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After Heaven, The Best Artists Are From The Eastern Cape…writes 041culture columnist Mvume Ndimba as he looks back at the Nelson Mandela Bay Arts Festival.

As citizens of the best coast in the country, we often sit with the same issue on weekends. What do we do besides drink? 

The Nelson Mandela Bay Arts Festival gave us a brief and well-needed reprieve from the humdrum of the gorgeous Eastern Cape scenery, we were treated to a literal feast of art, music, and culture for 10 glorious days of local, homegrown talent, artists like Songo (what up sis!) Thando Nombewu (Choza!) the big homie Mbu, Mbulelo Msongelwa, and a slew of other local artists I haven’t shared a drink with (yet). 

A lineup stacked with visual artists, actors, singers, musicians, magicians, and a hun who did things with fire that could reduce the hardest man to tears. But all this talent in this metro had me pondering one simple question, “What IS art?” 

The methods of expression create a natural barrier to the answer to this question, I know the “Undead Generation” may not attract the same crowd as “Ibali Lam” by the Loveseed Empire. I know the “Double Bluff” won’t get the same kind of pop as “A R2 or So” because, well… we all know what happens when black people see magic that’s a little too good. But regardless of the differences, it’s all still art. 

The internet gave me a whole bunch of wishy-washy definitions that I honestly didn’t care for too much, so I made up my own definition of art, to me, art is the shortest route to turning an idea into a reality. 

That reality can be lyrics, it can be a play where you tell the story of that broer who sits outside the corner store day to day asking the same question “Het jy miskien n R2 vir brood bhudda?”  No matter what your chosen medium is, the essence of creating art is taking your idea and putting it into reality using the shortest possible route… And that honestly got me thinking about the greatest artists we’ve ever produced as a province and what they were trying to tell us for real… 

Namely, Kariega’s greatest and most influential son (sorry, not Zwai Bala and the rest of the Bala camp, TKZee gave us a Fiasco and the hardest rap verse from a soccer player of all time and we are eternally grateful, your work was lekker, lekker, fish and chips) but I’m talking the grootman bawo Enoch Sontonga. 

Born in 1873 he wrote the most iconic song this country has ever produced, and if you disagree, tell me what the name of our national anthem is and realise that his pen, those are his bars, it’s not called “Die Stem” anymore, it was never called “Sounds The Call” Its “Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika”. 

The first line of what I honestly believe is the best National Anthem ever written tells us exactly what was on his mind. He sat down, looking around at this beautiful country, and knew that we needed God’s blessings above anything else, he prayed for our glory to be lifted high and begged God to hear our prayers… for God to protect us as the children of this beautiful land… I wonder if he knew how pertinent this prayer would be.. a century after his death, I wonder if he knew we would need God’s protection even still? 

If you were outside when I was outside you know about uIfani (Mthatha), you know about uMy Man (Gqeberha) you know about Anatii (Bisho) a completely different set of ideas, presented in the same format that is music. So what idea did My Man have when he named his debut album “Imene mene” (I am not joking. He really called his album iMene mene and still has it on his IG) 

-note: For those of us who don’t speak the Nguni language, Imene mene is a two-faced liar. 

So what was this brother on about when he said that? What was Anatii telling us when he said Don’t Forget to Pray? What was Zahara (East London) going through when she told us Umthwalo Wakhe Iyamsinda, may her soul rest in peace. God has been at the heart of our creative expressions, but humour has taken the spot right next to Him. We laugh, we cry, we laugh to avoid crying, all while giving glory to God in everything we do as children of the Eastern Cape. There is something in the water down here guys and if you attended the Nelson Mandela Bay Arts Festival you don’t need me to tell you that. 

Art, much like diamonds, is formed under immense pressure. When everything feels like it’s closing in and you have no room to move or adjust, you harden, your pen sharpens, and your glow comes out slowly but surely, as the pressure increases around the bits of you that don’t serve you, so those bits break off, the weakness crumbles until all that is left is a flawless, hardened, beautiful diamond that you give to us, your fickle and ungrateful audience.

We thank you artists for your contributions to our lives on a daily basis, we are grateful to have you around us. To make us laugh, make us cry, make us laugh to avoid crying, to make us dance or inspire us when we are at war (IDK about you guys, but every time I had to fight to protect myself, the Shaka Zulu theme song would play in my head. You know the one? That one that goes BOM BOM BOM BOM BOM- BOM BOM – BOM BOM) you know the one man. 

Lastly, I wish to congratulate all of you artists who performed at the festival. Thank you for your dedication to your craft, thank you for your bravery and willingness to bare your soul and give us all the words and images that describe our most complicated feelings in a way that is accurate, concise and just about perfect! 

Oh and one more thing, you guys gotta get some therapy… like as a group, don’t look around. I’m talking to you. I know what you guys are like. I am around you people, you know what I know because you were there too! Fix it, man, too many people in your line of work don’t get to see old age, we don’t get to hear your perspectives grow and change with you so please, from a friend and a fan… fix it, please? I love you all. Thank you. 

P.S If I didn’t mention you by name, it’s not because I forgot. There are just so many of you incredible artists at home and abroad doing your thing that if I rattled off your names and how I feel about you I’d be writing forever. Don’t take it personally.

Mvume Ndimba is a podcaster and writer, who describes himself as a “Young professional, new father and lifelong conspiracy theorist, who’s seen everything the city has to offer and eagerly seeks out more” His podcast (Before You Go) is a window into the things he finds interesting and with his column, he aims to take an “out of the ordinary approach to ordinary things”. He says: “You might not always agree with me, but ask yourself… did I lie?