In its quest to grow and support the creative industry in the Eastern Cape province, the Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture hosted a Youth Creatives Programme workshop at the Gompo Art Centre in East London from the 15th to the 17th of August.
The three-day workshop, chaired by well-known South African actor, Mpho Molepo was aimed at inducting young creatives into the industry, upskilling and capacitating them to be self-sufficient artists. Molepo shared his pearls of wisdom and gave useful industry endurance guidelines.
The department is also on a mission to create a conducive environment for artists by renovating and refurbishing its 17 art centres across the province, some of which have been plagued by theft and vandalism. They will be equipped with musical instruments as was Sterkspruit Community Arts Centre last month. They will be turned into accessible service hubs particularly for communities in remote areas. The Tombo Arts Centre, whose phase 1 refurbishments have been completed, will be handed over along with musical instruments in September.
“What the department is doing for artists in the Eastern Cape is great. They are bringing the necessary information and skills to us here at home so that we do not have to leave home and seek it in other provinces,” Mdantsane artist Lwandile Jako said.
“Ours is a province with phenomenal talent which sometimes goes unnoticed because of limited access to knowledge and lack of support,” Jako said.
