Opening of the Ifa Lethu Arts Incubator in Soweto

South Africa Fri 17-06-2011

Opening of the Ifa Lethu Arts Incubator in Soweto
Press Release | Ifa Lethu Foundation

The Ifa Lethu Foundation – South Africa’s leading heritage repatriation and creative development organization – will officially launch their “Creative Hands” arts incubator at a function on 20 June 2011 at the Mofolo Art Centre, 1209 Mzilikatse Street, Mofolo Village, Soweto. The event starts at 11am till 12pm.

The Ifa Lethu Foundation Incubator Opening

This is the second arts incubator to be launched by Ifa Lethu, the first being opened in Mamelodi in May 2011. CEO, Dr Narissa Ramdhani, says the incubator is the culmination of a three-year development programme for creative entrepreneurs. The Soweto project has been sponsored generously by Transnet, in partnership with the University of Pretoria - School of Entrepreneurship, to develop youth from Soweto into economically-sustainable professionals in the Arts and Creativity field.

Ramdhani continues: “We started our development work in Soweto three years ago and chose 12 talented young people who showed real promise in the visual arts. We developed these talents by using some of our heritage artists to transfer their artistic skills to these youngsters in a series of workshops.

The Ifa Lethu Foundation Incubator Opening in Soweto

"The next phase was designed, together with the University of Pretoria, to teach the participants both entrepreneurial and business skills and how to make a sustainable living for themselves and their families from their artistic talents. The opening of the Art and Creativity Incubator will complete the project by giving these young people a place to work and to create market-ready products particularly for the tourist market,” he says.

The Ifa Lethu Foundation Incubator Opening in Soweto

The Incubator facility will be officially opened by the Department of Public Enterprises, Deputy Minister, Mr Benedict Martins and Transnet CEO, Mr. Brian Molefe.

“We are especially delighted to welcome Minister Martins to our opening,” says Ramdhani, “as he is one of our original ‘heritage’ artists and we have his work in our collection. He will relate closely to the struggles of young people to make their work heard and seen. And we’ll be able to personally thank Transnet for its continued support of the creative arts.”

The Ifa Lethu Foundation Incubator Opening in Soweto

“Being situated on the Soweto tourist beat and not far from the Hector Petersen memorial, we envisage tourists also visiting the Incubator and engaging with the artists as they create their pieces and ultimately buy professional-standard art works from these emerging artists.

"The students are already producing wonderful paintings, drawings, sculptures and other works – all way beyond what we consider to be ‘crafts’,” says Ramdhani, “and we hope this puts Soweto firmly on the map as a destination for both local and international art lovers.”

About Ifa Lethu Foundation: Empowering the Nation’s Soul

Ifa Lethu, a nonprofit Foundation based in Tshwane, South Africa is devoted to the development and economic growth of the creative sectors in the country.

Ifa Lethu today manages the largest heritage repatriation effort in South Africa with collections having been repatriated from countries such as the United States of America, Canada, France, Australia, Spain, Holland, the United Kingdom and Germany.

Further collections have been identified across the globe and every endeavour is made by Ifa Lethu to facilitate their repatriation to their home country. The very first donations were received in 2004 from veteran Australian diplomats Bruce Haigh and Dianne Johnstone who had long sought to return their collections to their rightful home and to be shared by the people of South Africa.

Recent activities marked a rapid growth and an extension of our mandate, which has resulted in the foundation focusing on the provision of skills for creative practitioners so they may become successful entrepreneurs. This extension has allowed the foundation to align its work with the national priorities of poverty alleviation and community upliftment.

Creative Entrepreneurship training initiatives are ongoing in the visual arts, fashion design and small business skills. In addition, Ifa Lethu’s is committed to its education of the public and specific local and international communities through their extensive programme of exhibitions, workshops and conferences.

Ifa Lethu is headed by CEO Dr. Narissa Ramdhani, and chaired by Amb Dr. Lindiwe Mabuza.

Date : 20 June 2011
Time : 11h00 – 12h00
Venue : Mofolo Art Centre, 1209 Mzilikatse Street, Mofolo Village, Soweto. Map directions here
Media are invited to attend by sending an RSVP to Bette Kun (contacts below).

Contacts:

Bette Kun,
Marcomms Consultant
Cell: +27 (0) 82 576 9739
Tel: +27 (0) 11 646 0821
bettekun@gmail.com

Dr Narissa Ramdhani
Chief Executive Officer,
Ifa Lethu Foundation
Tel: +27 (0)12 346 2985
email: cshoeman@ifalethu.org.za
www.iflethu.org.za

Posted By: Allan Kapten

skip to top

Your Comments

skip to top

African Artists Portfolios

Stephen Garan'anga is a Mixed Media Artist

Click To View All African Artist Portfolios

Kaafiri Kariuki at the Creativity Gallery

Shades of Time: An exhibition by Kaafiri Kariuki at the Creativity Gallery National Museum of Kenya

News By Regions

Featured Artist Portfolio

Title: Making Ways
Name: Tabitha Wa Thuku
Country: Kenya
Medium: Mixed media on heavy canvas
Size: 149 X 140 cms
Click here to view