“While social distancing comes at a great price for both artists and audiences, we see artists finding creative ways to keep people connected during the pandemic. Globally artists have adapted to shutdowns by swapping physical performance spaces for virtual ones.” (Source: WEF).
As some of you might know, the ‘E’ in TED stands for Entertainment (or some folk say: Edutainment), and for those that have watched a TED or TEDx event, our stages come to life with vibrant and eclectic performances by a variety of performers, musicians and artists - and the TEDxCapeTown stage has been host to a number of South Africa’s talent.
Conversation Three in our Intersections of Change Digital series, titled Creativity inspires hope, invites some of our past performers to share their creative inspiration, and to talk about how the pandemic has affected them and their livelihoods. We will also be graced with virtual performances by our guests.
We’ll be in conversation with…
Zolani Mahola - aka The One Who Sings - is a multi-award-winning musician, public speaker, and actress best known as the lead singer of the Pan-African supergroup Freshlyground. As of January 2020, she embarked on a solo career that saw her collaborate with the likes of Yo-Yo Ma and a plethora of African artists and organisations. Since her TEDxCapeTown talk on our stage in 2014, she has crystallised her life’s work as an advocate for creative force for social good. She will share her take on using creativity to make a positive impact on society.
Mel Mwevi - is a storyteller, singer-songwriter, performance poet, scriptwriter and actor from Namibia. “Hear to Listen” was her thought-provoking contribution to the TEDxCapeTown stage in 2016. During Lockdown, Mel put together a visual poem, in collaboration with visual artist and her husband Martin Amushendje - as a response to the National Theatre of Namibia's call for artists to speak on human rights issues amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Mel will unpack her journey of creating this visual poem and the deeper meaning behind the name, “Rest... a Human Right?”
Roeshdien Jaz - is a singer-songwriter-recording artist, Integral Coach and Leadership Development Specialist. He performed on our 2018, Pause & Effect stage, and will be showcasing “Sing to me of hope” - released in 2019 as a special tribute to both South African and International Youth Days’, respectively. As an Integral Coach (subject matter practitioner: EQ/EI), Roeshdien will also share deeper insights on how we can improve our emotional intelligence during these unprecedented times.
Winslow Schalkwyk - is an artist, spoken word writer, performer, and producer that has evolved since his performance on the TEDxCapeTown stage. He’ll be sharing his perspective and experience on the topic of Unlearning, as showcased via his latest production, SUGARWATER which is currently featured as part of the 2020 digital line-up for the National Arts Festival until 31 July 2020. He’ll be showcasing a reboot of his poem, “What we play, is life”, that was specifically written for the TEDxCapeTown stage in 2012.
Ahead of the conversation on July 24th, we encourage you to watch these TEDxCapeTown videos:
