Multi award-winning actor and director Calvin Ratladi says the performing arts industry needs to do more to open opportunities for artists with disabilities.
Ratladi, a lecturer at the University of Pretoria’s drama department, said there were many artists with disabilities but they were often isolated and less visible in the mainstream performing arts scene.
As a result, Ratladi is to curate an arts and theatre festival called A Gathering in a Better World, not only to open opportunities for disabled artists but to also collaborate with physically abled people. The festival starts on Wednesday at Market Theatre, Newtown, and ends on Sunday. It features theatre productions like Bakgethwa, Time Lapse and Twenty One Questions. It will also feature conversations and screening.
Other actors who will participate in the festival include Hlengiwe Madlala, Sello Sebotsane and Teresa Phuti Mojela, among others.
“The problem is that people with a disability condition are not seen as potential contributors to the economy. This event aims to also change perceptions about artists living with disabilities,” said Ratladi.
“This gathering is a physical extension connecting Sub-Saharan African artists living with disabilities within the framework of the project. It is a meeting and networking opportunity as well as a place to access creative spaces conceptualised by artists with disabilities across different artistic disciplines for a broad audience with and without disabilities. The Johannesburg gathering is intended to go beyond ‘just another inclusion project’ that does not attract daily audiences and engage artistic reflections that relate to people living with disabilities.”
Ratladi, who also directs one of the plays — Bakgethwa, said the idea came from an initiative called Theatre for Men, a platform that creates a network for artists with disabilities from countries such as China, Japan, America and Tokyo.
Dr Asma Diakité, regional head of cultural programmes at the Goethe-Institut Sub-Sahara Africa, said: “The Goethe-Institut is pleased to collaborate with Calvin Ratladi and Theatre for Men festival on this important project. The endeavour to foster collaboration and connection among artists with and without disabilities and to offer a public platform to their excellent artistic work, is a vital concern of the Goethe-Institut’s work in the region.”
The programme will feature some of the artists living with disabilities like Yonela Mnana, who is a jazz musician and PhD candidate and international award-winning filmmaker Shaddy Berry.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.