Acclimating

I have arrived safely into the hands of my cousins Yvette & Leigh in Johannesburg. I am staying with Leigh, who lives with her husband OJ and daughter Kira in an area just outside of Jo'burg known as Midrand. Midrand's definitely in the suburbs of this big city and seems far away from the reality of the poverty that plagues this country. Although, I must admit, this is the South Africa I know best. 

Part of my inclination to delve into education and social work here stems from the immediate bubble of security I am swept into through my family. While I appreciate that I have always been well-tended to, I have only seen a sliver of South Africa. I am not suggesting I opt for the dangerous side of this place, but I am intrigued to gather a more honest and in-depth spectrum of South Africa while I live here.

I have begun planning the details for the art workshops I will offer in the rural provinces. It is not yet certain if I will be teaching alongside another artist/actor/musician/filmmaker, but for now I am planning for multiple possibilities. I am most interested in doing mural work that will involve the community-at-large and/or puppetry that will involve making puppets, developing a story, and putting on a show. Collaboration amongst my students is key. I hope to involve themes that deal with the current issues of health, HIV/AIDS, poverty, and xenophobia/immigration. Art becomes a tool to pull together elements of the self and how it integrates within the community. In a well-designed composition, unity and harmony can be achieved by weighing the singular against the whole. This translates directly into real life. More on this as it develops.

A fact about where I am traveling to teach art, as stated by Wikipedia: "Viljoenskroon is a small maize and cattle farming town in the Free State province of South Africa. It is named after the original farm owner JJ Viljoen and his horse Kroon (Crown)." Pronounced: ful-ewans-crew-un