artEc cultural tuesday presents Jazz&Poetry

artEc cultural tuesday presents Jazz&Poetry
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
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5:30pm until 6:35pm
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artEC Cultural Evenings, came about from an idea of creating a vibrant culture within artEC as a community arts centre. ArtEC hosts Exhibition openings every two weeks on a Tuesday night at their Bird Street premises. Exhibitions usually run for two weeks and the Tuesdays in between openings are used for these cultural evenings where art films and documentaries are shown. Now we are introducing performance arts to the cultural Tuesday as it is our vision to be a hub and a home for all artists that seek to g...row and engage with an audience and the entire arts community by giving them a platform to showcase their craft, be it visual or performance art or craft. ArtEC seeks to bring in diversity in terms of different art forms, as we are known for visual arts and crafts, this way we are integrating performance artists within our community centre assuring them that our institution is their home too. The first of the performance artEC Cultural Tuesdays will start with two award winning artists that have made name for themselves in Port Elizabeth and the entire South Africa. These artist are Lelethu PoeticSoul Mahambehlala who is an award winning performance poet, motivational speaker, language practitioner and an arts activist. She will be joined by one of the great young jazz artists to come out of Port Elizabeth, Phumlani Mtiti a tenor saxophone player.

Phumlani Mtiti
Phumlani Mtiti is an award winning musician born in uMthatha. He moved to PE, fell in love with music and started taking saxophone lessons in high school. He toured Europe with his high school and local music outfits performing and conducting African music workshops to young kids. His love for African music led to a 500 voices collaboration at the world famous Grieg Hall in Bergen which he worked with for a few days and conducted to premier the work. After finishing high school, Phumlani spent 1 year in Norway studying then came back home to South Africa. He spent 2007 with Zim Ngqawana, the late jazz legend. He later decided to go to Cape Town to study music full-time.

Phumlani Mtiti has since won a SAMA (South African Music Award) with pianist, Sibusiso Dlamini for Best Contemporary Jazz in 2011, three SAMA nominations with the LGS in 2012. He is working on his debut album as a leader. He has been involved in many projects, some touring extensively and some once-off. Phumlani has worked with some of the most respected names in the music industry. Phumlani has shared stages with GRAMMY winning musicians in festivals around Africa, UK and most parts of Europe.

Phumlani Mtiti recently conducted a few music workshops with kids from Khayelitsha Township and at REDDAM high school in Cape Town. He is back in Port Elizabeth, active in the music scene. He plays with David Houghton at the Brewery, is part of the electrifying skafican band called The Brothers, plays lead alto saxophone for the newly formed big band called the Bighorn Express. You can also find him playing Bach concertos in old age homes, at the Opera house collaborating with the actors, in the clubs jamming with the DJ’s, in the township performing at a friend’s tavern and much more.

Lelethu PoeticSoul Mahambehlala
PoeticSoul, born Lelethu Mahambehlala was born in Mdantsane, East London to a family of five on 21 January 1982. The second of 4 children, PoeticSoul has always been the negotiator and reconciler in the family through her soft tongue and sensitivity.

When she first stepped on stage in 2003 at the regular Thursday sessions at Urban Conexion the response of the audience came as a total surprise. She left many amazed with by the power in her voice and words.
Through her poetry, PoeticSoul, got involved with Nubian Mantombazana, an NGO which aimed to emancipate the young women of Nelson Mandela Metro. PoeticSoul, with the Nubian Sistaz, through their different art forms managed to touch many lives through their Life Lessons project in Kwa-Magxaki High School and various events held at the North End Prison for women. They used art to challenge sleepy minds and heal wounded hearts.

Poetry, according to PoeticSoul is the beginning of art, the living of life and the completion of a puzzle. Those who have witnessed her stage performances still wonder about her inspiration and what exactly goes through her head when she performs as she often seems like a different person on stage. That’s because she sees the stage as her home, occupied by her family. When on stage, she carries herself and the spiritual voices that speak through her. So, when heard on stage, it’s not only her that one experiences, but the voices that live inside her heart.

She was awarded the Beyond the balance sheet award under arts and culture and recently was a finalist at the Feather awards in Johannesburg under arts culture and heritage. She has shared stages with the international and local artists.

Time:17h30
admission R30(only for 56 people)

please book with asanda at gallery@artecpec.co.za/ 041 585 3641

wine will also be on sale