ART PAVES EXTRAORDINARY PATH FOR SIVUNDA

BREAKTHROUGH: Talented Cape Town-born artist invited by US tertiary institution to impart skills there

By Siyabonga Kamnqa

THERE was a time when Xolani Sivunda used to irk his primary school teachers because of his lack of concentration in class – for all he did was draw paintings with his pencil and not pay attention.

But little did he or his teachers back then know that he would one day make a name for himself out of the very distraction that niggled his teachers by becoming a visual artist in the future. Today he is on the verge of flying Mzansi’s flag high in the USA, imparting his artistic skills to aspiring art students there.

A co-founder of Open heART gallery, based in Langa, Cape Town’s oldest township, Xolani spoke to Weekly SA Mirror this week soon after his visa to the USA was approved and he was beaming from ear-to-ear.

The 38-year-old Xolani has been invited to an artist residency in Virginia Richmond in the USA and is set to leave our shores in May.

“To say I’m excited will be an understatement. I’m over the moon. I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming when the officer broke the news to me that my visa application had been approved. This is a dream come true for me. I will be working in Virginia for five months as a teaching artist and I will also have two solo shows at the end of my art residency program,” he says excitedly.

The soft-spoken artist admits that this is an opportunity of a lifetime and he can’t wait to board the plane to USA and make Mzansi proud.

On how the USA deal came about, Xolani says he was discovered by an art collector at a group show that was hosted by his Open heART gallery.

“He was fascinated by my work and he immediately linked me with ‘Art 180’ gallery in the USA and they invited me to come and teach young people art in Richmond Virginia. This is gonna be no doubt a highlight of my career. Besides this, I’m also gonna be having another art residency in Togo, West Africa towards the end of this year,” he says.

But, as he waits for the big day, he is not resting on his laurels yet and is currently collaborating with Akkara Art project.

“I’m collaborating with Akarra brands from Netherlands after they commissioned a painting that will be on their clothing line. They are gonna produce 250 exclusive T-shirts with my paint and I’m super excited and honoured to work on this project,” he says.

A product of Spier Arts Academy, Xolani has been practising art for more than a decade and is known for his colorful mosaic works and abstracted portraits.

Over the years, the Mthatha, Eastern Cape-born artist has participated in group exhibitions around South Africa, namely Artb gallery, eye4art gallery, Chris Tagwell gallery and many more.

As part of giving back to the community, Sivunda says he often helps young visual artists by giving them a platform to showcase and promote their work.

“Many talented youngsters in our communities turn to crime because they aren’t given platforms to showcase their skills. That is why I am trying my best to unearth art talent, not only in Langa township where I reside, but throughout the previously disadvantaged areas of the Western Cape,” he says.

One of the highlights of his career, Sivunda says, was in 2017 when some of his paintings were featured by Cape Town youth book and published by Selisia Life Choices. Gender-based violence is something close to Sivunda’s heart and he tells Weekly SA Mirror that nothing devastates him more than reading about women and children being abused on a daily basis in South Africa.

And, it is perhaps why most of his eye-catching works depict GBV victims that are recovering from being abused by men through the scourge of gender-based violence.

“As a township dweller I encounter gender-based violence almost on a daily basis. It is so sad and painful that three decades into our democracy, GBV continues to rear its ugly head in our communities. But what breaks my heart is that boy children grow up experiencing it and think it is okay for a man to abuse a woman. It’s as if young boys are being groomed to abuse women because these things happen in front of them at an early age. But through my work I am trying to highlight the fact that a man who abuses a woman is a coward and should be condemned by the community,” says Sivunda.

He may be riding the crest of a wave, but Sivunda admits it is not easy to be a full-time artist, especially because there is not enough support in the industry and one needs self-motivation.

“But if you know what you want and you are passionate about something, you will never stop -no matter the circumstances.”

NEW MISS WORLD’S ALL-READY FOR ‘SAVE-THE-TIGER’ CAMPAIGN

BEVY: Miss Czech Republic Krystyna Pyszkova became the 71st Miss World at the pageant held at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai, India on March 9.

Pyszková replaces the outgoing Miss World Karolina Bielawska, of Poland. Yasmina Zaytoun from Lebanon became the first runner-up, followed by Miss Trinidad & Tobago Aché Abrahams and Miss Botswana Lesego Chombo.

As part of the pageant’s beauty-with-a-purpose theme, Pyszkova has chosen wildlife conservation as for her rein: “I feel honoured and blessed that my voice and my platform can make a small but important difference to help save the tigers across the world”.