Nompucuko Zakaza, a Xhosa folk storyteller, has been selected as one of five South Africans to attend a cultural management conference in the UK later this month.
Zakaza was selected to attend the event by the Swallows Foundation UK for her “outstanding contribution” to her community through her skill and passion.
She runs Lisahluma Development, a non-profit organisation in King William’s Town, where the focus is on promoting Xhosa reading and oral literature.
Other South African artists to be hosted in the UK are Ismail Mahomed, director of the National Arts Festival of South Africa; Nomsa Mazwai (stage name Nomisupasta), musician and cultural manager; Ziphozakhe Hlobo, writer and performance poet; and Gcobani Poltini, cultural manager and co-director of Isiseko Senkonjane.
Speaking to the Daily Dispatch yesterday Zakaza credits growing up with her grandmother in Tsomo, a rural village outside Butterworth, for her storytelling abilities.
“I grew up surrounded by people who enjoyed telling these folktales and they were good at it.”
Zakaza said being sent to the UK meant storytelling was finally being recognised as a legitimate art form.
“I am currently working on my MA in African languages, majoring in oral literature and I am studying the role of storytelling to address issues in our primary healthcare,” she said.
Zakaza wants to use storytelling to address some of the social problems she sees around her and believes the trip to the UK will assist with this.
“This trip will provide intensive networking opportunities with art organisations and artists in the UK, and that will give me a chance to share my culture.
“But it will also be an opportunity to learn how storytelling came to be such a success over there, and I will use those skills when I return home,” said Zakaza. — ziphon@dispatch.co.za
VIDEO: Storyteller selected to attend UK conference
Zakaza was selected to attend the event by the Swallows Foundation UK for her “outstanding contribution” to her community through her skill and passion.
She runs Lisahluma Development, a non-profit organisation in King William’s Town, where the focus is on promoting Xhosa reading and oral literature.
Other South African artists to be hosted in the UK are Ismail Mahomed, director of the National Arts Festival of South Africa; Nomsa Mazwai (stage name Nomisupasta), musician and cultural manager; Ziphozakhe Hlobo, writer and performance poet; and Gcobani Poltini, cultural manager and co-director of Isiseko Senkonjane.
Speaking to the Daily Dispatch yesterday Zakaza credits growing up with her grandmother in Tsomo, a rural village outside Butterworth, for her storytelling abilities.
“I grew up surrounded by people who enjoyed telling these folktales and they were good at it.”
Zakaza said being sent to the UK meant storytelling was finally being recognised as a legitimate art form.
“I am currently working on my MA in African languages, majoring in oral literature and I am studying the role of storytelling to address issues in our primary healthcare,” she said.
Zakaza wants to use storytelling to address some of the social problems she sees around her and believes the trip to the UK will assist with this.
“This trip will provide intensive networking opportunities with art organisations and artists in the UK, and that will give me a chance to share my culture.
“But it will also be an opportunity to learn how storytelling came to be such a success over there, and I will use those skills when I return home,” said Zakaza. — ziphon@dispatch.co.za
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