Makhubalo Ikaneng has been named as this year’s Time of the Writer’s Literature Champion by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu Natal.
Known as Cuba, Ikaneng is known for his work with young writers from Emphophomweni which falls under the uMngeni Municipality.
Ikaneng is a story-teller who loves helping children grow and hone their writing skills through his Young Authors Book Initiative project.
The festival awards this prize annually to a person or organisation committed to promoting a culture of reading among young people, and ensuring that even the poorest of South African communities have access to books.
Every year the project takes 20 learners from schools in the uMngeni Municipality and teaches them how to write with the help of acclaimed authors. The learners then write short stories that are compiled into a book. They have published three books in the last four years and worked with 47 learners thus far.
Commenting on his award, Ikaneng said it was an inspiration for him to continue the work he is doing.
“To make the community believe that everyone can make a difference and for every child growing up in a rural community to know that the sky is the limit," he said.
Ikaneng has experience in writing for different platforms, focusing on children including scripts for TV, theatre and film and published books. He has also written and performed a traditional African story called Mayine, The Rain Queen. For him, this speaks to the special relationship between writing and traditional storytelling in South Africa.
While looking back to another successful Time of the Writer festival and looking forward to a new one, the organisers decided to take a bold step in appointing a new curator for the 2023 festival - to recent graduate, Sibahle Khwela
When she took on an arts administration internship at the Centre for Creative Arts, little did she know that she would liaise with more than 100 authors selected to participate in this years’ Time of the Writer Festival. South African and international participants in the festival have lauded Khwela for her strong organisational skills, attention to detail and focused engagement throughout the Festival.
"Sibahle is one of those rare people who walk into an internship programme and, within six weeks, takes full ownership of the project. She demonstrates a strong work ethic, professionalism and versatility that we are delighted to announce that we will be extending her internship till March 2023 so that she can take on the role of curator of the 26th edition of the Festival," said Director for the Centre for Creative Arts, Ismail Mahomed.
Sibahle will be mentored by Mahomed and the Centre’s Senior Administrator & Poetry Africa curator, Siphindile Hlongwa, who have extensive experience in festival design, curation and cultural leadership.
Time of the Writer curator Siphindile Hlongwa said there was a huge vacuum for Black women festival curators in South Africa.
"We believe that by extending her internship and granting her the opportunity to project lead and curate the 26th edition of the Time of the Writer festival, we can significantly contribute to opening up opportunities for Black South African women to take on festival curatorship roles," Hlongwa added.
Khwela graduated cum laude with an undergraduate degree in Drama and Performance Studies at the Durban University of Technology. She was also the recipient of the Dean's Merit Award 2020 alongside 11 Awards received during her qualification. Other awards that she received during her studies include the Best Newcomer 2018, Leadership Award 2019 and the versatility Award 2020.
Khwela is one of 10 interns at the Centre for Creative Arts. They work on the Centre’s various festivals, including the Durban International Film Festival, Artfluence Human Rights Festival, Cabaret And Beyond Festival, Poetry Africa and Time of the Writer Festival.
IOL