SOFTCOPY MAGAZINE

File Picture: Fine Art student, Shamil Balram.  Second year fine Arts students Shamil Balram and Sihle Seme showcased their work at the Annual Essence Festival 2017 at the Durban ICC.  Both students were invited to showcase their work at the festival, for both exposure, recognition and most importantly views & opinions on how to perfect their work by artistic critics.  “I was happy to have been invited to exhibit my work for exposure and getting an understanding of other people opinions about my work, furthermore was to meet different artists and gain some ideas in order for me to be more critical and practical as well,” said Seme. Balram said, the work focuses on questions of land ownership in post-Apartheid South Africa and unpacking our surrounding and their complex relationships to history to memory and to politics. “One of my strong characteristics are my majestic interracial background which allows me to interact with diverse communities and ...

Banele Nqetho.  Durban University of Technology’s (DUT) Bachelor of Education (B Ed) former student and entrepreneur, Banele Nqeto wrote, directed and acted in his own movie. The movie titled, “Ngidlalile Ngethuba Lami” is based on a true story. It is about a boy named Xolani who is originally from eQuthu, a rural area in KwaZulu-Natal, moving to the big city of Pietermaritzburg (PMB) where he came to study his B Ed AT DUT Indumiso campus. Xolani (Played by Nqeto) had a bursary from the Department of Education of which he lost due to his academic results not being up to standard with the bursary requirements. He left university because he could not pay his tuition fees. As acting is also Nqeto’s passion, he acted in his film to pursue such dreams of being an actor. “The movie is a true story of my life, I needed to drive out the message of my reality and I felt that I would act it out best as I am the key person who understands the story of my life,” said Nqeto. ...

File Picture: Language Practice and Translation & Interpreting Practice students performing at DUT Africa Day celebration 2017. The Department of Language practice and Translation & Interpretation held its annual Awards Day recently where a significant number of top performing students for the year 2017 were recognised for their hard work. Excited students packed the hall where awards were given out to high achievers in General Language Dynamics, Applied second language and Most progressing award, appreciation awards just to name a few. Philiswa Mncube Intercultural studies lecturer, said the awards are done so as to motivate students as it is a way of recognising excellence in their academic performance.  “On the day we invite people from relevant fields and have them give the students ideas on what awaits them in the business world and how to get there”, said Mncube. Snehlanhla Khanyile 3 rd year student took three awards away namely; General Langu...

Digifest's opening ceremony.  The digital festival hosted by the faculty of Arts & Design is just around the corner with the opening night yet to kick off on the 6 th of November. Acting Director of Alumni Relations Zwakele Ngubane said, The Development and Alumni Relations office has decided to get involved in Digi fest by providing support to the festival organisers in order to establish a mutually beneficial relationship. “We are providing financial support as part of our strategic objective of engaging our DUT community”, said Ngubane. We will have an opportunity to share our fundraising initiatives at the festival for which we hope to garner support as well, Ngubane said. “We will also be involved in raising funds for future Digi fests because fundraising for various worthwhile DUT projects is part of our mandate”, added Ngubane. According to an article written on the skills portal, In order to qualify for NSFAS, your household income needs to be...

Digifest's Manager, Steve Jones.  The 4 th annual digital arts festival kicked off at the Arthur Smith hall at DUT’s City campus with Key note speaker Kate Spacek. Radio DUT’s own Nkulee Mbatha was the MC for the opening ceremony at the Arthur smith hall. With Steve Jones doing the welcoming, Vice Chancellor Thandwa Mthembu saying a few words and Dr Rene Smith doing the closing. Festival manager Steve jones, said that the digifest this year will run over six days and the key note speaker is from Columbia. “The digital arts festival this year is more committed to showcasing students work and engaging in student conversations in bettering the arts,” said Jones. DUT’s own vice chancellor Prof Thandwa Mthembu, said he is very happy to be a part of the digital arts festival 2017. United Nations educational scientific and cultural organisation (UNESCO) declared Durban the city of literature and culture. “I’m very excited tonight because it is a demonstra...

Fine Art's Shamil Balram.  Leading South African contemporary art gallery, SMAC Gallery, is exhibiting a group exhibition of photographic works and Durban University of Technology’s very own second year fine art student, Shamil Balram was selected to exhibit his work. The gallery which is based in Cape Town represents established and emerging artists from South Africa, Africa and further afield. Titled PEER, the exhibition focuses on selected photographers practicing in the African continent. Their work has been produced in a variety of photographic mediums and sizes. Balram exhibited a body of photographs. His work focuses on question of land ownership in post-Apartheid South Africa and unpacking our surroundings and their complex relationships to history, memory and politics. “My work conceptually speaks of building a bridge of a diverse culture so we can step into the shoes of each other and experience the pure meaning of life. One of my strong character...

Simphiwe Sithole and Anke van de Linden. Two Durban University of Technology (DUT) third year jewellery design students made it to the finals of the 18 th annual Plat Africa jewellery design and manufacture competition. The competition is presented by the world’s leading producer of the precious metal, Anglo American Platinum, in association with PGI India and Metal Concentrators. It was open to student, apprentice and professional jewellers in South Africa. They had to manufacture jewellery pieces based on the theme, Bold Minimalism. The theme aimed to achieve the perfect pairing of timeless platinum with an on-trend design. Bold Minimalism in its simplest form is seen as an expression of the pure, rare and eternal properties of platinum. It is to be used to create elegant designs, where less is more; a persuasive expression of contemporary love. DUT Students, Simphiwe Sithole and Anke van de Linden made it to the top 10, captivating the judges with their int...

UK high commissioner in SA Dame Judith Macgregor handing over a scholarship certificate to Chevening scholar Sphelele Ngubane.  Former DUT journalism student and Mercury Newspaper journalist, Sphelele Ngubane has returned to South Africa after completing his Masters in Journalism, Media & Communications at the renowned United Kingdom’s Cardiff University. The university has a reputational school of journalism, media and cultural studies, especially research quality. It was ranked number one on the chart of universities offering journalism and PR studies by the Guardian University Guide 2017. “Understanding that my career path was leading to academia and having sought advice from professionals and academics ahead of me I decided to go to Cardiff,” said Ngubane. “What also interested me was that there were more than 30 large-framed photos by South Africa’s very own photojournalists telling the Apartheid story.  These include veteran photographers Peter Mag...

SABC's Sbongakonke Mbatha. Five former Durban University of Technology students from the Journalism programme in the Department of Media, Language and Communication emerged victorious during the KwaZulu-Natal Regional Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards ceremony held at the Protea Hotel in Umhlanga, recently. Former DUT journalism student and SABC reporter, Sbongakonke Mbatha was named 2017’s Young Journalist of the Year winner. Speaking about her achievement, Mbatha said that winning the award assures her that she is on the right path with her career. “Winning Vodacom’s Young Journalist of the Year in KwaZulu-Natal has assured me that I’m doing well and I must now continue to soar and never look back because as far as my dreams are concerned the sky is not the limit,” said Mbatha. Another Journalism graduate, Nabeelah Shaikh, scooped the Vodacom Journalist of the Year regional award in the print news category. She clinched the title for her breaking news inves...

Russell Boast's medal.  Former Drama and Production Studies student, Russell Boast was awarded the Veterans in Media and Entertainment medal bearing the organisation’s insignia recently. The medal is only give by the non-profit networking organization and unites current and former members of the military working in the film and television industry. Traditionally, they are given to prove membership when challenged and to enhance morale. In practice, challenge coins are normally presented by unit commanders in recognition of special achievement by a member of the unit. Boast who has been in the film and television industry for close to 20 years said receiving this token of appreciation from veterans, warriors was one of his most humbling experiences of his life. “They all deserve our undying gratitude for their courage and sacrifice in protecting our freedoms. I work tirelessly with in the entertainment industry to fight for inclusion and diversity and to be hono...

Journalism's Ayesha Mall.  Durban University of Technology’s (DUT) own Ayesha Mall, travelled to Valladolid Spain where she lectured students at the University of Valladolid. Journalism Head of Department Ayesha Mall said, I spent time at the University of Valladolid in Valladolid, Spain where I taught journalism students and engaged with Journalism academics and students. “It was a pleasure to meet the staff and students. The students asked a lot of questions, which led to wonderful and critical engagement,” said Mall. Dr Torres is an academic in the journalism department at the University of Valladolid. “It was an absolute pleasure to reconnect with Dr Alicia Torres who has spent six weeks with DUT in 2016,” added Mall. Since childhood I had wanted to become a journalist. I’ve always been interested in journalism, communication and the media, said Mall. “My family follows news and current affairs avidly and there have been always critical discussi...

Mondli Makhanya.  City Press’ Editor-in-Chief, Mondli Makhanya praised the South African judiciary system and media for playing a big role in helping society keep in line with the democratic South Africa they had imagined in 1994.   Makhanya was speaking at the 9th annual Mahatma Gandhi Media lecturer hosted by the Gandhi Development Trust (GDT) and DUT’s Journalism programme recently. In his address, Mhakanya stated that the country’s judicial system was still very strong and credible. He also glorified the media saying it had played a big role in assisting society stay in tune with matters of interest to the public. “Society in many instances has shown it’s resilience as it fought against the HIV & Aids dilemma in April 2002; How the society fought against arms deal; How the society forced SABC say no to censorship and battle the war against State capture”, He said. Makhanya continued, saying social media has expanded the debate, by connecting people...

FoAD's Executive Dean Dr Rene Smith with Professor Andreia Oliviera and students. The Faculty of Arts and Design did an interdisciplinary project with the Faculty of Accounting and Informatics for the 2017 Durban University of Technology’s Digital Arts and Design Festival. This LabInter Project arose out of a commitment which is directly related to the forthcoming International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA) 2018 as well as with guidance from Professor Andreia Oliviera from the Federal University of Santa Maria in Brazil. Professor Oliviera created the LabInter Project which is an interactive interdisciplinary laboratory and creation place that has become a place of discussion and development of e-Learning prototypes and pilot projects which are built through such interdisciplinary, interactive and collaborative experiences. Students from the Fine Art Department and the Information Technology Department came together and planned the successful project. Mas...

On Friday the 10th of November at 18:30pm the journalism exhibition for the student’s photo essays themed “Glitch” will be on show. The following first year students work will be exhibited; Carissa Marnce, Daegan Martin, Mandisa Magubane,  Mqondisi Myeni, Lwazi Khuboni, Nomfundo Khumalo, Thobani Dlamini, Thubelihle Dumakude, Sibulelo Dlamini and Tsheboeng  Seitlhamo. Lwazi Khuboni first year student said, that his photo essay was about a glitch in society and since a glitch is a problem I focussed more on poor service delivery from the local government. “The reason why I chose service delivery as the glitch I see in society is because, I grew up in the township and poor service delivery has been going on for some time now”, said Khuboni. As a first year student at first I thought this is impossible because, a glitch is a word that mostly used as electrical error but then as time went on my lecturers and tutors explained it more thoroughly to me said Khub...

Durban University of Technology’s Interior Design department recently held their Interior Design exhibition at the Interior Design gallery at City Campus. The exhibition took place on day six of the fourth annual Digital Arts and Design Festival (DigiFest 4), the Third year students incorporated the DigiFest 4 theme, ‘Glitch’, in their work. “We did a nightclub named Glitch. It worked as a restaurant during the day in a vision of 2040. The main purpose was to connect people with technology in this space by creating a transparent and united space,” said Third Year student, Nhlakanipho ‘Ifani’ Nkosi. Nkosi’s work was about creating an electric style of design ensuring a classical and contemporary aesthetic. “I am always guided by KISS principle which is a design rule that states systems perform best when they have simple designs. It shows design development behind concepts and ability to create a space that is functional and efficient. Lastly, it intends to demonstrate my ...

Luyanda Zindela  Marking his curatorial debut, Durban University of Technology Fine Art student, Luyanda Zindela, curated an exhibition at the Absa Gallery based in Johannesburg. The exhibition was inspired by Gerard Sekoto, a broadly recognised innovator of black South African art. In 2004, the Absa L’Atelier awards honoured the artist’s legacy by introducing the Gerard Sekoto Award. The Absa Gallery brought together all the Absa L’Atelier Gerard Sekoto Award winners in this exhibition. The exhibition titled; A change in the Narrative, explores the winning artists’ narratives, through their work and through the reflective retellings of their thoughts and experiences since winning the Absa L’Atelier Gerard Sekoto Award. Zindela won a Merit Award in the 2014 instalment of the Absa L’Atelier competition. He is currently studying towards his Master in Technology Degree in Fine Art and feels honoured to have curated this exhibition. “Being presented with such...

Fine Art third year students are currently showcasing their final year exhibitions at City Campus. The exhibitions ranges from various themes such as reconnection, sexual trauma, over-sexualisation of the black female body, oral traditions & archaic storytelling within the Zulu diaspora and traditional scarification, to name a few. Their work is inspired by renowned artists who have worked on similar projects. Fine Art student, Siyanda Zincume’s work examined the over-sexualisation of the black female body, paying more attention to the female’s buttocks. “As an artist, I believe that one of the purposes of art is to hold up a mirror to society. This is done with the aim of portraying a reflection of the issues within society. So I examined society’s obsession with large female buttocks,” said Zincume. Zincume’s work also show the overrepresentation of the female buttocks in visual media. “The rise of social media platforms has also contributed to the over...

Mhlonishwa Chiliza. Durban University of Technology Fine Art student and part-time lecturer, Mhlonishwa Chiliza exhibited his captivating sculptures that embraces not only single-medium, three-dimensional objects, but also mixed-media installation art for PPC Imaginarium at KZNSA Gallery. This following after Chiliza made it to the finals at the PPC Imaginarium Art and Design competition for two sculptures. Chiliza explained his inspiration behind his work. “The work is inspired by my daily nonstop movements within my urban space, I admire or embrace the chaos or patterns of human movements specifically in the Durban market (Warwick triangle). It’s the space where informal trading happens, and I like how people navigate and intersect when occupying this space in Warwick,” Taking 8 weeks to complete, Chiliza is thankful from the help he received from both DUT Fine Art alumnus, Jabulani Mbili and other artists. The competition has 3 judging phases. First stage is the c...

Btech student, Karl Ludick. Graphic Design programme recently displayed their 3rd year and Bachelor of Technology (BTech) students’ final exhibition held at City Campus. The third year final exhibition consisted of 13 projects. Namely, DUT Art Gallery rebranding and awareness campaign, gender based 30 second advert, OXX T-shirt design, courier packaging, animated gif and online campaign, Baron Samedi Spiced rum campaign, Poetry Africa poster, editorial spread, IJusi Afrika Typographika, history publication, Durban map, Goldpack packaging, Instagram diary, self-branding and Behance online portfolio . Third year student, Samela Hlophe said, “The approaches on each project differed depending on what the brief required. But I maintained my style throughout, which is use of balanced colour themes and layout.” Hlophe said he learned a lot from DUT and is ready for the field. “I learned about strategy, concept is key, be authentic, hard work beats talent, never compare yours...

Graphic Design staff celebrate at the exhibition.  The Faculty of Arts and Design year-end exhibition season was kicked off by the Graphic Design programme, which held its first and second year exhibition. The impressive fair also featured an awards ceremony with the aim of recognising top performing students. Every year the students in the Graphic Design programme produce an amazing amount of work varying from different themes. Once the stress surrounding portfolio preparation and the formalities of marking have passed, they like to show off a little. From having City Campus lit up with posters titled, Come Find It, to the entire program being done and presented by both first and second year students. The exhibition was hosted by Khwezi Masinga, Thobela Khumalo, Hannah Smith, Jordan Kim-Kayembe, Kelly Hall, Nafisa Habib and Banele Makhanya. “Graphic design is not an easy course. It consists of long hours and sleepless nights but we are highly grateful to our l...

Jessica Shuttleworth's  3D digital printing textiles.  14 Fashion students  showcased their unique, futuristic designs at the BTech Fashion Exhibition held at Durban University of Technology’s (DUT’s) Brickfield Campus. The students created designs for the exhibition which forms part of their annual practical component. According to Farida Kadwa BTech co-ordinator for Fashion, a diverse range of topics were covered by the 2017 students. Janine Turner focused on a free-form knitted collection that embodies sustainable ideologies. “The collection consists of eight looks, and the designs were all created using 100% merino wool and 100% kid mohair. The collection also features modular garments which means that garment pieces fit together with modular attachments, enabling the wearer to put together their own designs.” Balini Naidoo explored designing a braille identification system for clothing that will assist blind individuals in becoming more self-...

Multi-media designer,    Zwelisha Giampietri PechaKucha which has been a popular feature on the Arts and Design Digital Festival (Digifest) for the last three years, culminated day five of Digifest 4 which was filled with a host of prominent speakers in the world of arts, design and digital media. Young creatives took to the stage at this year’s installation of the PechaKucha which took place at DUT City Campus’ Arthur Smith Hall.    This year some of the speakers included Photographer, Llwellyn Makhanya; Civic Data Activist, Richard Gevers; Developer, Mark Stuart; Music, app developer, Brad Vause; Multi-media designer,  Zwelisha Giampietri; Journalist, Sihle Mthembu; Designer & Rapper, Bylwansta and more will be sharing their passions in 20 images, with each lasting 20 seconds. Makhanya who is a portrait photographer based in Durban describes himself as a documentary photographer always seeking to be a voice for those who want or c...

Singing sensation, Moonchild. The fourth annual Digital Arts and Design Festival (DigiFest) wrapped up with a host of events and live performances at the Steve Biko campus. The live acts were in the form of poetry and open mic sessions. The main event of the night showcased a great line-up of music by ByLwansta, Gaba, Rude Boyz, Moonchild, Sibot and Toyota and Sparks Bantwana. DUT students came out in numbers to support the event and danced to all the different genres of live performances by various artists which took place. One of the live acts was by Rude Boyz, who got the crowds rocking to their unique energy and sounds evolving from 90s Kwaito, house music and hip-hop beats. DUT’s Graphic design student Jordan Kim-Kayembe, also performed two of his songs live during the hip-hop showcase segment. “My performance was really amazing. I loved interacting with the crowd and their energy. I want to thank the organisers of Digifest 4 for providing us (artists)...

Department of Fashion and Textile lecturer, Khaya Mchunu was awarded the Council Award in the engagement category at the Durban University of Technology’s Staff Awards held at Steve Biko Campus. Mchunu facilitates a community engagement project where second-year students collaborate with a sewing circle from the Durban CBD called sewing for Africa. The sewing group comes to Brickfield campus and partner with students for design development. The previous projects were done Mchunu himself whilst he was mentored. “The DUT version was a paradigm shift where I switched roles to being the mentor, he said.” The learning objective that he had for the project was to enable his students to see themselves beyond design students but most importantly as active citizens and agents in social change (which is a graduate attribute of the institution) said Mchunu. “A method to exercise such an objective, I imagined, is by breaking the notion of the university structure as an ivory tower...

FoAD’s Executive Dean, Dr René Smith and Dr Maleshoane Rapeane-Mathonsi. Durban University of Technology’s Faculty of Arts and Design (FoAD) held its annual research and staff recognition awards at City Campus’ Courtyard. FoAD’s Executive Dean, Dr René Smith kicked off the ceremony by welcoming staff members and thanking them for their hard work and contribution in moving the faculty forward. The first part of the awards ceremony saw FoAD’s research co-ordinator, Dr Maleshoane Rapeane-Mathonsi hand out awards to staff that played a crucial role in research development in the faculty. Graphic Design lecturer, Dr Philippa Kethro was awarded the Research Supervisor Award for her dedication to supervising postgraduate students.  Dr Maleshoane Rapeane-Mathonsi and Dr Philippa Kenthro. After scooping the award Dr Kethro emphasised how much she enjoys her work, supervising research students and loved the fact that she is getting recognition for doing what ...

Former DUT Journalism student and author, Khulekani Magubane.  Being the rarest of its kind, the book titled, The Sirius Squad Earths Last Defence, tells a story about a young man from Durban named Menzi who finds out the truth about himself and realizes that he is one of the few things standing between the world and total destruction. Magubane explains, “The book incorporates a lot of pop science fiction related to outer space and African belief systems which are related to the stars. A central theme is the Sirius star system which is an important part of the beliefs of an ancient tribe from Mali called the Dogon. The Dogon in Mali somehow knew about the stars in the Sirius solar system before Nasa “discovered” them.” He discovered his love for storytelling at a young age and had his first book published in 2005. His creative writing skills grew and with many other books being published since then, he hopes that his future remains rooted in writing. “I want to ...

Terrence Bray and other winners at the Durban Fashion Fair (DFF) Recognition Awards.  Award winning designer and former Durban University of Technology’s (DUT) Fashion and Textiles student, Terrence Bray added another feather in his cap when he was announced as the Durban  Designer of the Year 2017 at the Durban Fashion Fair (DFF) Recognition Awards evening, held at the Durban’s Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre (ICC) last weekend. The fashion maestro graduated from the Fashion and Textile department in 1995 and in 1998 started his own clothing label, which has seen him dressing international celebrities such as Charlene, Her Serene Highness the Princess of Monaco. Dedicated to his father, his DFF collection featured strong tailoring elements in bold black and white. Over the years, Bray has been featured in a number of international magazines and was named "South African label to buy” by British Vogue. South African GQ voted him ‘most o...