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MEDIA STATEMENT: GAUTENG'S HERITAGE MONTH TO SHOWCASE PROVINCE'S TALENT
27 August 2004
Gauteng's Heritage Month celebrations will go a long way in unearthing and promoting the province's cultural and heritage capacity.
And this will help the province meet its mandate of creating jobs and fighting poverty through arts and culture.
That is the word from Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture (SRAC) MEC, Barbara Creecy, who was addressing the media on the province's plans for Heritage Month at Museum Africa on Friday, 27 August.
Creecy said that one of the main objectives for embarking on a Heritage Month programme is to foster nation building in the province, and ultimately, the country.
"We want to create a South African culture in a rainbow nation style," she told the media. "For that to happen, we need participation from all people in the province."
MEC Creecy further added that the programme would help in the promotion of arts and culture as a subject in schools as learners would be shown how these subjects could be used later in life as a means of attaining a livelihood.
The department will also use the Heritage Month celebrations to identify and train people who have talent in arts and culture and related sectors.
Some of the highlights on the celebrations will be the Ishashalazi Theatre Festival, to be held at the Windybrow Theatre from 3 September to 25 September; the Puisano Jazz Program at the Newtown Music Hall from 18 September; the Heritage Colloquium at the Constitution Hill on 22 -23 September; and the Sasol Choral Festival on 17-18 September.
MEC Creecy also attended the Carnival Summit held at the same venue. The Summit aims to audit the existing carnival arts and cultural skills in Gauteng. Resolutions from the Summit will be used to develop a database of talent available in the province. The Summit will end with a mini-carnival of colour, music and dance at 18:00 at Museum Africa.
For more information contact:
Charles Phlahlane
Cell: 082 856 8188
Issued By: Department of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture, Gauteng Provincial Government
27 August 2004