SOFTCOPY MAGAZINE

Photographer, Thalente Khomo Durban University of Technology’s (DUT) Photography alumnus, Thalente Khomo will be among the 17 vibrant artists who will be exhibiting at the Isambulo Art exhibition taking place at the Henry George Gallery in Johannesburg on Thursday. The exhibition is organised by Amasosha- a collective of young artists from Durban who united together to form a movement that will allow Durban artist to work together as a unit and help each other in uplifting their skills in this art world. “I feel very honored and excited to partake in this exhibition because it will mark my first time exhibiting out of KwaZulu-Natal and this exhibition will grow me as a photographer and a performer,” she said. Khomo stated that having her work introduced to a new audience will grant her more recognition and open more doors for her in the art industry. “I feel that being introduced to a new audience and my work being exposed to a new environment will allow me more re...

FoAD Deputy Dean, Professor Brian Pearce and Professor Michael Chapman. The Faculty of Arts and Design recently held a Deans Seminar to discuss decolonisation in Humanities. The seminar which saw the auditorium filled to capacity was themed: “To Decolonise: Where to the Humanities”. This seminar was well attended by DUT students, staff and academics. In his address, Professor Michael Chapman said the process of decolonisation was a challenge. “To decolonise is a more complex and challenging process that currently constitutes the discourse of decolonisation, either in South Africa or the globe,” he said. He further explained that it was more complex and challenging since we did not inhabit a world of singularities, whether political, economic, racial, religious or cultural. The Faculty of Arts and Design correspondingly makes an effort to zoom into the issue of decolonisation. Chapman further reiterated that the University itself had an enormous role to play in th...

Self-worth, Cultural identity and sexual purity were the topics of the day in a broadcast by Durban based radio station, Gagasi FM in collaboration with the Durban University of Technology (DUT). Excited Journalism students left no stone unturned as they voiced out their thoughts and views on the subject of virginity testing and cultural awareness during the show which was recorded at DUT’s, City Campus. The show featured guest speakers, Dr Nomcebo Mthembu from Miss Indoni, Traditional healer, Bathini Mbatha and Zama Mbonambi from Itshitshi. During the broadcast Mthembu emphasized on the importance of staying sexually pure, independent and educated as a young woman. “It is important that you don’t keep yourself pure for marriage or just to please a man but do it for yourself as an individual and your culture instead, we teach and encourage young women to be clean, educated and established,” she argued.  The show also featured newly crowned Indoni Miss Cultu...

Ms Tando Mbanga Three DUT Faculty of Arts and Design (FoAD) staff members graduated on Friday, 7 September 2018 during the final day of the Spring graduation season. Fashion and Textiles’ Tando Mbanga and Helen Smith and Jewellery Design’s Songezo Baleni all graduated with Master of Technology Degrees in their respective programmes Mbanga’s research focused on entrepreneurship education with the aim of motivating students to see entrepreneurship as a possible career. “I did my research on this particular field as South African Higher Education Institutions need to train, groom and motivate students to see entrepreneurship as a possible career in an economy that cannot create enough job opportunities for our graduates,” she said. She thanked her supervisors for their encouragement and support because her journey to qualifying for her Masters has not been easy. Smith’s thesis was inspired by her BTech research that looked at fashion and social media. “I research...

Mdu Mtshali accepts the prestigious Eric Shabalala Dance Champion Award from Lliane Loots. DUT Drama and Productions Studies lecturer, Mduduzi Mtshali received the prestigious Eric Shabalala Dance Champion Award at the JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience recently. The award honours the memory of a local dancer, choreographer, teacher. Eric Mshengu Shabalala who was one of the founding dancers of the Siwela Sonke Dance Theatre in Durban who died in 2011. The award is given not only in recognition of performance or choreographic excellence, but more in recognition of dance practitioners who have worked tirelessly to help grow a culture of dance and dance training in Durban – who have supported the growth of dance as an art form at both community and regional level. Like Shabalala, Mtshali is a dance practitioner and a drama lecturer with a passion for teaching, writing and choreographing. After completing his studies at the Technikon Natal in 1999, he worked with lo...

Mhlonishwa Chiliza with his Nelson Mandela artwork. Fine Art part-time lecturer Mhonishwa Chiliza was featured in the Nelson Mandela 100 exhibition which recently took place at the swanky Melrose Gallery in Johannesburg. As a young emerging artist, Chiliza was privileged with the opportunity to showcase his work along with other world renowned established artists at this year’s Mandela Exhibition. “Seeing the value of the exhibition and being an emerging artist/sculptor, featured with world renowned establish artists, I was very honoured,” said Chiliza. After receiving an invite from the gallery Curator, Zanele Mashumi, Chilliza presented his sculpture which earned him centre space at the exhibition and was later exhibited at the SculptX exhibition which was also hosted by the gallery. “I was very excited to be a participant because it means my potential as a contemporary emerging artist in South Africa is noted and recognized,” he added. Inspired by and ded...

Graphic Design student, Hannah Smith.   Third year DUT Graphic Design student, Hannah Smith was announced as the national winner of the Number 1 Mageu Art & Soul Competition at an Afrocentric Pop-up Gallery exhibition party in Durban recently. Over a 100 hopefuls entered the creatively challenging competition but it was Smith who came out victorious walking away with a whooping R10 000 prize and internship with adverting agency, The Hardy Boys. Contestants were challenged to create a highly exclusive design for the Number One Mageu’s iconic banana packaging. After careful selection by judges, 10 finalists had to campaign for the public to vote for them via an Instagram voting mechanic. Smith’s captaining skills paid off and she won the competition with over 2500 votes. Smith’s design was inspired by the diversity and expressions of unique characters found at DUT City Campus. “Being on City campus, the arts campus, we have an array of interesting indiv...