Is the concept of "black poetry" valid? James Matthews argues that black poetry has become a powerful force in South Africa. He suggests that poetry by and about the black majority is locally grounded and people no longer look toward America for such inspiration. Matthews draws links between black poetry, black consciousness and black power.
The opening remarks of Art Towards Social Development Exhibition were delivered by Thami Mnyele on 9 June 1982. He gave an idea of the structure of the exhibition; a collection of paintings, sculptures and photographs would be displayed. The second part will be a symposium/festival held on the 5 July to the 9 July 1982. He also mentioned that symposium/festival would be dealing with literature and performing arts such as music, film, theatre and dance. This exhibition is a step towards being hopeful and practical about creating an alternative for artists in South Africa. The main question posed at the exhibition is: how to cultural workers and artists partake in the struggle for national liberation and self determination?
"There is an undeniable responsibility of photographers in South Africa to use photography as a medium to establish a democratic country". The author argues that a sensitivity to everyday experiences is key to realising this responsibility. The paper deals with the "role of culture in photographic communication, the formation of our [South Africa's] resistance culture, our country's uniqueness and how this affects the level of awareness of people, the relevance of technique and the outlets for committed photography".
