UKULULWA KWESIKHATHI SOKUFAKA IZIPHAKAMISO ZOKUSHINTSHWA KWEGAMA LE-NATAL MUSEUM

U-Solwazi P.N.D. Nzimande, uSihlalo wesigungu se-Natal Museum egameni lesigungu, uthanda ukubonga amalunga omphakathi asabela kwisicelo sokufakwa kweziphakamiso mayelana nokushintshwa kwegama le-Natal Museum. Ngokubona isasasa elikhonjiswa wumphathi ngaloluhlelo, isigungu se-Natal Museum sibone kungcono ukuba isikhathi sokufakwa kweziphakamiso selulwe ukuze kwamukelwe leziphakamiso eziningi. Niyathenjiswa ukuthi lezo ziphakamiso ezatholakala zizocubungulwa zonke.

Professor P.N.D. Nzimande, Chairperson, on behalf of the Natal Museum Council, would like to thank all those who responded to the call for suggestions for a new name for the Natal Museum. Due to the high interest shown, the Natal Museum council has decided to extend the due date for submissions to 25 January 2008.

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Recently more than 100 local poets got together at the Natal Museum on Saturday March 17 when KOSS organised a session to celebrate the forthcoming Human Rights Day (on March 21).

The poetry at these sessions ranges in style from the more familiar formal presentation - the kind of classic recitation poetry we used to love (or hate) in the classroom - to performance art combining poetry with dramatic presentation and even music (such as the performances of New York's Laurie Anderson). Also very popular is street-style hip-hop poetry and fast off-the-cuff rap poetry. In both, pace, rhythm and word flow are used with great skill. A feature of the Museum sessions are the verbal duels of the rappers, either battling it out with microphones, or in the open, surrounded by an enthusiastic crowd of supporters of either rapper.

The sessions inside the Museum usually end after the show with an impromptu battle of rappers on the pavement outside the Museum. The photograph above show some of the rappers duelling it out outside the Museum after the Human Rights Day session.

Balancing Act

GALA (Gay and Lesbian Archives) and the Apartheid Museum launched a new exhibition to celebrate the 10th anniversary of South Africa's constitution. The exhibition is titled Balancing Act: South African Gay and Lesbian Youth Speak Out, and it shares stories of gay and lesbian youth in South Africa. The basic purpose is to promote tolerance for difference through education.

In the exhibition eleven young South Africans from a wide range of social backgrounds speak about their experiences, hopes and dreams. The Constitution has officially affirmed the equality and dignity of people of all sexual orientations. But widespread hostility means that lifestyles that are 'different' remain hidden and inadequately represented in the public realm. The book and the exhibition are called 'Balancing Act' because these young people have to balance between being true to themselves and living in a prejudiced society.