Dancer, choreographer and activist Mamela Nyamza has been named this year’s featured artist for the National Arts Festival.
Each year, the Grahamstown festival celebrates the work of a South African artist who has consistently exhibited groundbreaking work and exceptional talent, helping shape the arts narrative of South Africa.
This is the first time that a dancer and choreographer has been made the featured artist, and Nyamza will be expected to present more than one work at the festival later in the year.
Previous featured artists include musician and composer Neo Muyanga (2017), director Lara Foot (2016), the genre of satire (2015), director Sylvaine Strike (2014), and director Mike van Graan (2013).
The Cape Town dancer was recently named one of 30 international artists to track during the year by the Clyde Fitch Report, an arts and politics website.
While Nyamza does most of her work internationally, she said she was honoured to be named this year’s featured artist back home.
“It is also an indication of true leadership that is shown by the National Arts Festival, in trying to make their platform as diverse and as transformed as possible. I am sure moving forward, many young black female artists will be truly inspired by this positive change, and they can also start to believe that it is possible to be acknowledged,” she said. Nyamza said working abroad and not being able to showcase her art work in South Africa was a bittersweet victory for her.
“I have been knocking and knocking by applying at these institutions, but I have been declined – or simply ignored – as no response came forth.
“But because I love my art, I keep on in the midst of this adversity, and at a certain interview, I even called myself the ‘Miriam Makeba’ of dance.
“I will probably die dancing on foreign soil,” she said.
Talking about her appearance at the National Arts Festival later in the year, Nyamza said one of her passions as an artist was diverse audience development and that her trilogy of work created between 2016 and 2017 would attempt to invite a diverse audience to watch her work. “I dream of a day when I showcase my work and audience members will watch the work, without simply judging it and swearing to never come back to the Baxter Theatre if such vulgar and savage work is being shown,” she said.
Nyamza encouraged artists who will be appearing on the festival’s Fringe Programme for the first time this year, to regard this platform as the core foundation of the entire festival.
“This is where fresh, visionary and indeed brave work springs from, she said.
NAF artistic committee dance programme curator David April said: “Nyamza encapsulates what Nina Simone once articulated – that ‘an artist’s duty is to reflect the times, might they be painters, sculptors, poets, or musicians.” — poliswap@dispatch.co.za