PROJECTS
Community engagement, event co-ordination, curation, or public speaking are central to my practice. The isiZulu concept of Ubuntu and the saying umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu (a person is a person through people) are driving principles. While others may see community engagement as a way of giving back, the truth is I'm the one who has a lot to gain through working with people. Feel free to get in touch if you need an experienced project manager for your creative endeavors.
ZIFOZONKE
2017-2019, Rhodes University
aka Self Care Things
Alienation in academic spaces is real and this was made clear by the student uprisings of 2016. Zifozonke was an attempt to explore how we can exist within university spaces in ways that allow possibilities for interdisciplinary, indigenous and intergenerational praxis.
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Focusing on spirituality and mental health, these intimate interventions included guests such as South African artists Buhlebezwe Siwani, Lhola Amira, Sikhumbuzo Makhandula, poet Kholeka Putuma and then VANSA (Visual Arts Network South Africa) director Molemo Moiloa.
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MEQOQO
2018-2019, Rhodes University
with Lalu Mokuku
As Head of Painting at Rhodes University, I collaborated with Lalu Mokuku from the drama department on a project in which we worked with students from both departments using Playback Theatre to think through decolonial practices within the arts, particularly with regards to storytelling.
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Meqoqo's founding principles were based on Augusto Boal's concept of theatre of the oppressed. Combinig performative and autographic elements, the group performed at Rhodes university and toured to Wits University in 2019.
ZINE MAKING WORKSHOP
2017-2019, Rhodes University
with Keleketla Library
Part of the decolonial mandate is to push the boundaries of creative practice. During my tenure at Rhodes University, I was able to start a series of workshops in collaboration with Rangoato Hlasane of Keleketla! Library .
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Following Keleketla's great legacy and drawing inspiration from independent publishers from around the world, Hlasane facilitated productive experiences for my students who used old magazines to create entirely new and inventive publications.
OPEN THE GATE
2018, Rhodes University
Performance art seems like an obvious trajectory in a country of performers like South Africa. While I taught painting at Rhodes University, performance was an important element of my teaching practice.
During the National Arts Festival period of 2018, I invited various artists including Sizo Mahlangu and Msaki to share performances in the Rhodes University art department.
ART BEYOND THE STREETS
2018, Makhanda
with The Black Power Station
Xolile Madinda who is also the founder of Fingo Festival and The Black Power Station asked me to work with him on this project Art Beyond the Streets. The idea was to provide materials for people from the Joza township in Makhanda to be able to make collective paintings during the National Arts Festival in 2018.
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It was incredible to observe people who are usually excluded from the Arts Festival stop by, pick up a paintbrush and contribute to these communal works of art.
THE BLACK HOUSE
2016, London
Peckham Platform
The Black House was borne in collaboration with Ebun Sodipo and Kefiloe Siwisa. We wanted to share space in the midst of the rampant gentrification of Peckham, South London - a historically black area. The project was also produced as a response to the alienation we felt as young black people in institutions of higher learning.
The Jazz band Triforce led by Dominic Canning
The Jazz band Triforce led by Dominic Canning
HEIDI SINCUBA PRESENTS
2014-2016, London
aka Makeba (at RichMix, London)
Thanks to RichMix in Shoreditch, London, I was able to curate a series of events which brought a variety of different artists of color together. These creatives included musicians, poets, dancers and product designers and visual artists.