THEMBELIHLE = WE HAVE HOPE

Thembelihle = We have Hope is an exhibition of paintings by Liz Speight currently running in the Middle Gallery of artSPACEdurban.

Last year, Liz Speight volunteered to teach Art at Thembelihle School in Howick.

The Methodist Church was already running a pre-primary school called Thembelihle Pre-Primary on their premises, which had been going for several years. Joyce Ntuli was running a primary school in containers in the local township, Kwa Mevana. At the end of 2010, she was told to vacate the premises and was faced with trying to find alternative schools for 150 pupils at short notice. She prayed with the class.

Her prayers were answered. The mother of one of the pupils in the class worked for someone in the Methodist Church. They organized the purchase of HADCA House which was for sale as HADCA had moved to new premises, donated by a deceased estate. HADCA stands for Howick and District Care for the Aged.

The Methodist Church built classrooms and ablution blocks and Thembelihle School opened in January, 2010. One of the Methodist Church members belonged to Howick Art Society (HARTS) and at their monthly meeting had asked for volunteers to teach art at Thembelihle.

Ruth Fairlamb volunteered but health problems linked to old age forced her to hand over to someone younger. Liz Speight took photographs of the children while she was teaching, in order to memorize their names. However, these photographs served a much wider purpose than just that.

“Apart from being an affirmation of themselves that each child received when I stuck their image on their art books, those images confronted me with the reality of each person,” Speight explains. “I realized how beautiful each child was, and how much potential was there. I could see their history in their faces, emotions brought on by certain situations. I spent a year teaching those children Art. They learnt a bit about Art. I learnt a lot about teaching.

“This exhibition is to commemorate a very rich experience. It is also a tribute to each individual involved,” Speight concludes.

Thembelihle = We have Hope runs until July 28. artSPACE durban is situated at 3 Millar Road (off Umgeni Road) close to the Waste Centre. More information on 031 312 0793 or visit www.artspacedurban.co.za or www.artspacedurban.blogspot.com