Picture:SIVENATHI GOSA
The Mdantsane Indoor Sport Centre was filled with talented young people showcasing their creative skills during the two-day Inckubeko Yomntwana Arts Festival which took place last Saturday and Sunday.
“The main purpose of the festival is to create a platform for children to showcase their skills, and is aimed at giving children a new purpose in keeping them off the streets,” said event organiser and local author Cinga Dyala.
Dyala said the aim is to celebrate and embrace the skills and talents of children in a society that is misinformed about art.
“We have chosen to host the festival in July because it is Mandela Month and we are well aware of the fact that Nelson Mandela was fond of children and had a firm belief in the development of the child.”
Edutainment through with visual and performing arts, language and literature and modelling activities were the theme of the day.
“The idea behind the festival was to cater for all art forms and to show children that art as a whole should be treated with respect and appreciation,” Dyala said.
Media personality and programme director Anita Rula shared her journey.
“I started at the Mdantsane Arts Centre where I was a dancer. My parents were my support system, and still are.
“I then moved to radio at Mdantsane FM, because I believed I wasn’t going to be a dancer forever,” she said.
“Parents should support their children in whatever career they want to pursue. There are institutions in Mdantsane that accommodate whatever someone wants to pursue.
“The parents and community should just guide the youth on in the right path,” said Rula
