Veteran artists join call for support

● Plea from younger generation has struck a chord with us, say older members of Bay’s creative sector

A group of veteran Nelson Mandela Bay artists have thrown their weight behind the city’s younger artists who recently wrote an open letter to acting mayor Thsonono Buyeye, complaining about being neglected by the municipality.

The Senior Citizens Artists’ Association (SECAA) represents 110 of the Bay’s well-known veteran musicians such as jazz singer Vuyelwa QweshaLuzipo, Reverend Patrick “Bra Pat” Pasha and multi-instrumentalist Wela Matomela, who say the recent open letter represents struggles they had experienced in the city’s arts sector for decades, yet nothing had changed.

Qwesha-Luzipo, the mother of Bay jazz singers Titi and Barlo Luzipo, said the letter had touched her because her own children were sitting at home with no income because music was their bread and butter.

“My kids have no income right now and it’s heartbreaking because I, their mother, have been where they are.

“One of them still hasn’t been paid for a performance he did for the Opera House months ago, but the Opera House can’t pay them because the municipality has not released funds,” Qwesha-Luzipo said.

Earlier this month, Port Elizabeth poet Lelethu “PoeticSoul” Mahambehlala wrote an open letter to Buyeye detailing claims of how artists in the city had been neglected by the municipality.

The letter, written on behalf of Bay artists group Bay Creatives, included demands for the mayor to take action to ensure the metro’s creative sector was not neglected, especially during a global pandemic.

The pandemic and, consequently, the lockdown have resulted in a loss of income for artists and the letter highlighted their struggles with no proactive response from the municipality.

Buyeye received the letter and met Bay Creatives representatives on July 9.

Mayoral spokesperson Siyanda Mxothwa said Buyeye had signed the mayoral resolution for the administration of the small grants on July 7.

This was a response to one of the six demands.

Qwesha-Luzipo said it was unfair that her children and younger artists in the Bay were still fighting the same battle her generation had fought for years with no luck.

Saxophonist and Sunrise Band leader Pasha, 87, said the arts had always been overlooked, despite their essential role in society.

“Artists have always played an important role in society yet we are the ones who struggle the most.

“During the apartheid struggle, we as musicians in Uitenhage used to do concerts to create a front while comrades held secret meetings in the same venue.

“At the same time, artists were used to interpret politicians’ messages through art so that they could stick in the minds of the public. Yet, when various government departments were established after 1994, arts and culture was only an afterthought,” Pasha said.

Pasha said he had depended on a social grant and gigs for an income. The lockdown has left him with only a social grant to care for his family.

One of the association’s youngest members, singer Thandeka Marwanqa, 58, said: “It’s heartbreaking to watch how well other municipalities look after their own artists while PE artists have had to beg and cry for the same thing for decades.

“Look at how much Eastern Cape talent is flourishing in Gauteng.

“Because they saw nothing would become of them here, they packed and left.

“Performing is my only way of generating an income, so I know what our younger artists are going through.

“It’s painful.”

The veteran artists also intend approaching the mayor’s office with a letter of demands later this week.