- Feb 9, 2001
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The other day I visited a museum near where I work, to look around and see if there were at any new exhibits I hadn't seen before. There was one, in particular, that immediately caught my eye (visually and consciously). It's a travelling exhibit called, "Siyazama". The following is a description of what it's about:
"Throughout the world art has long been used as a tool for cultural, social, and economic change. In South Africa many educators and activists used performing and visual arts in the successful anti-apartheid movement. Now arts are being used there to inform and inspire citizens about the AIDS epidemic.
Fighting AIDS within South Africa presents many challenges. Even though the post-apartheid government has mandated changes, many communities continue to experience high rates of poverty and racial discrimination. Perhaps more importantly, strongly maintained traditional practices and beliefs, especially related to gender roles, inhibit conventional approaches to AIDS education. Despite these challenges, many community organizations have turned to the arts for innovative AIDS education and outreach projects.
One arts-based intervention, the Siyazama (Zulu for "we are trying") Project, uses traditional and contemporary artistic expression to document the realities of HIV/AIDS and to open lines of communication about the virus. Though based in South Africa, the project is a replicable model for collaborations among artists, educators, and health practitioners."
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As for my experience in looking at all the pieces of artwork...beading, basket weaving, sculpting and doll-making...they were exquisitely made but the stories they told were absolutely heart wrenching. Each artist (who were "simple living" women telling their tragic stories) had a mind shattering story to tell. These women were a lot younger in age than me but appeared much, much older and that's probably due to the state of their living condition.
I said all of that to say, if you have the opportunity, see this exhibit. It may cause some of you, like it did me, to pause and take a reality check. Black Americans aren't the only ones who feel they are fighting a life and death battle. But this exhibit showed me that there are Black people who are not doing a lot of talking, aren't sitting by waiting for death to come, but are doing great things with simple materials to help themselves.
Queenie
"Throughout the world art has long been used as a tool for cultural, social, and economic change. In South Africa many educators and activists used performing and visual arts in the successful anti-apartheid movement. Now arts are being used there to inform and inspire citizens about the AIDS epidemic.
Fighting AIDS within South Africa presents many challenges. Even though the post-apartheid government has mandated changes, many communities continue to experience high rates of poverty and racial discrimination. Perhaps more importantly, strongly maintained traditional practices and beliefs, especially related to gender roles, inhibit conventional approaches to AIDS education. Despite these challenges, many community organizations have turned to the arts for innovative AIDS education and outreach projects.
One arts-based intervention, the Siyazama (Zulu for "we are trying") Project, uses traditional and contemporary artistic expression to document the realities of HIV/AIDS and to open lines of communication about the virus. Though based in South Africa, the project is a replicable model for collaborations among artists, educators, and health practitioners."
----------------------------------------
As for my experience in looking at all the pieces of artwork...beading, basket weaving, sculpting and doll-making...they were exquisitely made but the stories they told were absolutely heart wrenching. Each artist (who were "simple living" women telling their tragic stories) had a mind shattering story to tell. These women were a lot younger in age than me but appeared much, much older and that's probably due to the state of their living condition.
I said all of that to say, if you have the opportunity, see this exhibit. It may cause some of you, like it did me, to pause and take a reality check. Black Americans aren't the only ones who feel they are fighting a life and death battle. But this exhibit showed me that there are Black people who are not doing a lot of talking, aren't sitting by waiting for death to come, but are doing great things with simple materials to help themselves.
Queenie