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Sketchproductions, Diepkloof (2025)

27/10/2025

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22/10/2025

How the Market Theatre Eats Its Own Children
By Paul Noko

Once known as the theatre of the struggle, the Market Theatre was a home for fearless voices, political defiance, and artistic liberation. Today, almost five decades later, it stands at a painful crossroads caught between its revolutionary past and a fragile present defined by leadership instability, disillusioned graduates, and questions about whether it still serves the very artists it was built to empower.

A Glorious Past Built on Defiance, founded in 1976 by Barney Simon and Mannie Manim in a converted Indian fruit market, the Market Theatre defied apartheid laws by staging multi-racial performances when segregation still defined public life. It became a sanctuary for truth a space where protest found poetic form and art became a weapon of conscience. From Woza Albert! Born in RSA, Cincinnati to Sophiatown, and The Island, the theatre nurtured artists who went on to shape global stages. In 2005, it was formally recognised as a cultural institution under the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, carrying both heritage and responsibility. But inside its Newtown building, once pulsing with rebellion and renewal, the echoes of that spirit are growing faint.

The New Market Theatre, A Place That Teaches but Doesn’t Take Care. In interviews with several alumni of the Market Theatre Laboratory and the Market Photo Workshop, a recurring sentiment emerges: the institution still trains but rarely sustains. “You graduate full of hope,” says a former student, “but once you leave the Lab, there’s nothing waiting for you. No network, no mentorship, no real bridge into the industry. You have to start from zero again.”

Over the years, hundreds of students have passed through the Market’s programs. Yet, beyond a few notable names who’ve reshaped the creative landscape, many remain invisible in an industry that once looked to the Market as a beacon of excellence. A former administrator, who asked not to be named, adds: "It’s become more about survival than creativity. The place feels like a business now a spaza shop that sells culture instead of nurturing it.”

Leadership in Flux, the theatre’s internal turbulence has only deepened the sense of uncertainty. In 2025, CEO Tshiamo resigned after years at the helm. Since then, senior positions have shifted frequently. In October 2024, the Foundation announced the appointment of Lekgetho Makola as Chief Operations Officer, signalling yet another restructuring phase.

Currently, the Market Theatre has no permanent CEO and no senior producer. An assistant producer resigned earlier this year, while the new Chief Financial Officer only recently assumed duties. For an institution responsible for millions in public funding, this level of turnover raises questions about governance and continuity.

A Department of Sport, Arts and Culture official, speaking off record, acknowledged “concerns about administrative direction and long-term sustainability,” adding that “internal reviews are being conducted to ensure the Market’s mandate aligns with its original mission.”

The Forgotten Children of the Revolution. The Market Theatre’s greatest legacy training has also become its most painful contradiction. Graduates of the Market Theatre Laboratory often find themselves celebrated at showcases, only to disappear from the industry months later.

According to independent arts researchers, less than 30% of Lab graduates from the past decade maintain consistent employment in the performing arts sector. The rest pivot to unrelated fields or abandon the arts entirely. This pattern mirrors a larger national issue, where arts training institutions produce talent without infrastructure to absorb it. But the Market Theatre’s symbolic position makes its failures cut deeper.

“They give you the skill, but they don’t trust you to run the house,” says one alumnus. “It’s as if the institution fears its own children.”

A Theatre Turned Bureaucracy. Walking through the Newtown precinct today, the Market Theatre’s façade still commands reverence but its interior feels different. The revolutionary energy has been replaced by administrative caution. Productions are fewer, budgets tighter, and bureaucracy thicker.

Critics argue that the institution has become more of a bureaucratic foundation than a creative incubator. Its focus appears increasingly geared toward maintaining funding compliance and event management, rather than cultivating daring new work or empowering alumni to lead.

“It used to be a movement,” notes veteran actor and director (Name withheld,) “now it’s an office. Artists are guests in a house that was built for them.” A Board Under Scrutiny. Earlier this month, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie dissolved the Market Theatre’s board amid what he called “conflicting reports and leadership dysfunction.” While details of the internal conflict remain scarce, insiders say disputes revolved around accountability, expenditure, and the theatre’s long-term vision.

This dissolution follows a pattern across several state-funded arts institutions where boards have clashed with executives or ministries over governance and creative independence.

The Market Theatre’s new interim management will now need to navigate not only financial recovery but also reputational repair and perhaps, moral renewal. The Real Question: Who Is the Market Theatre For? At its core, the current crisis is not only about leadership or funding it’s about purpose. The Market Theatre was built to serve artists and audiences, to confront injustice through creativity. But as its leadership becomes more corporate and its graduates feel abandoned, the question lingers: has the institution forgotten who it serves?

Cultural analyst Thuli Maseko puts it plainly: “The Market was the people’s theatre. If the people no longer feel ownership of it, then something fundamental has been lost.” A Call for Renewal. The Market Theatre stands at a decisive moment. To regain its relevance, it must return to its founding principles community, mentorship, and artistic courage. That means creating real pathways for graduates, opening leadership pipelines for artists, and ensuring transparency in governance and funding.

The Market’s history proves what art can do in times of struggle. Its future will depend on whether it can summon that same courage to confront the quiet decay within its own walls. Until then, the Market Theatre risks remaining what one former student called it:

“A place where dreams are taught but never allowed to live.”

12/10/2025

Reconsidering Access and Decolonial Practice in Public Art Discourse.
By Paul Noko

The recent Workshop Series on “Decolonial Public Art Protest Performance for Access, Including Artists with Disability” under the Soweto Creative Movement, facilitated by Paul Noko, presented a crucial moment for reflection within South Africa’s evolving creative landscape. The session engaged deeply with the question:

“If we are asking for the removal of colonial statues, what are we offering to replace them?”

This inquiry invited participants to rethink public art not merely as a symbolic gesture, but as a living practice of cultural reclamation, responsibility, and transformation. The discussion illuminated how decolonial performance can serve as both artistic expression and socio-political intervention particularly in advocating for inclusive participation of artists with disabilities.

However, while the intellectual content and engagement of the workshop were commendable, it is important to acknowledge the shortcomings in hospitality and logistical arrangements experienced by the invited speaker. Such challenges underscore broader systemic issues within arts institutions regarding access, equity, and respect for creative labour.

Despite these conditions, Paul Noko demonstrated admirable flexibility and professionalism, ensuring that the academic and creative objectives of the workshop were met. "My commitment serves as a reminder that the work of decolonisation requires not only critical discourse but also ethical practice within the very spaces that host such conversations."

Institutions and organisers must therefore reflect critically on the meaning of access and inclusivity beyond rhetoric. True decolonial engagement necessitates structural support that enables full participation by all artists and thinkers, including those living with disabilities. This includes:

Provision of sign language interpreters at all public lectures, workshops, and discussions.

Financial and logistical support for guest speakers, facilitators, and artists contributing to institutional programmes.

Accessible venues and facilities that accommodate diverse bodies and modes of engagement.

A standard of professional hospitality that upholds the dignity and value of cultural practitioners.

In expressing appreciation to the organisers for creating a platform to interrogate these vital issues, it is equally essential to call for sustained institutional accountability. Decolonial practice cannot exist in abstraction; it must be enacted through tangible commitments to fairness, accessibility, and ethical engagement.

Only through such holistic inclusion can South Africa’s creative institutions truly embody the spirit of decoloniality one that not only challenges colonial legacies in art, but also transforms the conditions under which art and knowledge are produced and shared.

02/10/2025

Why Do We Clap for Mediocrity in South African Arts? Stop the weekend specials, One hit wonders.
By Paul Noko

In theatres, galleries, and cultural festivals across South Africa, a strange pattern has emerged. Work that is shallow, safe, or technically weak is often celebrated with standing ovations, media buzz, and funding. Meanwhile, work that is bold, challenging, or brilliant often remains invisible, underfunded, and excluded. We have to ask ourselves, Why do we clap for mediocrity in South African arts? The Real Artists Are Struggling
South Africa is not short on talent. Across disciplines from theatre and dance to music and visual art there are powerful voices doing transformative work. But many of these artists are, Underfunded, Excluded from mainstream platforms. Silenced for being too critical, too experimental, or too “unmarketable” Without institutional backing or visibility, these artists are left to hustle, self-fund, or abandon their practice altogether.

The Gatekeepers of Culture. A major part of the problem lies in who holds the power in the arts. Funders, curators, administrators, and festival directors, program directors, panelist or adjudicators often act as gatekeepers deciding which work is seen, who gets support, and what is considered “valuable” art. Too often, they, prioritise known names or artists in their networks or even their own work. Push politically safe or easily digestible content. Interfere in artistic process, telling artists how to shape their work to fit a “theme” or “agenda.”

This leads to the same voices being recycled, while fresh, radical, or grassroots work gets sidelined. The Culture of Applauding the Bare Minimum. We’ve normalized applauding work just because it exists, not because it’s excellent. A local theatre show with poor writing but strong marketing gets a standing ovation. A generic visual exhibition makes headlines because it ticks identity boxes. A badly produced song trends because it’s “relatable.”

Sometimes we’re clapping out of desperation happy to see local content at all. Sometimes it’s political we support a friend or someone from our community. But in doing so, we create a cycle where mediocrity is rewarded and excellence is ignored.

The Art is Being Diluted. When artists are told what to create by funders, by political agendas, or by the market the art suffers. We are seeing more and more work that, Lacks depth or originality. Mimics international trends without local context. Is afraid to challenge the audience, for fear of losing funding. This isn’t a lack of talent — it’s a symptom of a system that doesn’t know how to nurture or protect real creativity.

So, Where Are the Good Artists? They are performing in small, independent spaces. Uploading their work quietly on social media or YouTube. Working outside the mainstream because the mainstream doesn’t see them. Burnt out, but still creating, because they have no choice.

They’re not missing. They’re being missed. What Needs to Change? Rethink Funding Models
We need funding that supports risk experimentation, and unknown voices not just “safe” or “marketable” projects. Let Artists Lead. We are not all celebrities, Administrators, curators, and funders must stop shaping the art the way they think.Their job is to support it, but don’t dictate it. Create Platforms for Excellence. True platforms, not token slots three day run a weekend special. Give room for high-quality, thoughtful work to be developed, performed, and archived.

Develop the Audience, South African audiences must be given the tools to critically engage with art to ask for more than “representation” and to recognize quality.

We must Promote excellence and authenticity.

30/09/2025

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

The Lebone Black Box Theatre Institute is now accepting proposals for the Annual Indigenous Solo Theatre Festival

Dates: 19–21 December 2025
Venue: Umthombo Community Hall, 9996 Jaca Drive, Dobsonville Ext. 3, Soweto
Time: 1PM – 8PM daily

We invite solo performers (storytellers, theatre-makers, poets, performers) whose work is rooted in indigenous languages, traditions, and identity. This festival celebrates the richness of indigenous solo theatre and provides a platform for artists to share their unique voices.

Who can apply?
Individual performers with solo work (max 60 min). Indigenous, traditional, or contemporary interpretations welcome. Performance ready or near ready productions

Submit your proposal with:
A short description of your work
Artist biography
Technical needs
Work sample (if available)

Deadline for submission: 27 October 2025

Email: leboneblackboxperfomance@gmail.com
Contact: 071 072 5449 / 072 696 7401

Admission: R1000 per solo performance Lebone Black Box Institute of Performance Art Soweto

30/09/2025

The Arts Department Must Step Back and Let Artists Lead : The Cost of Bureaucracy in the Arts
By Paul Noko

In South Africa today, a disturbing trend persists, the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture and its agencies have positioned themselves as event organisers instead of doing what they were created for supporting artists and cultural practitioners. This is not only misplaced energy, it is also an insult to the creative sector.

The Problem, administrators on Stage, Artists in the Shadows. Far too often, when an important arts workshop, festival, or cultural dialogue is held, the front seats are filled by administrators from the department rather than artists themselves. Workshops meant to nurture, challenge, and grow creatives are handed to bureaucrats who have never set foot on a stage, never sweated in rehearsal, never experienced the struggle of making art with no budget.

The department has become an event management company, outsourcing contracts to businesses with no real understanding of art while the artists, the ones with skill, talent, and lived knowledge, are treated as afterthoughts. The Cost of Bureaucracy in the Arts, When administrators organise workshops, the result is predictable: glossy event banners, inflated catering bills, and soulless “consultations” where artists are talked at rather than engaged. Instead of empowering the sector, the system drains it. Budgets disappear into logistics, venues, and management fees, while the actual content the art itself suffers. Meanwhile, artists. who are more than capable of curating, planning, and executing events that speak to their communities remain underfunded and under-recognised.

Artists Are Skilled Organisers, artists are not just dreamers. They are strategists, organisers, and innovators. Every stage production, every festival, every community performance is a masterclass in project management. To assume that artists cannot run their own workshops or events is to deny the profession its dignity. What is needed is not more departmental “activations,” but trust in the artist’s ability to design and lead programmes that matter.

The Department must stop organising events and stop consulting with companies that have no understanding of the arts. Instead, give artists the budget, the platform, and the freedom to lead. Fund artists directly. Trust them to conceptualise, plan, and execute workshops. Recognise that the artist is both the content and the organiser. Send administrators back to their desks, not to our rehearsal rooms.

The arts cannot thrive when they are reduced to paperwork, catering contracts, and PowerPoint presentations. They thrive when artists are trusted, resourced, and respected. It is time for the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture to remember its true role: to support, not to overshadow; to fund, not to control; to listen, not to dictate.

Let the artists lead because without them, there is no art.

28/09/2025

Enrol Now: Lebone Black Box Institute of Performance Art

Join the Lebone Black Box Institute of Performance Art in Soweto, a centre of excellence dedicated to authentic indigenous performance. Our programmes offer rigorous academic training, practical theatre experience, and pathways into film, television, and creative production.

Advance your skills, contribute to South Africa’s creative industries, and be part of shaping the next generation of performing artists. Register today. Let's make history together and became legends.

Registration form: https://form.jotform.com/252674141541554

28/09/2025

For Liberation, or Just for Themselves?
By Paul Noko

South Africa’s artists have always carried the weight of history on their shoulders. During apartheid, theatre, music, and literature were weapons of resistance collective acts of defiance that inspired hope and demanded change. The arts were never just entertainment, they were lifelines of freedom, woven into the struggle for liberation.

But in 2025, when we look at the cultural and creative industries, a difficult question arises: is the spirit of collective struggle still alive, or has it been replaced by individual ambition? The Rise of Individualism in the Arts. Today, many artists fight not for the upliftment of the entire sector, but for their own place at the front of the line. This is not simply about ego it’s about survival in a fragmented, underfunded, and poorly supported industry. When resources are scarce, competition is fierce, and artists begin to view each other less as collaborators and more as rivals.

The result? Projects collapse because artists refuse to share credit. Community initiatives are sidelined because everyone wants to be the “face” of the movement. Funding cycles are dominated by the same familiar names, while new voices struggle to be heard. Instead of lifting each other up, artists often find themselves pulling each other down.

When Ego Blocks Collaboration. The irony is that no art form exists without collaboration. A theatre production relies on actors, directors, writers, designers, and stage crew. A film requires dozens of creative minds working together. Music thrives on harmony, not soloist showdowns. Yet in the current climate, too many artists want to be the heroes of their own story, forgetting that true art especially in South Africa’s context is about collective voices, shared narratives, and community impact.

What does it mean when artists refuse to collaborate? It means the sector stays fractured and weak, unable to present a united front to government, funders, or the private sector. It means opportunities are hoarded instead of multiplied. It means that, instead of creating an industry for all, we create an industry of individual enrichment.

The Danger of a Broken Industry. This individualism has serious consequences. No Collective Bargaining Power: Without unity, artists cannot hold institutions accountable or demand better funding structures. Recycling of the Same Talent: A handful of artists dominate festivals, grants, and platforms, while emerging voices are shut out. Loss of Public Trust: Communities feel disconnected from the arts, seeing them as elitist rather than inclusive. Missed Economic Potential: By failing to work together, the sector limits its own growth in tourism, education, and job creation.

A Call for a New Ethic. The uncomfortable truth is this: the arts cannot survive on ego alone. If the creative industries in South Africa are to thrive, they must rediscover the ethic of solidarity that defined earlier generations of artists. This means artists must. See collaboration as strength, not threat. Share resources, knowledge, and opportunities. Hold government accountable not as individuals but as a united sector. Redefine success: not just as personal awards, but as an industry that creates sustainable jobs and empowers communities.

From Heroes to Builders. South African artists must ask themselves a painful but necessary question: are we fighting for liberation through art, or simply for our own survival and recognition? The future of the sector will not be built by lone heroes. It will be built by artists who recognise that their power lies in collective creation, shared leadership, and collaboration. Until then, the arts will remain vulnerable: an industry of talent without structure, of passion without sustainability.

"The liberation dream will remain incomplete not because of a lack of creativity, but because of a lack of unity."

26/09/2025

Artists Left Behind: A Year of Empty Promises and Political Distraction

By Paul Noko

As 2025 draws to a close, one truth rings louder than the noise of award ceremonies and endless event management gigs: real artists, those who create from the marrow of their bones, remain unfunded, unsupported, and unseen. The arts sector has once again been consumed by politics, riddled with diversion of budgets and a fixation on glamorous events. Millions are poured into ceremonies, festivals, and industry “networking” showcases that serve more as political campaigns than artistic platforms. Meanwhile, the theatre makers, the poets, the choreographers, and the painters who carry the cultural soul of the nation struggle to pay rent or even keep their creative practice alive.

This year has proven that excellence in the arts is not what determines access to funding. Instead, mediocrity thrives where connections matter more than craft. Event managers, not creators, have captured the lion’s share of the budget. Award ceremonies, marketed as “celebrations of artistic achievement,” are increasingly little more than red-carpet distractions from the glaring absence of real investment in artistic production. Worse still, the shadow of next year’s elections hangs over the sector. Already, whispers grow louder that funds meant for cultural development are being quietly diverted to campaigns and political machinery. The arts, once seen as a mirror of society, are now a tool in the hands of politicians seeking photo opportunities and staged popularity.

And so, the artist stands alone. With no reliable structures, no sustainable funding, and no safety nets, the creator is left to depend on personal resilience and community solidarity. The very people who keep alive our stories, languages, and imaginations are expected to survive on passion alone, as the institutions meant to support them crumble under political weight.

The year ends with no clear plan for artists only more empty promises of “next year.” But for the true artist, waiting has become a form of death. As the political calendar takes priority, it is clear, unless artists reclaim their own power, their survival cannot and will not be guaranteed by the state.

25/09/2025

When Departments Become Event Managers: Who Should Really Be Running the Show?

By Paul Noko

In South Africa, the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) and the National Arts Council (NAC) often seem more interested in organising events than in building long-term systems that truly support artists. Big launches, high profile galas, and cultural events are often placed at the centre of their work. But this raises a critical question: isn’t it the job of artists, creative producers, directors, and arts managers to conceptualise and deliver these events?

The Role of the Department. A government department should be a consultant, facilitator, and enabler creating policies, providing resources, and ensuring accountability. Its role is not to compete with artists or take over the creative process. Instead, it should focus on building infrastructure, distributing funds fairly, and protecting artists’ rights.

The Role of the Artist. Artists are creators and organisers by nature. They are trained to design productions, direct programmes, manage events, and deliver unique cultural experiences. When the department takes over these roles, it sidelines the very people it is meant to support, reducing them to “participants” instead of “leaders.”

What’s at Stake? Disempowerment of artists, by monopolising event organisation, the department denies artists the chance to earn, build skills, and grow professionally. Duplication of roles: Millions are spent on events the sector could deliver better and more creatively. Missed opportunities: Community theatres, independent producers, and creative managers lose chances to develop sustainable projects and industries.

The Call for Robust Conversation. It is time for a robust national dialogue, should DSAC and NAC operate as consultant departments, guiding policy and enabling artists, or continue as event organisers? Many in the sector believe the answer is clear: let artists do what they do best. Program directors, artistic directors, producers, and managers are already equipped to carry these events.

If the department steps back into its rightful role policymaker, regulator, funder and steps away from competing with artists, the sector can begin to thrive. South Africa’s creative economy doesn’t need managers of art; it needs partners in growth.

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