Where Art Thou

Issa new film festival in South Africa, AND it’s womxn-only! Yes, meet SKIRTS, which is on a mission to boost inclusivity and diversity for womxn filmmakers in SA. 

SKIRTS will take place at the end of September 2018, with discussions by womxn directors, screenwriters, and editors, alongside screenings, in Cape Town’s Labia Theatre and various satellite venues. 

Chosen from nearly 3,000 photographers from around the world, our own @kgomotsoneto , featured in Episode 2, is one of only 160 photographers accepted into the New York Portfolio Review. 

Neto’s work is known for his captivating portraitures and capturing big-city life. 

The review, happening in April, provides an opportunity for photographers to meet curators, art buyers, and publications, such as Vogue Italia, Aperture Magazine, and Instagram 😍. 

Discover Cape Town’s Rory Emmett (@emmettart) in Episode 5. 

From Apartheid to the Rainbow Nation, “there’s still work to be done,” he says. 

Rory’s fascinating work, throughout the Colourman Chronicles and beyond, delves into the personal struggle with the word “coloured” and how fitting into a box shouldn’t exist for everybody in the new South Africa. 

Yes, it’s finally Friday! And we’re featuring some fellow womxn filmmakers, who are also on a mission to tell nuanced and inclusive stories. (More below)

That said, meet Cape Town-based filmmaker, Dominique Jossie, who once expressed to Between 10 and 5: “As a coloured female filmmaker, I strive to tell the stories of my people because there is still a big gap in the South African television industry when it comes to the portrayal of coloured communities. I would like to tell stories of struggle but also stories that put them in a positive light.”

(📸: Lindsey Appolis)

South Africa’s queer community truly stands out, and these South African queer artists are challenging stereotypes and bringing fresh awareness to being gay, within their own country and worldwide.

“We thought it was important for us to represent our people as their authentic selves and speaking their truth...Our mission is to empower ourselves and our community.” -FAKA

Heard of Ponte City Tower at the center of Johannesburg’s skyline? It’s a sustained symbol of SA’s past and future, once standing for white opulence but now exemplifying the growing diversity it has always housed.

Only learning from some of the best 🎬. Happy International Women’s Day! 

As both an insider and outsider, born in South Africa but raised in Europe and South America, artist Siwa Mgoboza uses textiles as creative expression, to delve into the history of his clanfolk, amaHlubi, while imagining a future for African countries that challenges its societal norms.

“This idea of the Rainbow Nation, what does that mean for our generation?” -Cape Town Artist, Rory Emmett (@emmettart ) for Episode 5. 

When four friends in South Africa are mysteriously transported into the body of another, identity politics play out, visually and intimately, in High Fantasy. Not only that, it’s from our filmmaker friend, Jenna Bass, and it's an official pick for both Tribeca Film Festival and Berlinale - Berlin International Film Festival this year! 

Our Thursday Thoughts? "It’s time for travel media to be more widely representative — there are many ways to see the world, and one perspective shouldn’t dominate another. It’s also important for local people to describe their own communities, as they will do it with greater knowledge, nuance, and dignity for the people and places where they come from." -WAT Creator, Terhys Persad

When the narrative of black and white dominates, how do you fit in when you are somewhere in-between? “Recreate and reimagine” -Rory Emmett (or @emmettart, right here on Tumblr) 

For many South Africans traditionally defined as “coloured” under the apartheid government, establishing identity in the Rainbow Nation is nuanced and conflicting, neither black nor white. 

“[Coloured] is a loose term in South Africa because we don’t know where we fit into the whole democratic society.” 

More about this distinct history here: http://bit.ly/2EHZcsC. 

Our upcoming Episode 5 features Cape Town artist, Rory Emmett (@emmettart ) who delves into this evolving concept through the ideological connotations of “colour,” in the craft of painting and as a racial construct. 

At the International Cape Town Art Fair this past week, Episode 4 artist, Thania Petersen, premiered two new photographs and performances.

“INVITATION” is the performance we’ve featured in the GIF above, with photos courtesy of Everard Read Gallery Cape Town.

Here’s more information about it: “The performance is inspired by carnival practices from around the world reflecting on brief moments of liberation from officialdom. The history of carnival in Cape Town began as a celebration for the enslaved people of all ethnicities and has since become a deepen construct of a ‘Coloured' identity that has further separated people.

The performance challenges the notions of contemporary freedom and the lack of equality that continues for these displaced communities globally. The performance takes the form of carnival but is not a parade. The beat of the Goema drum is sounded but there will be no dancing. This is a sound born from a need to escape colonialism. It is the sound of resistance and an invitation to witness the truth.”