(Ismail Mahomed & Sershan Naidoo take up
their crochet hooks to support the 67 Blankets for Madiba project)
At the
recent launch of the 2014 National Arts Festival, members of the media were
given a tantalising taste of the splendid programme on offer this year in Grahamstown from July 3 to 13.
One
outstanding feature of the festival is that no less than 65 previous
winners of The Standard Bank Young Artist Award will be showcased on the Main Programme. They will be
represented either in person or through their work at the Festival.
It
is expected that the names of two more Standard Bank Young Artists will be
released shortly. “They will be working on the Festival's development
programmes,” explains Ismail Mahomed, the festival’s Artistic Director. “In total, that will us
bringing us to the very significant number of 67 artists in this particular
year when we also sharpen the Festival's focus on our two decades of
constitutional democracy.”
Another
important aspect of the festival is the open-access element of the Fringe
Programme supported by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund.
artSMart
Editor, Caroline Smart, who is strongly involved in the 67 Blankets for Madiba
Day project took the opportunity of the launch to photograph two major roleplayers
in the arts to show their support of what has now become an international
movement. As Mahomed indicated, the number 67 is a significant one as it represents
the number of years that Nelson Mandela gave fighting for freedom and
service to his country.
Ismail
Mahomed, the festival’s Artistic Director, and Sershan Naidoo, spokesperson for
the National Lottery Board, willingly picked up their crochet hooks and set
about stitching.
While
Mahomed lent his usual clear and immediate focus to anything new, it was former
Durbanite Naidoo who handled his crochet hook with an assurance born of
experience.
This experience
comes from the fact that, for many years, his father ran a shop in Alice Street
called Fleecy Wools below the now-defunct Upstairs Theatre. In the mid 40’s,
his grandfather worked at Durban’s most popular and
well-stocked wool shops, Bombay Bazaar in West Street and Swansdown in Foundry
Lane.
Naidoo
remembers his growing years when his mother, Kamalam Naidoo, used to do all the
family’s knitting – jerseys, hats and scarves.
“You
remember the warmth,” Naidoo says. “There are many people who don’t have that
basic need. We should support anything to keep people warm to help them survive
those cold days - and what better way than through the memory of Madiba. My mum
has started her own blanket. It’s great because it keeps her occupied, doing something
that she enjoys but will also help someone less fortunate than she is. I’m
trying to find time to do some crocheting myself – 30 years came zooming back when
I picked up that crochet hook today and I was surprised that I actually
remembered the stitches!”
Ismail
Mahomed equally supports the 67 Blankets for Madiba Day project: “The 67 Blankets for Madiba
Day is an inspiring project. It brings together caring people to engage in a
craft form to help other less-fortunate South Africans. More than that, with
every knit-one pearl-one or crochet stitch, it weaves Madiba's legacy into our
consciousness.”
For more
information visit the Facebook page of 67 Blankets for Madiba Day or contact
Caroline Smart on csmart@iafrica.com
For more
information on the National Arts Festival, click the banner advert at the top
of this page.
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