Latest news with #ModiseSekgothe
The Citizen
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
WATCH: Youthful ‘Afropocalypse' wins Gold Ovation Award as National Arts Festival comes to a close
The National Arts Festival concluded on Sunday after 11 days of art in Makhanda. The cast of Afropocalypse on stage at the National Arts Festival. Picture: Supplied The youthful Afropocalypse won a Gold Ovation Award at the 2025 National Arts Festival (NAF) as the annual festival drew to a close on Sunday in Makhanda, formerly Grahamstown. The Ovations are a longstanding award that recognises qualifying Fringe productions that have moved audiences, resonated in conversations, demonstrated skill and technical prowess, shone in reviews, and reflected on their context. 'The Fringe was packed with new ideas and new themes this year. A lot of work asked deep questions about family, values and how to show up in a challenging world,' said NAF's Associate Producer, Zikhona Monaheng. 'Coming to the Fringe is an act of bravery, but it's also an entry point into a warm community. To everyone who came, our deepest thanks for being here.' ALSO READ: WATCH: Modise Sekgothe, a poet equipped in the exercise of digging deep and baring himself naked Afropocalypse Directed by Daniel Buckland, Afropocalypse was cast from second-year students at the Market Theatre Laboratory, and posed a deep question: When everything else is lost, what or who will remain? Set in a post-apocalyptic South African wasteland, Afropocalypse follows a community of travelling players who navigate a desolate landscape through the power of storytelling. As they dodge drone strikes and evade swarms of military helicopters, these intrepid storytellers encounter an unexpected audience. The production delves into speculative narratives, exploring the events that led to the end of the world as we know it. Through four fables, the play addresses themes fundamental to the human experience: Greed, Mortality, Religion, and Unconditional Love. The play is defined by the cast's youthful energy, their infectious facial expressions and how each of the students had a chance under the spotlight at St Andrews College's Centenary Hall, where the play was staged. Other winners at the Ovations include State of Numb, presented by Motsau Motsau, which follows one individual's fight to hold onto their identity in a world that demands conformity. State of Numb won Silver Ovation Awards. Other Silver Ovation Awards winners are Circle Song, A Childhood in Chalk, Umnqophiso: The Covenant and S'il vous Plait. Shows like A Fool For You, Umthelo Imiyalo, Ndingekafi: Whispers of Redemption and 12 Dogs were some of the Bronze Ovation Awards. ALSO READ: 'Black Women and Sex': South African filmmaker wins at American Black Film Festival NAF Small towns seem to appreciate things a little bit more. That they're less jaded and are more authentic, and this is true of Makhanda, with all its glaring potholes and unbothered donkeys. Eatery The Long Table, one of the longest-running fixtures at NAF, embodies the homey atmosphere of a small town while also capturing the vibrancy of the festival. After watching back-to-back shows, one comes to the Long Table to realign their chakras and grab a home-like cooked meal in the community hall transformed into a restaurant. NAF has been hosted in Makhanda for over 50 years, welcoming artists and art lovers in the small town located in the Eastern Cape. The Citizen was invited to the first week of NAF by Standard Bank where some of this year's standout shows were presented. From poet Modise Sekgothe's Gabo Legwala to the one-man play Prayers by Vusi Nkwenkwezi. The work at this year's NAF was captivating and reflected South Africa's current state. A play like Isilwane Esimnyama reminds the audience of the gruesome murder of Uyinene Mrwetyana at the Post Office, highlighting the country's Gender-Based Violence pandemic. Comedian Conrad Koch and Chester Missing's Puppet Power show, happening at NAF, as DA's Helen Zille gave President Cyril Ramaphosa a 48-hour deadline after he fired DA minister Andrew Whitefield, gave audiences a real-time reaction from a political commentator to what was currently happening in the country. The documentary Black Women and Sex, which recently won the Best Documentary Feature award at the American Black Film Festival (ABFF) was also screened at the festival. The doccie follows three women: Zambian Iris Kaingu, South African Glow Makatsi, and Nigerian chef Olawumi Oloye, and their relationship to sex. Despite the town's size, the venues for shows are uniquely rich in history and culture. The Amazwi South African Museum of Literature, where the play Land of Nonesi was staged, is one of the most beautiful buildings in the entire town. The Black Power Station, situated just outside the town centre, is a revolutionary venue for artists and creatives to express themselves without inhibition. As a way of encouraging a culture of reading, patrons are encouraged to donate a book if they can't afford to pay for a ticket to a show at their venue; this has led to the Black Power Station becoming a library with hundreds of books in the venue, which also regularly hosts cultural events. NOW READ: Trombonist Siyasanga 'Siya' Charles excited to come back home for the National Arts Festival
The Citizen
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
WATCH: Modise Sekgothe, a poet equipped in the exercise of digging deep and baring himself naked
Sekgothe debuted his latest work, 'Gabo Legwala', at the National Arts Festival in Makhanda last week. Poet Modise Sekgothe is equipped in the exercise of digging deep and baring himself naked. Picture: Supplied Writing in itself has prerequisites of some vulnerability. Jotting for artistic purposes, where one reflects on oneself, demands profound soul-searching and openness. 'I understand why I do it, and it's been at the core of my work for the past 10 years. I guess in a sense I'm equipped in the exercise of really digging deep and baring myself in naked and necessary ways,' poet Modise Sekgothe tells The Citizen. ALSO READ: Beaded tribute: Artist gifts Thabo Mbeki a 77 558-bead portrait for his birthday Sekgothe's vulnerability Sekgothe debuted his latest work, Gabo Legwala, at the ongoing National Arts Festival (NAF) in Makhanda, formerly known as Grahamstown. The work assesses the rites of passage that a young South African man undergoes as he grows up without a father figure. When translated, 'Gabo Legwala' means the coward's home. In full, the title, 'Gabo Legwala a golliwe', implies that the coward in question spares his loved ones from tragedy or mourning due to his aversion to combat. 'By staying out of trouble and walking away from conflict, he avoids harm, thus sparing his loved ones from the pain of loss,' Sekgothe shares. Throughout what he describes as a memoir disguised as a poem, masquerading as a play, Sekgothe takes audiences on a journey of carving out his manhood as a fatherless boy in Soweto. In one scene, audiences grimace when Sekgothe details the horror of a circumcision gone wrong, after deciding together with a friend who also doesn't have a father, that they would get circumcised. This is not uncommon in Sekgothe's work; yet, he says it never ceases to be challenging, as it requires him to be as open as he is. He says this bareness is necessary because individuals' stories aren't that unique. 'I think it's important for an artist-depends on what they want to do-to be willing to give up some of that privacy because the cause is significant and the cause is to kind of almost allows other people the freedom to engage the part of themselves that they don't want to engage –that someone else is just as flawed as I am,' he shares. Although the piece is centred around him and sketches out his manhood despite the paucity of male figures in his life, the work highlights the role that his mother and three sisters played in his upbringing. Whether it was how his sisters walked him to school when he was young or his mother's hot, routinely prepared porridge each morning before school, he honoured them. 'I was writing this work really about the absent father, but then it is the same breath that points to the very present mother. So, there's a way that I think is a tribute to these women that raised me,' he says. However, only one of his sisters is now living, having lost his two other siblings and his mother. ALSO READ: Trombonist Siyasanga 'Siya' Charles excited to come back home for the National Arts Festival The Standard Bank Young Artist award Earlier this year, Sekgothe was named among the six winners of the Standard Bank Young Artist award (SBYA). All six recipients, from diverse disciplines including dance, jazz, theatre, visual art, poetry, and music, receive national exposure, financial support for their work, and a cash prize. The art festival in Makhanda is where these artists present their new work. Because of its prestige, the award comes with a weight of pressure. 'The highest pressure point for me with this work was the work itself and how much it took to get it ready and the time constraints we had,' Sekgothe says. The writer was more concerned with the integrity of the work, although he admits to the pressures of being an SBYA winner. 'There's too much fixation on how do we get the work right [than] to pay too much attention to what's around it because I think in many ways the Standard Bank award situation and all of that it's a big part of the context within which the work is happening but if the work does not have its integrity, then all of that is secondary.' 'But I'd be lying if I said I didn't appreciate the magnitude of the context, because, to be honest, if it flopped, it would be a huge flop.' Among those he worked with to put together Gabo Legwala, Sekgothe roped in renowned theatre practitioners, Billy Langa and Mahlatsi Mokgonyana, affectionately known as The Theatre Duo. 'I felt great support and I felt confident in what I was attempting, from these other brothers,' said Sekgothe. Having previous SBYA winners, The Theatre Duo, helped Sekgothe in some ways, as they know the pressure of holding the title. The Theatre Duo won the SBYA for Theatre in 2022. 'Being a recipient of the award as well, I had to carry that with him, but carry it with ease…and also sometimes not be driven by that pressure but acknowledge that pressure is there,' said Mokgonyana. ALSO READ: From heartbreak to triumph: Amanda Seome's journey to starring in Shaka iLembe's Ndwandwe clan The Brotherhood As Gabo Legwala portrays Sekgothe's life outside his home, where the four women in his life shielded him. The narrative also takes audiences to the streets of Soweto, where the poet found a sense of brotherhood among his friends. In one part of the performance, which presents itself as comic relief, Sekgothe speaks about his love for martial arts and how that made him shine bright within his band of brothers, who brought something different to the table. 'We respect each other as men in very different ways. In others, we respect bravery, in others, we respect just talent and skill, intelligence and all of these other things,' Sekgothe shares. While his other friends shone and found their place within the brotherhood through their bravado and being 'tough,' he found his place in the serene, playful moments. 'When we kind of allow ourselves to connect and appreciate each other for the things that we're good at, then we support each other in the areas that we aren't so strong.' There wasn't a paucity of this brotherhood even in the making of the work. 'Through the making of the work, I got to see him as well beyond the work as a brother, I can share laughter with,' shares Th Theatre Duo's Mokgonyana. 'In this project with Modise, we didn't just come through as creatives; we were also providing the support in terms of production and many other things, so that he doesn't have the pressure of thinking about many other things.' Mokgonyana directed Gabo Legwala, with Langa contributing from afar because he's on tour for other work. Gabo Legwala has a harmony of disciplines. It was more than a poetry experience, but a holistic performance. Multi-instrumentalist Yogin Sullaphen provided the sound, whether it was music or the sounds of prison cells, when one of Sekgothe's friends spoke about their father in jail. At the same time, Phumla Siyobi's vocals and stage presence brought about a motherly harmony. 'I've always been interested in its [poetry] relationship to music, theatre, to visual arts and so on. I chose to reach out to Theatre Duo because I understood they a very good at understanding the language of poetry in the theatre,' said Sekgothe. NOW READ: 'The betrayal is painful': Simphiwe Dana on people stealing from her
News24
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News24
Poet Modise Sekgothe ‘strikes a distinct chord' with his theatrical show
Poet Modise Sekgothe was announced as a Standard Bank Young Artist winner earlier this year. Sekgothe performed at the National Arts Festival, with a show that showcased his autobiographical poetry and also featured music, theatre, and choreography. The festival takes place from 26 June to 6 July 2025 in Makhanda, Eastern Cape. In his National Arts Festival production, poet Modise Sekgothe wrestles with masculinity and self-acceptance. In his poetry show, Gabo Legwala, Sekgothe explores the complicated journey of 'becoming a man' as someone who grew up without a father. He starts off his autobiographical show by telling the audience he doesn't have it all together and that he is 'untethered like fraying fabric.' He calls his father the 'deadest person' he's ever known, and he recalls his mother's silence while he was growing up. Sekgothe continues to beautifully recount moments from his youth through raw and arresting poetry. But the production goes beyond his well-crafted words, with live music and sound design also being a crucial part of the show. It features soundscapist Yogin Sullaphen and vocalist Phumla Siyobi, who additionally acts as Sekgothe's mother. The poet also provides musical vocals, which Sullaphen loops live on stage. READ | 'Life-affirming moment': Soweto poet Modise Sekgothe on his Standard Bank Young Artist honour Sekgothe delves into excerpts from his boyhood and adolescence, like the fights he was in and when he got surgically circumcised. These moments show how he tried to carve himself into a man, but ultimately, it was his loving mother and three sisters who made him into who he is today. The show culminates in a poignantly cathartic conclusion, where he pays tribute to his 'four mothers' and finds a sense of self-acceptance. Sekgothe's show is incredibly well put together, from the production design to the storytelling. He can be funny in one verse and make your heartache in the next. The poet was announced as a Standard Bank Young Artist Winner earlier this year. He says putting together Gabo Legwala was 'a high-pressure process with several challenges on different fronts.' Joel Ontong/News24 'I had about a month to write 80% of it. And about 2.5 weeks in rehearsal. It was one of the most stressful processes I've ever been in, to be honest,' he shares. 'I like taking my time with work, but the inherent limits in the process pushed me in significant ways that were ultimately very good for me and for the work,' he adds. He says the reception for the show was amazing. 'The story strikes a distinct chord. The work is very much about the masculine experience but acknowledges the role of the feminine in ways that make it relevant to both polarities,' he says. 'A lot of men have been seeing themselves in the story, and a lot of women express that they've received a greater insight into the lives of the men in their lives.' Sekgothe says the ambitious creative vision for the show was inspired by the culmination of his different influences and interests. 'As a poet, I've always been interested in the relationship between poetry, music and theatre. I've always been driven by how far the word can go from the page and how much life it can take in the sonic and visual world.' He continues: 'The minds of musicians Yogin Sullaphen and Phumla Siyobi helped tell the story in the language of sound and melody, while theatre director Mahlatsi Mokgonyana gives it life in the theatre, further expanding the linguistic world of the poetry into a visual, symbolic and living narrative.'
Daily Maverick
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Shifting political landscape: ANC holds steady in Gauteng's Ward 24 after by-election
The ANC had its best by-election night in 2025 and arguably its second-best since the 2024 national elections when it comfortably retained wards in Soweto and in Mpofana Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal. The party also won a ward off a local party in Nama Khoi in the Northern Cape. Gauteng Ward 24 (Freedom Park Motsoaledi) Johannesburg: ANC 55% (56%) MK 22% EFF 19% (18%) IFP 3% (5%) AAAIC <1% The setting: Ward 24 is in the southern part of Soweto. It sits below Baragwanath Hospital and to the left of Kaizer Chiefs Village in Naturena. The ward includes Freedom Park, Devland, the Motswaledi informal settlement and a small part of Diepkloof. The ward has Eldorado Park on its left. Zulu is the most widely spoken language in Freedom Park and Devland, followed by Xitsonga, IsiXhosa and Sesotho. In Motsoaledi, IsiXhosa is the most popular language, followed by IsiZulu and then Xitsonga. Recently announced Standard Bank Young Artist 2025 award winner, Modise Sekgothe, a celebrated poet, hails from this ward. The 2021 local government election: The ANC beat the EFF by more than 2,100 votes. It won all the voting districts in the ward. ActionSA came third with 9% of the vote, with the IFP finishing behind them with 5%. The ANC won more than 60% of the vote in three of the eight voting districts. This included the relatively vote-rich Motsoaledi informal settlement voting district and the medium-sized Ikusasa Lethu Youth Project district in Freedom Park. The EFF did best at the Radiance of the Glorious Living God Christian Church district in Freedom Park, winning 24%. The 2024 provincial election: The ANC won just over half of the vote in this ward in 2024, getting 51% support. The uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party was second with 18%, while the EFF fell to third place with a 15% haul. ActionSA pipped the DA to fourth place, with both parties obtaining 4%. The IFP struggled and ended up with 2%. MK finished second by taking votes from the ANC, IFP, EFF and ActionSA in this ward. The ANC won all voting districts, with MK beating the EFF in all but one of the districts. The EFF beat MK in the Motsoaledi informal settlement district. The EFF finished no lower than third place in all of the districts. The by-election: Ward councillor Zakhele Mathe died after being shot multiple times while filling up his car at a petrol station. ActionSA and the DA sat out this by-election. Despite concerted efforts by MK and the EFF, the ANC was unshakeable in this Soweto ward. The party all but matched its 2021 percentage return and made gains compared with its 2024 result in the ward. The ANC carried all the voting districts in the ward. Somelulwazi Primary School in Freedom Park, a mid-sized voting district, was the most competitive district. Here the ANC was pushed by both the EFF and MK as it only managed to get 36% of the vote. The ANC won more than 50% in six of the eight districts and more than 60% in two districts. MK finished second in five of the eight voting districts, with the EFF beating MK in the other three for second place. MK did best at the Arise and Shine Hope Centre in Freedom Park where it won 35%. The EFF's 30% haul in the Somelulwazi Primary School district was its best return. Mayor Dada Morero recently addressed the city on his turnaround strategy for the metro. From this result in Soweto he will read that the residents of Ward 24 have confidence in him and his team to steady the service delivery ship in Johannesburg. This, along with the recent strong showing by the ANC in an inner city by-election, suggests that more and more voters in Johannesburg remain committed to the ANC. Poll: 27% (34%) KwaZulu-Natal Ward 4 (Rietvlei Middelrus) Mpofana, uMgungundlovu: ANC 51% (49%) IFP 25% (31%) MK 23% (19%) EFF <1% NFP <1% (1%) The setting: Mpofana Municipality is centred on the town of Mooi River. Ward 4 is a rural ward on the road that links Mooi River and Greytown. It covers many farms and rural settlements. Most voters are in Rietvlei and Middelrus. Musician Sun-El hails from this municipality. Mooi River is known for its dairy, horse breeding and as a key area for trucking and transport logistics in the province. uMgungundlovu is the most vote-rich area in the province after eThekwini. Its seat of power is Pietermaritzburg. It also includes the towns of Howick, Richmond and Wartburg. The 2024 provincial election: MK won half of the vote in this ward and six of the nine districts. The ANC was second with 26%. The ANC won a single district, the Tauricus School in Rietvlei, which is the most vote-rich district in the ward. The IFP came third in the ward with 18%. It carried two districts, including the Doornkloof School district at Middelrus, the second-most-populous district in the ward. MK won 53% of the vote in the municipality for an impressive debut here. The ANC fell from 69% to 26% as many of its voters deserted it for MK. The DA was third with 11%, down slightly from its 12% haul in 2019. The IFP was fourth with 6%, down 2%, with some of its voters going over to MK. The EFF's percentage vote share shrank from 7% to 2%. The 2024 by-election: A by-election was held here a few months after the 2024 election. The ANC ward councillor walked over to MK. MK might not have read the temperature in the ward as the ward councillor was not able to get the voters in the ward to back him and see out his term. The ANC retained the ward, with just under half of the vote in the by-election. The IFP surprised all and finished runner-up with more than 30%, while MK could only manage 19% after winning 50% of the vote a few months earlier. The ANC retained the ward with just under half of the vote in the ward. It carried six of the nine districts in the ward. This was after only winning one district in May 2024. The IFP won three of the six districts, one more than in May 2024. MK, which won six of the districts in May 2024, won not a single district in the by-election. The by-election: The new ward councillor died after a short illness. The ANC crept over the 50% mark to illustrate that the 2024 by-election in the ward was not a fluke result, but that the 2024 provincial result here, where MK won half of the vote, was more of an outlier. The ANC won eight of the nine voting districts in the ward, up from six in the 2024 by-election. While the IFP beat MK again to hold on to its second place in the ward, it was unable to win any districts this time, after taking a third of the districts in 2024. MK was able to win one, relatively sparse voting district. The ANC won more than 60% of the vote in two districts. It did best at the Nyamvubu Community Hall (formerly the Tauricus School Voting District), winning 65%. This is also where most of the votes were cast in the by-election. The IFP lost ground in this by-election but was still able to hold off MK to finish second. It beat MK in six of the nine districts. Mpofana forms part of the uMgungundlovu district. After eThekwini it is the second-most vote-rich part of the province. The ANC will be very satisfied with its back-to-back showings in this ward, in a key district of KwaZulu-Natal. Poll: 64% (54%) Northern Cape Ward 5 (Springbok Bergsig) Nama Khoi, Namawka: ANC 37% (40%) Namakwa Civic Movement 27% (43%) PA 21% (3%) DA 14% (11%) EFF 1% (1%) Ind-April <1% The setting: Springbok is the seat of power in Nama Khoi. Bergsig is a few kilometres north of the Springbok town centre. It sits next to the N7 national road which links Springbok with O'kiep and the village of Steinkopf. Springbok is the gateway to the Namakwa National Park and its incredible spring flowers. Other towns in the Namakwa district include Port Nolloth, Calvinia and Garies. The 2021 local government election: A regional party, the Namakwa Civic Movement (NCM), caused an upset here and won the ward by 52 votes. The ANC won it in 2016 by close to a two-thirds majority. It was a safe seat for the party in 2016. The new party attracted many former ANC and DA voters in the 2021 election. This was also the only municipality in the province where the opposition parties were able to form a stable coalition at the expense of the ANC. The DA (5) and the NCM (4) saw it take nine of the 17 seats in Nama Khoi. The ANC was still the largest party with seven. The Freedom Front Plus (FF+) won a single seat. The 2024 provincial election: The ANC was the most popular party in the ward, with 35% support. The DA came second with 23%, while many former NCM voters found their way to the Northern Cape Communities Movement (NCCM). The party came third in Bergsig with 20%. The PA might have only finished fourth in the ward but won almost 20% of the vote with its 19% return. The party won voters over from the NCM and the ANC in this ward. The EFF came fifth with a single percentage point. The by-election: The ward councillor resigned his seat and defected to the PA, but was not chosen by the party to stand in the by-election. Northern Cape premier and ANC provincial leader Zamani Saul was very confident on election day. His confidence was rewarded as the ANC won this seat off the NCM. It is the fourth Northern Cape ward the ANC has flipped from the opposition since the 2024 elections, following wins in Groblershoop (Kheis!), Fraserburg (Karoo Hoogland) and Middelpos (Hantam). The PA hurt the ANC in the 2024 elections but made limited inroads against the party in this by-election. The former NCM councillor took across a good chunk of NCM supporters. This propelled the PA to third place in the ward. While the NCM was still able to finish second in the ward, it lost significant ground. It remains to be seen how this affects the NCM and how it approaches the local government elections. The DA had some growth in this ward compared with 2021, but was well short of its 2024 provincial ballot percentage. The party also finished behind the PA in the ward. New council composition: ANC 8 (7) DA 5 NCM 3 (4) FF+ 1. Total: 17. This means the FF+ is now kingmaker in Nama Khoi. It will determine whether the DA and NCM continue to lead Nama Khoi, or whether the ANC can take over Nama Khoi. Western Cape Ward 9 (Town Centre) Stellenbosch, Cape Winelands: DA 95% (86%) ANC 5% (2%) The setting: There is only one voting district in Ward 9. It is the Town Hall. This ward is in the heart of Stellenbosch and includes parts of Stellenbosch University, oak-covered Dorp Street and Victoria Street. Stellenbosch forms part of the Cape Winelands district which includes Drakenstein (Paarl), Breede Vallei (Worcester) and Langeberg (Robertson). The 2021 local government elections: It was one-way traffic on Victoria Street as the DA won well over 80% of the vote. The FF+ came second with 4%. The ANC finished sixth behind the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), GOOD and the EFF. The DA won 28 of the 45 available seats on the council. It did lose two in the council as it fell short of the 2016 high watermark of 30 seats. The ANC came second with eight, matching its 2016 seat allocation. GOOD was third with three, the EFF came fourth with two and four other parties won a single seat each. The 2024 provincial elections: The DA won 80% of the vote in the ward, the same as 2019. The EFF finished as runner-up here with 8%, well up from 3% in 2019. The ANC finished in fourth place on 2%, falling from 8%. Rise Mzansi was one spot ahead, also with 2%. The DA won 64% of the vote across Stellenbosch on the provincial ballot, up from 63% in 2019. The ANC was second again in Stellenbosch but receded from 24% to 16%. The PA came third with 6%, followed by the EFF with 5%, up a single percentage point The by-election: The ward councillor resigned. A sitting FF+ proportional representation (PR) councillor defected to the DA and was selected as the candidate for this by-election. A key campaign issue in the by-election was local opposition to a planned parking garage in the town centre of Stellenbosch. Voters were asked to spoil their ballots. The DA won 95% of the vote when one considers all the valid votes in the by-election. However, 11% of voters spoilt their ballots. Spoilt ballots beat the ANC in the by-election, for which turnout was pitifully low. It was lower than anticipated. The new councillor and the DA-led administration of Stellenbosch will need to connect to the residents and voters in this ward because, while it won this ward by a landslide, the spoilt ballot percentage and the ultra-low turnout will cause concern for the party on the road to the next local government elections. Poll: 7% (40%) The next round of by-elections will be on 28 May. The ANC will defend four seats. It will defend two super marginal seats, with the PA expected to be the main threat. The seats are in the town of Clarkson in the western part of the Eastern Cape in Kou-Kamma and in the town of Sutherland in Karoo Hoogland, Northern Cape. The ANC will defend two relatively safe seats – in a Koppies township in the Ngwathe Municipality and in the small town of O'Kiep in Nama Khoi, Northern Cape. DM
Mail & Guardian
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Mail & Guardian
Modise Sekgothe's poetry of transformation
My word: Modise Sekgothe has been given the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Poetry — the second recipient in four decades. In a quiet moment on an otherwise ordinary afternoon, Modise Sekgothe found out he had been selected as only the second poet to win the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Poetry in its 40-year history. 'I was in the house writing,' he tells me when we speak at an event introducing this year's winners to the media. 'Then I got the message.' In a poignant twist of fate, this news arrived only two weeks after he had experienced an intensely personal loss —the death of his mother. 'There was something very powerful about this important moment finding me in this other important moment,' he says reflectively. 'It's a heavy thing to think about but there was kind of a beautiful balance between great sorrow and great appreciation for life. 'It was almost like it connected me with my mother because, if you know anything about ancestry, you understand that the people that came before you continue to contribute to your life. And I feel in many ways like my mother had a hand in this moment in my life.' Koleka Putuma was the first to win the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Poetry in 2022. 'I think this award affirms my work as an individual but more significantly it affirms the work we have been doing as the poetry community,' Sekgothe says. 'Because this award is 40 years old, and there have been a lot of amazing poets that have come out of South Africa in that time, but it shows that poetry was not seen as a performance art for a long time. 'But it was the poets that came before us that laid the foundation for us as the poets of this generation to be recognised in this way.' Sekgothe traces his creative lineage to literary giants such as Keorapetse Kgositsile and Lesego Rampolokeng who carved the path for his generation. He honours the voices closer to his time too —Mutle Mothibe and Tumi Molekane — poets whose work helped shape his own evolving voice. But his influences stretch beyond the traditional page. With equal admiration, he points to underground rap luminaries Hymphatic Thabs and Robo The Technician as artists who left a lasting imprint on his poetic style 'Poetry and underground rap music are two worlds that have influenced me greatly and helped shape my evolution as a performer.' Born and raised in Soweto, 33-year-old Sekgothe is an award-winning poet, actor, vocalist and percussionist whose work spans mediums and movements. Though he holds a degree in psychology and linguistics, he has consistently turned to writing as his central medium. 'I've always been creative. I've always been writing. I've always, you know, made my albums, did my shows with whatever budget I had.' He's no stranger to being recognised for his creative excellence, having received several accolades including the Word N Sound Innovation in Poetry Award (2015 and 2016), the WNS Showcase of the Year Award (2014 and 2015) and the WNS Perfect Poem Award (2015) for his piece To Die Before You Die. To describe Sekgothe simply as a poet would be to miss the layers of his work. He is a performer, a sound artist and — perhaps most profoundly — a healer. His background in psychology subtly shapes his practice, allowing him to delve into emotional and existential terrains with depth and care. 'Psychology is a modality of healing and art is a modality of healing,' he explains. 'Of finding ways to delve deep into your own psyche and making sense of what it is to be human.' This therapeutic ethos is woven into his performances. At a recent event — the Ah Men Series at the Inside Out Centre for the Arts in Joburg — Sekgothe explored the shifting landscapes of masculinity. 'It was kind of tackling issues of masculinity and making sense of what manhood is in this current time,' he says. 'Challenging the expectations and really asking questions about what it really means to be a man, to be a South African man.' He doesn't shy away from the difficult truths: 'As complicated as it is, to be part of a group of men that are among the highest in rape statistics in the world — what makes the South African man that kind of man?' It's in asking these uncomfortable, but necessary, questions that Sekgothe believes poetry can do more than entertain. It can illuminate, confront and transform. His performances are not mere readings, they are immersive experiences. He uses a loop pedal to create what he calls 'sonic soundscapes', layering vocalisations to build textured backdrops for his words. 'Part of my performativity is there's this kind of musical element to what I do.' The result is a hypnotic fusion of sound and speech that pulls audiences into the emotional core of his work. This ability to bridge the cerebral and the visceral is what sets Sekgothe apart. He brings the internal into the external, creating spaces where audiences can reflect on their own inner worlds: 'By way of all the work I do on myself,' he says, 'it sort of gives and triggers in other people … the opportunity to do that.' Sekgothe's work has been published in Home is Where the Mic is, an anthology by Botsotso Publishers. His audio work includes a poetry and music EP titled DIPOKO tsa DIPOKO and a solo album Meera Me. He has performed at festivals, both local and international, including the Split This Rock Poetry Festival in Washington, Speak Out Loud Festival in Pretoria and the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, where he'll be returning later this year as a Standard Bank Young Artist. He has also performed at Poets For Puerto Rico, Art All Night Festival, The Kennedy Center, Gothenburg Book Fair, Nobel Dialogue Week, and the Brussels Planetarium Poetry Festival. For Sekgothe, the Standard Bank Award is not a culmination but a catalyst. 'It becomes an opportunity to scale what I've been doing,' he says. 'To explore some of the big ideas I've had that I possibly didn't have the platforms or the infrastructure for.' The prize includes a production at the National Arts Festival. 'It's the only thing I care about right now,' he admits, hinting at a work-in-progress that is as ambitious as it is intimate. 'I'm immersed in that process.' His artistic journey has been anything but conventional. Though he began exploring poetry while studying at university, it was never part of the curriculum. 'When I wasn't in the lecture hall, I was either in the poetry space or in the theatre,' he says. This dual life — academic by day, artist by passion — eventually resolved itself into a singular path. 'For the past 10 years, except for about two years when I lived abroad, I've worked full time as a writer and performer.' The work he's producing now builds on that foundation but aspires to something even more expansive. 'How far can the message that I've been sort of grappling with reach?' he asks. It's a question that speaks to his deepening sense of responsibility, not just as an artist but as a cultural worker attuned to the pain and potential of his community. And though his mother won't be at the awards evening in the flesh, her presence lingers. I ask him what he would tell her about this moment if she was here. 'I don't think it would be about the telling more than it would be about her presence,' he says. 'It would be more about her getting the opportunity to see what this odd sort of work I've dedicated my entire life to has made possible for me. 'To see the magnitude of this work and how meaningful it is for me would speak far more profoundly than anything I could say to her. 'And so it's unfortunate that she will not be at the festival in her actual physical presence but I believe very much that she's here now and she will continue to be by my side.' Modise Sekgothe stands at a powerful intersection of poetry and psychology, grief and celebration, introspection and outward impact. He is a poet, yes, but also a cartographer of the soul, guiding others through language and sound toward deeper understanding. In his hands, art becomes not just expression, but exhalation, excavation and ultimately, healing.
