CFAD ANNUAL GRADUATION DINNER

(Dineshan Chetty, Cuan Swan, Necho Pillay and Shiraaz Kassim. Pic by Val Adamson)

Durban’s most innovative art school, CFAD (Centre for Fine Art Animation and Design) will hold their annual Graduation Dinner, Fashion Extravaganza and TLTL Awards Ceremony at the DLI Hall in Greyville on August 23.

The coveted event – which has been running for more than a decade – will see three significant events rolled into one exciting evening: their annual graduation dinner which acknowledges the centre’s graduates: a fun and fabulous fashion extravaganza created by and hosted by CFAD students, and the Too Little Too Late Awards Ceremony.

A sit-down banquet in the atmospheric DLI Hall provides the backdrop for the Centre for Fine Art Animation and Design’s most important annual event. The evening’s MC will be the ever-effervescent former journalist Farouk Khan.

A highlight of the evening is the tertiary institution’s acknowledgment of unsung heroes instrumental in weaving the complex fabric of our community. “The TLTL - Too Little Too Late - Awards are given annually to individuals who contribute unselfishly to the community without the recognition they deserve. It is through their work people were able to break the silence,” said CFAD founder, Dr Nanda Soobben.

“The Aziz Hassim Literary Award was conceptualized by esteemed author Aziz Hassim and I just before the passing of Mr Hassim,” Dr Soobben adds. “This honorary title is awarded to outstanding literary talent in South Africa. For the first five years it is being presented to writers who came from a similar background to that of Mr Hassim and did not receive the recognition deserved. Writers who wrote about the non-racial areas in the middle of apartheid South Africa, areas such as District Six, Fietas, Cato Manor and the Casbah which Aziz Hassim captured so beautifully in his writings. This year’s awardees were all suggestions by Mr Hassim.”

Awardees this year are chairperson of the Anti Drug Forum (ADF) in Durban, Sam Pillay and teenage activist, passive resistance campaigner, martyr and follower of the Satyagraha, the late Valliamma.

In honour of the late Aziz Hassim, there will be three TLTL Aziz Hassim Literary Awards this year, to be presented to Ronnie Govender (veteran playwright, theatre director and social commentator); Don Mattera (poet, commentator, activist and journalist), the late Richard Rive (author, Drum magazine contributor, academic, critic, poet and essayist).

The formality of the institution’s graduation and awards ceremony is a counterpoint to the fun, fantastical and frivolous organic fashions created by undergrad design students that address the challenges of waste with a focus on recycling.

“Started in 2000, this fashion design project is an opportunity to stretch the creativity of the graphic design students and to explore a unique solution to the age-old problem of pollution,” says CFAD staffer, Tamlyn Martin.

The Centre for Fine Art, Animation and Design (CFAD) is a tertiary institution that offers training in fine art, animation (2D and 3D) and graphic design. It operates from 183 Cowey / Problem Mkhize Road, on the Berea. Declared a National Monument, this 100-year-old building is an Edwardian Villa with beautiful gardens and a charming fountain.

The CFAD was established in 1994 by world-renowned cartoonist, illustrator and journalist Dr Nanda Soobben. For more info about CFAD, and to book your space at the graduation evening, contact Sasha on 031 240 8402.

The CFAD Dinner incorporating Fashion Show & TLTL Awards takes place at the DLI Hall on August 23 from 17h30.