Arts and culture

Gugulethu women’s marimba goes national

A group of five Gugulethu women studying at UCT are hitting the big time with their marimba music.

Pharie Sefali

News | 19 February 2014

Last ditch battle for a famous black choral music school, Simon Estes High

Simon Estes Music High School in Wynberg, which was closed down on the first day of term, is fighting a last-ditch battle to survive.

Pharie Sefali

News | 19 February 2014

Choir group in Langa reduces unemployment

Ezethu (“Ours”) is an indigenous choir ensemble that preserves and promotes Xhosa culture by celebrating traditional music. Its members, who come from Gugulethu and Langa, bring ceremonial music to younger generations.

Nika Soon-Shiong

News | 13 February 2014

Gugs dance school gives children self-worth

Self-discipline and self-worth: Zama Dance school instils these much-needed values in children in Gugulethu.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 12 February 2014

Running and other stories: an extract from Makhosazana Xaba’s collection

Makhosazana Xaba’s poetry has been translated into Mandarin and Italian and published in China and Italy. Her first critically acclaimed story, Running, won the Deon Hofmeyr Award for Creative Writing in 2005.

Makhosazana Xaba

News | 11 February 2014

We should write for our readers, not the owner ““ an interview with Ann Crotty

Seasoned financial journalist Ann Crotty has resigned from the Independent Group’s financial daily, the Business Report , after 18 years at the paper. Crotty, the author of award-winning work on executive pay and other issues, spoke to GroundUp about her resignation from Business Report, her views on editorial independence and media ownership.

Sibusiso Tshabalala

News | 11 February 2014

Untitled: an extract from Kgebetli Moele’s latest novel

Kgebetli Moele burst on to the literary scene with Room 207 (Kwela, 2006). That success was followed by The Book of the Dead (2009), a deeply shocking novel whose protagonist deliberately sets out to infect as many people as he possibly can with HIV.

Kgebetli Moele

News | 4 February 2014

Pharma plot has consequences for the blind

If a secret plot by foreign pharmaceutical companies and their local subsidiaries to delay South Africa's IP policy process until after the elections succeeds, non-pharmaceutical sectors will also be affected.

Marcus Low

Opinion | 29 January 2014

Young Blood: an extract from Sifiso Mzobe’s novel

South Africa had been waiting for a novel like Young Blood when it won the coveted Sunday Times Fiction Prize in 2011. Community newspaper journalist Sifiso Mzobe set his debut novel in his hometown of Umlazi, Durban. It is a racy, fast-paced, stark narrative told from the side of the railway tracks where crime is part and parcel of everyday township life.

Sifiso Mzobe

News | 28 January 2014

Cape Flats artists launch magazine

A group of young artists are putting their creativity on the map. They have launched a magazine called Motswako, which means ‘mixture’ or ‘diversity’.

Pharie Sefali

News | 27 January 2014

Penumbra: an extract from Songeziwe Mahlangu’s debut novel

Penumbra arose out of Songeziwe Mahlangu’s MA in Creative Writing at Rhodes University. Set in Cape Town, it is the story of a restless young graduate, Mangaliso Zolo, working at an alienating office job for a large corporate insurance company. He suffers from mental illness, most probably schizophrenia, and the reader follows him on the chaotic journey of his mind for several days through the university southern suburbs.

Songeziwe Mahlangu

News | 22 January 2014

African Delights: an extract from Siphiwo Mahala’s collection of short stories

Siphiwo Mahala’s short stories have appeared in numerous literary journals and magazines locally and internationally and have been collected together in African Delights (published by the Jacana Literary Foundation). The result is a unique tour of South African life.

Siphiwo Mahala

News | 15 January 2014

Maid in SA: an extract from Zukiswa Wanner’s latest book

Novelist Zukiswa Wanner is well known for her fast-paced, witty novels. Her racy narratives and intelligent humour offer razor-sharp insights into contemporary urban life, placing the new black middleclass under the magnifying glass.

Zukiswa Wanner

News | 10 December 2013

Small Things: an extract from Nthikeng Mohlele’s latest novel

Nthikeng Mohlele first came to national attention with his debut novel, "The Scent of Bliss" (Kwela, 2008). His new novel, "Small Things", published earlier this year (2013), will not disappoint his admirers.

Nthikeng Mohlele

News | 2 December 2013

What’s it like to be gay or lesbian in Khayelitsha?

On 14 December, the Desmond Tutu Foundation will host a beauty pageant called Mr and Miss Gay Ekasi in Salt River. Most participants will be from Khayelitsha and other Cape Town townships. Does the popularity of events like these mean it is becoming easier to be gay or lesbian in Cape Town’s largest township?

Pharie Sefali

News | 28 November 2013

Clanwilliam hosts Khoi San dance competition

Isaac Petersen attended the semifinals of an ongoing Rieldans competition held in Clanwillam on Saturday, 20 October 2012. He sent us these wonderful photos.

Isaac Petersen

News | 24 October 2012