Artists in Delmas want to see art as a subject in schools again

Dazzling and colourful murals normally embellish the homesteads of South Africa’s Ndebele community.

Ndebele house painting is a style of African art practised by the Southern Ndebele people of South Africa.

The Ndebele women when painting homes, predominantly practise the art.

“If a young women wants to marry a man from a certain community, they must first proof that they have been taught the art of painting by her mum or grandmother,” said local Ndebele artist, Simon Mabena.

Mabena told Streeknuus that if a young bride-to-be cannot do the art, she would first have to learn the skills, before being accepted as the young man’s wife.

Mabena elaborated on the tradition from many years ago.

“It was mainly practised by women. In those days, there were no luxuries like paints in all colours. They would go to the veld, collect different colours of mud, ash from fires would make up the white paint, and the charcoal from wood would be used to make black paint. All these elements from nature would be mixed with water and that was how Ndebele art were performed back then.”

“I have a partner, Alfred Lukhele, who practises his own form of unique art. He frames my Ndebele artwork with glass.”

For both local artists, it is however not always easy to find the recourses, the glass, the paper, the pencils as well as a platform to promote and sell their art.

“We do this also to teach our children about art and would one day love to open an art school where children can learn different forms of traditional art. The art of their individual cultures,” said Lukhele.

“Art is not a subject at school anymore and our children grow up in towns, not on a farm anymore. We want the tradition of art within all the individual cultures to continue.”

According to Lukhele, art can keep them (the children) off the streets and give them something constructive to do when they go home after school.

Both Lukhele and Mabena feel strong about the subject of art to return to schools.

“When we were at school, we had art as a subject every week. We would paint, make something out of nothing, or bring a ‘draadkar’ to school. It taught us to be creative.”“Nowadays children have cell phones to entertain them and spend their time on unhealthy things.”

Lukhele is not only a glass artist who does the framing for Mabena’s art.

Many churches and congregation pastors and priests from Delmas and Botleng bring their messages from pulpits made from glass by Alfred.

Lukhele and Mabena hope to sell their unique Ndebele glass framed art in order to generate an income.

With that, we can put food on the table, and also one-day hopefully open an art school to bring a revival in African art and keep the tradition alive for generations to come.