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The Fietas
Festival is back, after a five-year absence, again revelling in the culture and
history of this vibrant part of Johannesburg.
FIETAS will be
buzzing as residents and former residents come together to celebrate and
reclaim the area's heritage at the fourth Fietas Festival.
Fietas Festival: reclaiming the area's heritage
It runs from 24
to 27 September in the streets, buildings and opens spaces of Fietas. Made up
of the suburbs of Vrededorp and Pageview, on the western edge of the inner
city, Fietas was the colloquial name given to the area by its residents.
In habited mainly
by Muslims, the residents were forcibly removed under the Group Areas Act by
the apartheid government, and settled in Lenasia, Soweto,
Eldorado Park and Noordgesig.
Although the
removals happened in the 1970s, they had a lasting impact on the people of
Fietas, said Faziel Mamdoo, one of the festival organisers.
The festival is a
way to revive the spirit of the place as remembered by those who lived there
before the removals. It was first held in 2002, and took place again in 2003
and 2004.
"It is important
to host this festival because before the removals this [was] a multicultural,
well-bonded community with strong values and we are trying to restore ourselves
and reconnect," said Mamdoo.
It returns this
year after a five-year gap, after sponsorship was received from the National
Arts Council, the Goethe Institute and Arts Alive, among others. Mamdoo said it
was supported by both former and current residents.
Day one
The celebrations will begin at noon on Thursday, 24 September at the Krause Street
School in Pageview. A
community messenger will go to Bosmont and other western areas, telling people
there about the events that will take place during the festival.
David Goldblatt,
the photographer, will showcase 86 of his photographs of Fietas at the Krause Street
School, and will be in
conversation with Ferial Haffajee, the editor-in-chief of City Press newspaper.
The 23rd street mosque
The Malay community
will also meet at the 23rd
Street mosque for traditional salutations. They
will be joined by local Somali, Malawian and Senegalese communities.
From 2pm to 5pm there
will be two exhibitions at Krause
Street School
- one called Quilt of Memory, showcasing individual fragments brought together
during the 2003 festival, and the second called Log Book, featuring a 104-year-old
diary of everyday happenings.
Day two
On Friday, 25 September at 6am, there will be a Mophaso, a traditional African
spiritual offering led by sangomas Gogo Zwelinzaba and Ngonyama. This will be followed by the launch of the Fietas
repository at Matthew
Goniwe School,
where artefacts and relics of the area will be stored.
At 12 noon, there
will be regular Friday prayers, called Jumma, at the 15th and 23rd
street mosques, while members of Chinese, Christian, Hindu, Muslim and
traditional African faiths will come together to remember ancestors at the
Braamfontein Cemetery.
An exhibition at
the Bag Factory will be opened at 5.30pm; it will run until 9 October, and will
showcase Yusuf Chubb Garda's photography work and audio accounts by Ntate
Modimokoane and Junior Jacob. The Bag Factory is at 10 Mahlatini Street, Fordsburg.
Artwork, designed
by Rookeya Gardee, Bronwyn Lace and Reg Pakari as part of the general upgrade
of the area by the Johannesburg Development Agency, is now being installed in the
subway between Pageview-Vrededorp and Fordsburg.
Other exhibitions
taking place at Krause
Street School
include School Assignment, an exhibition of Azad Khan's drawings, made in 1966
when he was 11. He drew these images when one of his teachers sent the class outside
to observe their surroundings.
A quilt of memories
Quilt of Memory,
Log Book and Goldblatt's photographs will be on display throughout the festival.
At 26'10 South
Architects on 14th
Street there will be a display of the urban
development framework for Vrededorp-Pageview.
Day three
On the morning of Saturday, 26 September, the community messenger will take the
message of the day's events to the Oriental Plaza in Fordsburg, one of Joburg's
most popular - and exotic - shopping destinations.
At 10am, Joburg's
emergency management services will host a show for children, where they will be
taught about safety in the home, at Docrat's Ruin in 20th Street.
A panel including
the City's panning department, ward councillors and local community organisations,
will discuss progress in the development framework for Pageview-Vrededorp. They
will meet at Docrat's Ruin in 20th
Street, at 1.45pm.
Dressmakers will
showcase their work in a children's fashion show, again at Docrat's Ruin in 20th Street
at 2.45pm.
Other events
include an open mic session, story telling, an Indonesian martial arts
demonstration and traditional dancers, among others, happening at various
venues and times.
Final day
The community messenger will mark the beginning of events on Sunday, 27 September, by going up
and down the streets of Orlando, in Soweto, informing people about what will be
taking place that day.
There will be potjiekos
challenge, a pantsula dance, a marimba band and story telling at Docrat's Ruin,
from 10am.
The exhibitions at
the Bag Factory, 26'10 South Architects and at Krause Street School will be
open from 10am to 5pm.
Over a weekend in
August this year, the Bag Factory held kite-making workshops and the
documentation of these workshops will be showcased during the Fietas Festival. And
the kites will be flown from 4pm, just off Krause Street.
There will also
be food stalls, children's mask making, and dominoes, happening at various
venues and times.
The crossing of 11th Street
at 4.30pm, which symbolises the Vrededorp-Pageview historical racial divide,
will mark the closing of the festival.
For more
information, contact the Fietas Festival office at 24A De la Rey Street, Vrededorp, or on 011
830 0247.
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