Itumeleng Nthoba, Thiwe Ranthimo, Vusi Sihlangu
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From 8 to 10 December, Welkom in the Free State will be home to visual and performing arts veterans and hopefuls as the inaugural Vuka Arts Free State Creatives Summit gets under way. Aspiring artists from the province’s five districts will go up against each other to make the final cut into the top six whose talent is going to be developed by seasoned artists.
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When the call-out for the summit was sent out, nearly 500 young creatives from the Free State heeded the call and took a leap of faith towards realizing their dreams. Although festival co-director Itumeleng Nthoba and his team would have loved to accommodate all the potential entrants, financial constraints did not permit it, which would result in the team selecting the 100 best candidates.
Somizi Mhlongo is one of the industry veterans who is spending the weekend doing their bit to develop young talent
The 100 comprises 20 candidates from each of the five districts who are looking to enhance their skills and absorb as much as they can from the industry legends who will deliver masterclasses at the summit. This will culminate in the selection of the final six who will be taken through an extensive skills development programme set to take place over six months. Nthoba said that they were very deliberate in selecting the artists who would form part of the panel and deliver masterclasses, as they want to ensure that the young and aspiring artists learn from the best. He explained,
Rasta the artist and Somizi Mhlongo are among some of the people who will be delivering masterclasses today. Somizi for example, was chosen because he has made a name for himself as a choreographer, actor and presenter; and dabbles in multiple other ventures. We felt that the youngster would benefit from his experience and expert input.
Other well-respected industry players who will be delivering masterclasses include Seputla Sebogodi, Krijay Govender, DJ Ganyani, Refiloe Ramogase and Candy Smith who is a leader in the Free State fashion industry. Dr Khotso Nkgatho who is best known for Mopheme, The River Scriptwriter and Producer Percy Vilakazi as well as Musician Presss will also be imparting their skills and passing down invaluable knowledge about successfully navigating the creative spaces.
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Nthoba explained that this being their first summit, they wanted to have a capacity that would be easily manageable and they therefore had to make the difficult decision to abide by their budget, space and resource constraints in regards to cutting down the numbers. He said,
We decided that from each of the five districts, we would take one visual art, one fashion, one film, one music, etcetera, so that we could be able to accommodate various art forms. The end goal is development, and in order to hold ourselves accountable, when everything is said and done, we will give a report to the Republic of South Africa and let the nation in on the success stories.
Another key objective of the summit according to Nthoba, is to let these youngsters know that talent alone is not sufficient. They also need skills; be it public relations or business and other things. He expressed concern about how a lot of young artists are unaware of the fact that there is an entire team and a whole lot of instruments that all need to be integrated with talent to achieve a successful career in a creative working environment.
Sir Trill, Legoody, Fantas, Troy M and Sama award-winning Free State group 2Point1 will entertain the crowd on Sunday as the summit wraps up.