The #FeesMustFallMovement has awoken activists, affected communities and changed a nation. But how has it played out in the Grahamstown community – why is education essential, who are we fighting for and what are we fighting against?
These aren’t articles, opinion pieces or reports. These are ARticles: a series of pictures and comics that need to be pieced together. It is for you to find the story. Continue reading
By Shannon Wilson
The Cathcart Arms
The Cathcart Arms is one of the oldest hotels in South Africa, established in 1820 when the first colonial settlers arrived in Grahamstown. It has a red and black exterior; a large sign above the entrance proudly declares the name of the hotel. The black woodwork above this sign is unkempt and splintered. Although the doors are said to open at 10am, it was past 11 and I was still waiting outside. I asked two men milling around the entrance if they knew when it might actually open. They said that the Arms didn’t have a regular opening time.
By Shannon Wilson
Makana Library
Grey and rusty orange stones are layered on top of one another in an orderly pattern. Situated on Hill Street, the Makana Library is a rectangular and, looking at the exterior, uninviting building. However, once inside you travel to a world where books are treasure and time is endless. The books are faded; orange, blue and red colours blend. The wooden floorboards creak as you walk down the aisles. From magazines to ancient tomes, the Makana Library is ready to provide you with words galore.
Filled with natural light, the library is a great place to sit and read.
By Shannon Wilson
The Cock House
White diagonal lines converge; creating a pattern that frames the large, dark wooden door. There is a crest of a proud rooster on the top. Olive green grass contours the outside of an establishment that has served Grahamstown since 1826.
By Shannon Wilson
Champs Bar
Empty plastic bags and beer cans line the grey, tarred road. The bottom part of the glass door is smashed, but still intact, fractured into tiny glittering mirrors.
When did cannabis become a criminal?
Where does the plant come from?
What are the origins of medical marijuana?
What is the annual cost of convicting a low-level stoner?
Continue reading
Chronicles of the Printing Press
By Shannon Wilson
When curator Richard Burmeister invited me in, I felt like I had stepped into a time capsule and landed in Grahamstown in the 19th century. The floor was dark brown and wooden; there was a hint of turpentine in the air and the furniture looked foreign. The small metal, block letters in trays lining the room intrigued me. Burmeister explained how these were used to make the words that were printed in the Eastern Star four-page newspaper. Someone had put the letters into a block individually and upside down, a task considerably more difficult than typing on a keyboard and having words magically appear on the screen in front of you. Burmeister noted that skilled workers, who put the letters into blocks and then printed them, were paid well for their skills. Perhaps this is one of the reasons journalists make less money now then they did when the Eastern Star newspaper produced its first copy on 6 January 1871.
Jodi Bieber’s photographs are silent stories, dressed in colour and captured light. Her years of experiencing and photographing a beautifully complex and twisted world have led to incredible images, international exhibitions and valuable advice.
On Monday, 14 September, she gave a presentation about her photography and biography to a room of aspiring photographers and writers.
By Sarah Rose de Villiers
Spoken Word is packed with punches that ripple with rhymes wrapped in rhythms that twist the mind.
The South African spoken word scene was celebrated and cultivated last week with a festival of performed poetry, which was held at the Eastern Star Museum. The festival, ‘Arc to the Future‘, was presented by the English Department of Rhodes University and the National English Literary Museum from 9 – 11 September.
It was a spectacular success. Audiences filled the seats, sat on the floors and leaned against walls as exceptional spoken word exploded silence and set the scene alight.
“I took a bit of an usual route,” says Riason Naidoo, who was appointed as the first black director of the Iziko South African National Gallery in Cape Town in 2009. “I’m trained as an artist – as a painter, but I’ve done a few different things in the art world after graduating.” Continue reading
artbeat046.wordpress.com 