A lovely lady by the name of Amandla Kwinana who writes for Kasi Times did the write-up for our last event held at the Goethe-Institut on Saturday, 16 June 2012. Here’s an excerpt from her review…
“Break over and we poured into the auditorium. I’m sure a lot of people also wanted to share their views on this interesting performance we had just experienced. But that was not to be. The panel was already up on the stage and the discussion at hand was about the Arts in South Africa’s higher education system. Dr Chupe Serote, a Sociologist, opened up the panel discussion by providing a brief historical overview of higher education in SA. Significant points he made were regarding the role and purpose of a university, an issue that the audience would later challenge. Next we had Prof. Georges Pfruender (Head of School of Arts at WITS). Through his thick Swiss accent Prof. Georges discussed Art in universities and stated the importance of the Arts to not just to be “pro-active and a part of society… [but], at best, be a leader in society.” This viewpoint was enthusiastically accepted by the audience, most of whom are artists. The panel discussion ended off with a bang: Dr Chats Devroop (Head of Performing Arts at TUT) passionately expressed his views on the current state of the Art departments in our country. He threw out profoundly thought-provoking questions and statements: “How much of local arts do we have [in SA]? Music is not taught according to our demographic. How much of [local] music is being taught at our schools? How long are we still to speak through a colonial voice?”
For more on the article, please visit: Kasi Times