Tag: storytelling

Buhle Ngaba – the impact of storytelling

Cogito, ergo sum. A Latin philosophical proposition put forward by Decartes in the 1600s, roughly translating to mean “I think therefore I am”. The work of Buhle Ngaba unintentionally speaks to this proposition, and combines it with her passion for literature and storytelling. This transforms into a statement – I write therefore I am. I speak therefore I am. As an author and actress, words as text or as animated sound are her chosen medium to share her story and impact the narrative of past and current herstory.

Encouraging people, particularly young women and girls of colour to tell their own stories is one of the motivations for her work. In light of this Buhle wrote the children’s book The Girl Without A Sound. Bringing diversity to the children’s book landscape, this book was born as a response to reflecting on the fairytales young girls are told. Stories with protagonists being blue-eyed princesses with long golden locks, and narratives emphasizing physical beauty. Writing and publishing her book was a way of undoing this framework for fairytales, and putting together words and images that heal, empower and entertain. The story is of a voiceless girl of colour in search of a sound that she can claim as her own. This channels the energy that permeates her practice as a whole – giving power to devices to draw strength from for women of colour in a world that rejects, shames and pushes them down.

Parallel to her work as a writer and a performer, Buhle is the director of KaMatla, an NPO created to assist and offer guidance in the development of arts in underprivileged communities, and to foster habits of personal and communal storytelling among young people.

Over the years she has received well deserved recognition for her creative endeavours, including being awarded the Gauteng Youth Premiers award for excellence. She also received two Kanna Theatre Awards for her first play ‘The Swan Song’ which was created during her time at The Royal Shakespeare Company.

To find some encouragement this women’s month and to keep up with Buhle’s work, follow her on Instagram.

8 August 2018
Lunga Ntila // An unapologetic, opiniated, artistic force

“My feminism looks like freedom; it is opinionated and unapologetic.” These are the profound words said by design artist Lunga Ntila. She emphasises intersectionality, sexuality and femininity as important foundations regarding her storytelling and work. At her core, she is a truthful artist who encourages difficult but necessary conversations that speak to marginalized people. She manages to tackle subjects that attempt to dismantle a white, patriarchal social order while channelling creative energy to uplift black womxn.

Lunga draws her greatest inspirations from music and art movements such as expressionism, cubism and post-impressionism. She is also inspired by her social structures and conversation, which she refers to as the “sensuality of things”. This can be seen in her expressive portraits. Her series titled “DEFINE BEAUTY” saw her distorting self-portraits as a way to make a commentary on how ideas of beauty are assembled. Often featuring in her own work, Lunga strategically uses her own body to challenge men’s entitlement over womxn’s bodies.

‘Watching me by Jill Scott’ by Lunga Ntila

Lunga has also produced a body of work that speaks back to historical pieces that make white figures the centre. By inserting herself in these artworks, and sometimes manipulating other elements, she is engaging in an active form of decolonisation. This links back to her view that art is a visual manifestation of our time and believes that we look towards these visuals to gain a more coherent understanding of the history that forms part of our current story.

She is a true millennial who uses Instagram as a kind of digital gallery space. The platform is also used as a source that motivates her to create work regularly. Posts on her page are interwoven with images of family, friends and political icons, which adds a layer of intimacy to how she shares her work.

‘Reimagining and Imagining’ by Lunga Ntila

As an evolving conceptual artist and critical thinker, Lunga would like to expand her skills in various industries such as film and fashion. This stems from personal aspirations and her belief in the need for more representation of black people in the creative industry, specifically black womxn. Although her craft resides within the creative industry, she expresses her criticism of its exclusivity which is often fuelled by who is popular. In her view this can hamper the process of innovation.

This blooming artist strives to one day collaborate with the likes of FAKA, Sakhile Cebekhulu and Bambatha Jones. One thing is for sure – Lunga’s political views combined with her artistic eye makes me eager to see where her journey will lead to next.

‘Red Converse’ by Lunga Ntila

‘For Real Look Ma’ by Lunga Ntila

5 February 2018
REFUGE – cross-continent stories of resilience

It is plausible to assume that South Africa and the United Kingdom are vastly different. However during the conceptualisation process for a proposal to be part of the British Council Connect ZA’s new partnership initiative, master playwright, Amy Jephta and writer and director, Paul Blinkhorn, spotted the similarities between South Africa and the UK. The standout similarity being refugees.

Immigration is a topical issue in both states. The Brexit proposition brought forward the discomfort that the UK had with refugees and being a beacon of hope on continent, South Africa attracts an influx of refugees.

“This idea or thinking around refugees and where refugees go and where they belong and what they are going through, leaving what kind of situations they are leaving is a global conversation and it is both relevant to South Africa and to the UK and it was a topic that we felt we could connect on and say something about,” said Amy.

The project called REFUGE that will take place in Cape Town, South Africa and Manchester, UK seeks to tell the stories of the lived experiences of refugees in these cities. The performance will “use actors to portray those stories, to speak those testimonies, to use those exact works, to give life to those stories,” said Amy.

Currently Amy and Paul are in the first phase of their project, which involves week-long interviews with refugees in Cape Town. After transcribing and working on the text for their scripts, they aim to have an open reading of the testimonies about seeking refuge at the end of May in Cape Town.

The project will later move to North Manchester, where the pair will follow the same procedure. However, they believe that the performance will take on different forms. “There is going to be a South African element…there is going to be a UK element and then I think there is going to be something beyond that, which is a mixture of the two,” said Paul.

Amy and Paul have been in partnership with People Against Suffering, Oppression and Poverty (PASSOP) and Befriending Refugees And Asylum Seekers (BRASS), who have aided them in connecting with refugees.

Furthermore, British Council Connect ZA has afforded Amy and Paul the opportunity to collaborate on a project that has the capacity to connect people with different aspects of the human experience. Moreover, REFUGE is a performance project that causes the audience to listen to the authentic stories of refugees. This project humanises refugees so there can be empathy within communities.

So far both Amy and Paul have been left in awe with the resilience of the human spirit and everything refugees endure on a daily basis. The project will hopefully be made accessible beyond the theatres it will be housed in. There are plans to archive the material online so many more will be able to engage with the experiences of others.

‘This article forms part of content created for the British Council Connect ZA 2017 Programme. To find out more about the programme click here.’

9 May 2017