 |
| The Incede Womens Project recycles glass bottles and turn them into beautiful liquor glasses |
Nomunde (Patience is her English name, so she tells us) and Zameka are the two savvy ladies behind the Incede Women's Project. The Incede Womens Project's workshop is located in a large room at the Mdantsane Arts Center.
Several women of Mdantsane, concerned about the situation and the future of young people in this country have founded this project a couple of years ago, with the intention to help young people to gain skills in the art sector and thereby allowing them to earn a little income.
Incede is in the lucky position to be now funded by the Department of Arts and Culture. The efforts of these women, to help create a better community and trying to keep the young people of the streets have been finally recognized.
 |
| My name is Patience but I am actually not patient at all, she says! |
The Incede Womens Project creates a variety of products with very different materials including pottery ware, mosaic work and has started a line of products, that are made from recycled glass, but we are concentrating in this article on the pottery products, that the women design.
The products are strongly influenced by the Xhosa culture and the local tradition of the Eastern Cape but they also incorporate many other non-typical Xhosa elements of daily life.
 |
| Zameka - a strong vision |
 |
| Zameka at her working area in front of pottery wares, destined to be painted and glazed |
The workshop at the Mdantsane art center seems large to us, but the ladies say it is still not big enough. It is used by many young people, who come there after school to paint or learn the skill of pottery.
 |
| Beautiful, colorful handmade and completely RECYCLED glass tiles |
The raw material is bought in Gonubie, a little coastal town outside of East London.
The project is well equipped and has all the material needed at its disposition, but the women say what they profoundly lack is marketing, business and selling skills.
"Once our products are finished, they rest on the shelves in the arts center, Patience says, we don't know how to get them to the clients and we don't know how to attract clients."
 |
| The Kiln |
 |
| Unfinished products |
 |
| A mosaic clock |
 |
| The large workshop of the Incede Womens Project |
 |
| Patience at work |
 |
| The women belief in their project |
The women who have founded Incede believe in the power of work and that if one learns a skill it changes one's outlook on life.
 |
| Learning something adds a sense of worth and self respect to your life |
"If you are not working, you feel useless. You feel useless and you do not have an income. Sometimes this can not be changed easily because of external circumstances. But if you learn a skill, even if you still have not an income you feel proud and more re-assured of yourself than before," says Patience.
"You have added value to yourself. Life is also about understanding your own value. May be your income will come later or there is the possibility, that you will find money through the skill you have learned in another way, that you have not thought of!"
Many women in their later years in life have a deep concern for the future of the young people in South Africa.
 |
| Representing the tasks of daily life in the Xhosa culture |
If the old traditions die the teachings of these traditions reserved for the young people die as well. But it is a fact of life that certain traditions will die because the effort it would take to uphold them is too big. New ways have to be found to establish values and recognize the value of life. Art can be one of these ways.
 |
| The tradition of the rural areas of the Eastern Cape is reflected in these sculptures |
Looking at the sculptures one can see, that they have been inspired by daily life. The easy and simple things are shown here. The things, that have to be repeated day after day and that can be a burden sometimes are modeled into sculptures.
 |
| I do know nothing about art! |
"In fact, I do know nothing about art! But I am very interested in art and all the things that are linked to it", says Patience.
It is hard to believe, that she grew up "knowing nothing about art", as she says.
 |
| Religion is always there |
 |
| The traditional way of dressing |
 |
| The traditional way of living |
 |
| some humor |
 |
| and something foreign |
 |
| Makes the eclectic mix of todays South Africa |
If you want to support the women or if you are on the look out for some beautiful gifts - Mdantsane is not that far.
Here are the ladies phone numbers:
Nomunde 0738522088
Zameka 0735794244
No comments:
Post a Comment