Festival showcases disabled artists
Singers, dancers, painters at three-day Unmute ArtsAbility Arts Festival in Cape Town
Cassidy Bailey and Andile Vellem perform a duet during the Unmute ArtsAbility Festival held at the Glenhof Manor in Newlands, Cape Town over the weekend. Photos: Ashraf Hendricks
The work of artists with disabilities was showcased at the three-day Unmute ArtsAbility Arts Festival in Cape Town at the weekend.
This festival, at Glenhof Manor in Newlands, showed the talents of singers, dancers, painters and photographers. There were also film screenings.
Co-founder and director of the Unmute Dance Company, Nadine McKenzie, said the festival, which started in 2014, aims to create awareness about artists living with disabilities.
âItâs about putting the work of people with disabilities on the map and normalising art from disabled people in our communities,â she said.
Co-founder and director of Unmute Dance Company, Nadine McKenzie.
McKenzie said funding for the past ten years had been a challenge.
âArt in South Africa is struggling quite a bit because there is not enough support and funding available. There have been years where weâve had smaller programmes, and years where we barely made it. But we have been fortunate enough to have support from different institutions, including Artscape Theatre, where the festival has been held for the past ten years.â
âThis year is the first time that we are taking the festival out of the Artscape, which is exciting,â she said.
Brendon Swartz, who is paraplegic, paints using only his mouth.
One of the activities still hosted at Artscape Theatre was a painting class offered by Brenton Swartz, who is paralysed from the neck down due to a gunshot accident in 1994 and paints using only his mouth.
Swartz said he had not been able to complete his studies because transport was a problem. âI had friends who were artists in mouth painting, so because I did not want to sit and do nothing, I took an interest and decided to join them.â
Performer Jabu Vilakazi tries to paint with his mouth during a class by mouth painter, Brenton Swartz at the Artscape Theatre.
He displayed paintings of a leopard and of autumn leaves as part of the workshop.
âI was contacted by Nadine a few years ago, after she saw some of my artwork on social media, and since then, I have been part of the festival. It gives me and my work exposure, and it gives me a chance to get involved in different forms of art.â
Nikita Scott performs a song with a sign language interpreter, Unathi Kave.
Keaoleboga Seodigeng and Jabu Vilakazi perform a dance called âDisembodiedâ at Glenhof Manor.
Tebogo Lelaletse (left) who is a wheelchair user, performs a dance with Sbusiso Gumede.
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