Whither the arts in South Africa’s permanent crisis? The flawed logic of singling out Nathi Mthethwa
The recent calls for the removal of Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa by members of the arts, culture and heritage community seem to miss the bigger problem, which political economy scholar and ANC member Oscar van Heerden posits is, “The ANC is confused (ideologically and strategically), therefore the government is confused, and therefore the state is confused.”
Although Van Heerden’s remark was made in light of the evidence relating to the State Security Agency at the Zondo inquiry into state capture, I am of the view that the confusion he identifies pervades all the departments of government, not least the department of sports, arts and culture.
Angela Dennis, Knoxville News Sentinel
Published
8:04 pm UTC Feb. 8, 2021
As the National Museum of African American Music opens its doors, journalists from the USA TODAY Network explore the stories, places and people who helped make music what it is today in our expansive series, Hallowed Sound.
From the days of slavery through the Civil Rights Era to the BLM movement, Black music has emboldened American protests with songs so intertwined with events that they ve become part of the country s history themselves.
Songs that raised fists in solidarity in the 1960s found a rebirth during the racial uprisings of the last decade. Every generation brings new anthems about strife and injustice.
This story was first published byThe Conversation.
Music is not a zero sum game with only one “best”. But if you seek to name one musician whose life embodies the South African people’s struggle for a national culture, it must be trombonist, composer and cultural activist Jonas Mosa Gwangwa, who was born on 19 October 1937 in Orlando East, Johannesburg, and died on 23 January 2021 in Johannesburg aged 83.
Through 65 years on stage, Gwangwa’s playing contributed to every genre of South African jazz. Overseas, he was hailed as player, producer and composer. Yet he chose to step away from mainstream success for 10 years, leading the Amandla Cultural Ensemble of the African National Congress (ANC) to win hearts for the anti-apartheid struggle everywhere and present a vision of what post-apartheid national culture could be.
Jonas Gwangwa: The musician who embodied South Africa’s struggle for a national culture
The trombonist, composer and cultural activist never wished to be ‘the state composer’ but remained political until the end. Jonas Gwangwa at the Cape Town Jazz Festival in April 2017. | Jonas Gwangwa/Twitter
Music is not a zero-sum game with only one “best”. But if you seek to name one musician whose life embodies the South African people’s struggle for a national culture, it must be trombonist, composer and cultural activist Jonas Mosa Gwangwa, who was born on October 19, 1937, in Orlando East, Johannesburg, and died on January 23 in Johannesburg aged 83.
Jonas Gwangwa, trombonist and anti-apartheid activist, dies at 83
South African trombonist, vocalist and composer Jonas Gwangwa was 83.
by Giovanni Russonello
(NYT NEWS SERVICE)
.- Jonas Gwangwa, a preeminent South African trombonist, vocalist and composer who became a leading artistic ambassador for the anti-apartheid resistance, died Sunday. He was 83.
The office of President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the death in a statement, but did not say where he died or what the cause was. Gwangwa had been in poor health for some time.
Calling him a giant of our revolutionary cultural movement, Ramaphosa wrote, Jonas Gwangwa ascends to our great orchestra of musical ancestors, whose creative genius and dedication to the freedom of all South Africans inspired millions in our country and mobilized the international community against the apartheid system.