of politics, in its own right, as important for the artist to use in his or her palette.

I believe this is the point that Njabulo Ndebele was trying to make in his 1980s article the “Rediscovery of the Ordinary” that South African artists should now return to developing art that deals with everyday life of the people, appealing for complexity in the way that artists handled their plots and strive to rediscover the ordinary.

He saw ordinariness as an essential component of the “storytelling tradition” as opposed to current portrayals of “the spectacular” in South African literature and also appealed for artists to appeal to the imagination of the people.

Perhaps of even greater significance for us as women, is the strongly felt need to infuse some spirituality in the various forms we peruse. You are called upon to help us move society beyond the mere craving for the material, but to search for that which engenders “Ubuntu”.

On a day such as this one we salute the artists such as Miriam Makeba, Letta Mbulu, who were in the forefront of the struggle and kept the hope of freedom burning, they inspired the people to continue with the struggle and kept the international community mesmerised by their songs and focussed on the plight of the oppressed people of South Africa.

Today a younger generation has taken up the artistic baton with a zeal reminiscent of the spirit of Dolly, Sophie, Thandi, Dorothy and Abigail. The roaring fifties!

During our struggle for freedom a variety of art works were produced and developed from South Africa. But most of them were lost to foreign countries. Now, an ambitious project, which seeks to return our artistic treasures from the Diaspora has been initiated an esteemed daughter of the soil Dr Mamphela Ramphela and the team of Mazibuye e Masisweni. Now our children and future generations will not have to cross oceans to enjoy their heritage.

Through the arts we aim to promote the understanding of the importance of inclusive cultural development, incorporating indigenous art forms into the mainstream and creating space for self-expression across the board.

The Investing in Culture Programme introduced by the Department of Arts and Culture seeks to provide access to skills and markets as tools for urban regeneration and rural development. Projects ranging from craft development, pottery, glassmaking, weaving, fabric painting and beading to name a few have been supported.

As part of our poverty eradication and job creation initiatives we have a number of projects that we have supported countrywide, in the 2004 – 2005 budget a total of 52 projects have been supported, and 41 of these projects are benefiting women, an important the objective of the Investing in culture programme.

Placing arts and culture at the centre of general social development can function as a measure of social, economic and environmental well being of communities. Participation in the arts can have a significant impact on boosting people’s self esteem and confidence.

We encourage the self representation of people and the exhibition of their cultures importance. The emergence of the Ndebele crafters and musicians like Nothembi Mkhwebana has catapulted Ndebele music into the public and international arena. The recognition of artists and their art works has also led to the expansion of the arts and craft market as an emerging important industry.

Without a doubt, arts and culture can provide the basis for an effective route for personal growth.

We applaud women who have made significant contribution to the arts. Government supports the notion that many of the economically poor communities are the owners of natural and human resources, cultural assets, skills, indigenous knowledge, traditions’ and customs which are the key in effecting social and economic change. An example that springs to mind is that of Mama Noria Mabasa in sculpture who has managed to share her skills with her community to the point where a school has been established.

We thank the Newtown Cultural Precinct which is fast becoming a Cultural Mecca in South Africa, for organising a week long programme that exhibits women talent and experience, especially during Women’s Month, it has afforded us with an opportunity to celebrate our women in the arts. My heart swells with pride every time I have the opportunity to experience the young women from the Drum Caf

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