What should we do with the art of monstrous men?

Listen to a highly condensed version of the discussion on 23rd October at the Masambe Theatre. Recorded and edited by Nigel Vermaas and aired on Bush Radio’s Sakhisizwe arts edition.

On 23 October the South African Cultural Policy Network held a Public Forum at the Masambe Theatre, Baxter. What should we do with the art of monstrous men? There has been much international debate about the “monstrous men” in art, movies, television, and music in the age of #MeToo movement.

The South African arts industry has its own ‘monstrous men’.

Artist Zwelethu Mthethwa is serving eighteen years in jail for murdering sex worker, Nokupila Kumalo; Mbongeni Ngema faces a number of allegations of sexual harassment. And Welcome Msomi has recently been found guilty of having stolen R8m from the Living Legends fund.

Should we separate the art from the artist?

Should Sarafina and other works by Ngema – and Ngema himself –be banned from our theatres? And what about our Rolling Stones albums, Woody Allen DVDS? Etc etc.

A panel consisting of poet & cultural activist Malika Ndlovu, Stellenbosch university transformation officer Babalwa Gusha and gender activist & academic Amanda Gouws grappled with this complex topic. The forum was facilitated by another Stellenbosch University academic Ncebakazi Mnukwana. Tina Schouw also features in the audio.

Music, all of which is made by so-called monstrous men has been added, including Miles Davis, one of the greatest musicians of the 20th Century and also an abuser of women.

The actual forum lasted about 90 minutes so obviously there was a lot of important stuff that is not included.

Thanks to Mike van Graan and the SA Cultural Policy Network for keeping these conversations going.

The above text is taken from Nigel’s introduction of the recording.

Catch Nigel Vermaas every week with Connected to Jazz (Tuesdays 8pm) and during Sakhisizwe’s arts edition (Fridays from 12pm) via 89.5FM or www.bushradio.co.za

Our weather guy is Wrongly Accused (video)

You may know him as the weather guy with the funny did-you-know fact on Bush Radio’s Breakfast Rush every weekday morning at 7:15 / 07:45 / 08:15 / 08:45 but Waseef Piekaan is also hosting his stand-up comedy show – Wrongly Accused – at the Baxter Theatre from the 18 – 30 November 2013.

Go check it out.

Finding Chester Missing

Yesterday (25 July 2013) Chester Missing stopped by the Bush Radio studios with Conrad Koch. He was interviewed by Natalie and Freedom on Everyday People (weekdays 4-7pm) about the Chester Missing Roadshow which is currently on at the Baxter Theatre.

Catch the Chester Missing Roadshow at the Baxter Theatre from the 23 July – 3 August (Golden Arrow Studio). Book via Computicket.

For block bookings, charities, corporates and fundraisers contact Sharon on 021 680 3962 or Carmen on 021 680 3993.

Congrats to our “Money’s too tight to mention” winners

Congratulations to; Arthur Paulsen, Shaqir Moses, Lynelle Petersen, Colin Erasmus and Alfred Titus who each won a set of double tickets to see Stuart Taylor in “Money’s to tight to mention“.

Win tickets to see Stuart Taylor’s “Money’s too tight to mention”

Bush Radio 89.5FM is giving 5 lucky listeners a chance of winning a set of double tickets to Stuart Taylor’s comedy show “Money’s too tight to mention” which is happening at the Baxter Theatre , on Wednesday, the 18th January 2012 at 8 o’ clock.

Win with 89.5fm and My Cape Town (Week 2/3)

Bush Radio's Aphelele Radebe enjoying the view of Cape Town during our broadcast from the top of Table Mountain this week

Congratulations to Thumeka Mfaxa from Gugulethu who won our first fantastic MyCapeTown pack

Now there only two more weeks left for this great competition on 89.5FM. Every week until the 7th October we will be giving lucky listeners the chance to win vouchers to Cape Towns top attractions

This week you could win a MyCapeTown pack which includes:

2x Kirstenbosch Gardens Tickets

A Family Pack (2 kids and 2 adults) for a City Sight Seeing Bus

2x Table Mountain Cable Car Tickets

2x Spur Vouchers

This pack is valued at R 720.

To stand a chance of winning, sms the keyword MYCAPETOWN to 32158 by no later than midnight this Thursday – the winners name will be announced in Sakhisizwe each Friday just after the arts update at 1pm

Sms cost R 1 and free minutes do not apply.

Win with 89.5fm and My Cape Town (Week 1/3)

Over the next three weeks Bush Radio is giving you the opportunity to win with MyCapeTown.

Every week until the 7th October we will be giving lucky listeners the chance to win vouchers to Cape Town’s top attractions

This week you could win a My Cape Town pack which includes:

2x Robben Island Tickets

2x Two Oceans Aquarium Passes

2x Wheel of Excellence Tickets

This pack is valued at R 730.

To stand a chance of winning, sms the keyword MYCAPETOWN to 32158 by no later than midnight this Thursday.

The winners name will be announced in Sakhisizwe every Friday just after the arts update at 1pm. So tune to 89.5FM or on your computer or cellphone via www.bushradio.co.za

 Sms cost R 1 and free minutes do not apply.

The Actor, the Canadian and the journalist

This past week at Bush Radio was filled with several reunions at the station.

On Tuesday well-known stage and television actor Vinette Ebrahim popped into the station to talk to Denisia Adams about her current play “My Naam is Ellen Pakkies“, which is on at the Baxter Theatre.

Vinette Ebrahim and Denisia Adams

Vinette is most popular for her role in the soap opera 7de Laan, but we at Bush Radio remember her as the narrator of a series of
programmes we produced in 1998 with Molo Songololo, the national children’s rights network, called Silent Shame, Silent Crime which dealt with incest.

We pulled a recording from our archives and played it for her. Click here to listen

John Tottenham, Wesley Wessels (centre) and Janelle Nichols

We then had another visit from someone who was last at Bush Radio in 2004. John Tottenham was a participant in a programme run at the station with a group called Canada World Youth. John was a student at the University of Waterloo at that time and during the project he was teamed up with former Bush Radio trainee and now editor of The Dankish, Wesley Wessels, who also came along for the visit.

John is currently working for an engineering company in Canada and came to show his wife, Janelle, South Africa.

Rhode (6th from left) with some of the Bush Team

Also this week, former trainee producer and newsroom intern Rhode Marshall, now a content producer for the Mail and Guardian, came to say hi.