EAST LONDON – SM(ART) City, better economy for Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality.
Over the weekend Umtiza arts festival before closes it’s 2weeks festival held a dialogue focusing ‘towards a sm(art) city roundtable’. The purpose of the roundtable was to promote the art in the BCMM to uplift the creative economy. The roundtable was held in accordance to the program initiative called ‘TOWARDS A SM(ART) CITY’. A rather interesting name with an equally interesting background.
The event featured a roundtable discussion and some very exquisite performances featuring the likes of international reggae star King Thayo and some very talented local youngsters from the BCMM.
The roundtable panel discussion consisted of Prof. Brett Pyper from Wits School of Arts, Mzikayise Mane from Eastern Cape National Lottery Commission Provincial manager and Bohlale Buzani( Creative URge).
The discussion was mainly about how festivals and events can be used to further increase and revive not only the economy of the BCMM but promote a new way of thinking that will prepare the youth and the city to thrive in the 4th Industrial Revolution.
Papama Mnqandi the organiser of Umtiza arts festival explained the concept behind the programme. Mnqandi said,” We started this programme in 2019 and at the time it was called ‘Towards a creative city’. We noticed that government and other stakeholders like the idea of a smart city with the focus being on technology.”
He went on to say, ” We saw the need to revamp the programme, hence the name change. The focus has always been on science and mathematics but we figured that science and mathematics are not the only two factors in innovative thinking. Arts and culture matter too, creativity is something we should not neglect. Without arts and culture creativity and innovation cannot exist.”
In addition Mnqandi went on to add that the support from from the Buffalo City Metro Municipality has been excellent this year and shows hope that the objectives and goals of the programme with be achieved. Giving young upcoming artists of all kinds a chance to shine as bright as their creative ideas.
Mzikayise Mane, the NLC Eastern Cape Provincial Manager explains the role of the NLC in the programme.
“The creative economy cannot commerce without the artists themselves and the art that they produces is a product that has to be seen as economical, now the role as the NLC is to contribute towards the creatives to be empowered, to have the skills to run their entities in a way that will contribute towards the creative economy let alone establish it, but also to empower them to deal with the innovative and creative approaches in running the art spaces as businesses that need to thrive. Once these businesses thrive, it becomes a product that they can sell to the people outside East London and to rest of the province and then the rest of the country and world.” Mzikayise Mani.
Prof. Pyper added that the discussion included how festivals can be a very powerful way of bringing communities and people together who are usually not interacting due to economical exclusion and geological exclusion.
Umtiza arts festival 2023 wrapped it’s 2 weeks full of creativity across the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, from Eastern Cape largest township Mdantsane to the surbub area of Beacon Bay.
