Peacemaker

What comes to mind when you hear the word Peace? Antiwar slogans? Peace signs? Hippies and flower power? Violence? Protests? John Lennon’s “Give peace a chance” or “Imagine”?  

What does the word Peace mean to you? Do you find yourself reflecting on your state of being and your inner conscience as well as your recent behaviour and activities? 

21st September was World Peace Day, an annual day reserved for the observation of peace. Fast forward a few weeks and here we are: Yoko Ono relights the Imagine Peace Tower on the 9th of October, violent protests continue due to the several strikes taking place and the week when this years’ Nobel Price Laureates are announced.

I decided to visit the newly opened Peacemakers Museum at the Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton.  The museum displays all the Nobel Peace Price Laureates from the inception of the Nobel Price in 1901 until 2011. The 2012 Nobel Peace Price went to the European Union, I believe the museum will be adding the new receipient to the exhibition soon. I’m curious to know what your thoughts are about the EU receiving the Nobel Peace Price this year.

The museum also exhibits a detailed history of the South African Laureates and the role they played in bringing Peace to this beautiful country of ours: Albert Luthuli who received it in 1960 for his role in the promotion of non-violent struggle against apartheid, Desmond Tutu in 1984 as well as Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk in 1993. 

If you ever find yourself in Sandton City or Nelson Mandela Square, maybe you can pop into the museum and spend a few minutes enthralled by the experience while thinking about all the individuals, famous and not famous who have put themselves at potential risk for the sake of the greater good of humanity.

Quoting the Dalai Lama, a laureate of the Nobel Peace Price in 1989, “if you think you're too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito". It is imperial that now, more that even, we take an active role in world activities. We live in “relatively” peaceful times compared to other periods in human history, and learning from history, things can turn around overnight. A question I pose is: what can I do today that will allow me to leave the world a better place than how I found it? Like the Nobel Peace Price recipients, they not only fought for peace, but fought for equality, solidarity, tolerance, world hunger while struggling against violence, intolerance, prejudice and hate. Our actions may not seem like a big deal on their own but everything counts. An important think to remember is that we should not only think about what the individual is doing but the impact the action may have on the next person and the next and the next. That's how social change starts. That's how we can get the ball rolling.

So, what small (and big) changes can you incorporate into your life that will contribute to Peace?

Wiki Loves Monuments...me too

During the month of September Wikipedia organised a month long international photo contest called Wiki Loves Monuments (WLM). The public was invited to upload and share photos of heritage sites including buildings, monuments, archaeological sites, sculpture, churches, memorials, graves, tombs, temples, statues etc. These photos are uploaded to Wikimedia Commons which allows Wikipedia to use them.

In all honesty, I've been seeing the add on Wikipedia's home page throughout September but paid little attention to it until the last week of the month when I had an "ohmigosh" moment, so I went through some pics I'd taken and decided to just go for it. Why not? I didn't enter this with the purpose of winning anything, I entered simply because I just wanted to. Why not?

These are some of the photos I submitted.

Dutch Reformed Church (NG Kerk), Middelburg

Donkin Reserve and Lighthouse, Port Elizabeth

Donkin Reserve Pyramid and mosaic, Port Elizabeth

War Memorial, Jeppe High School for Boys, Johannesburg

Union Buildings, Pretoria

Bronze Group Memorial, Union Buildings, Pretoria

I'm curious to know about the historic sites in your town or city, whether people are aware of them and their significance, their impact (if any) and how they merge with the newer infrastructure that forms part of the modern landscape. 

One thing for sure, I'm not only looking forward to September 2013, but the amount of discovery and learning that lies ahead.

spiral O

August Day

The 8th month of the year could have easily been named October had not the months of January and February been added to the Gregorian calendar that is used in most countries today. I like the sound of August, not to mention that this year had many great moments.

Paul and I celebrated our birthdays this month: I turned 28 on the 4th and Paul celebrated his on the 13th!!! Hello late 20’s. Honestly, I didn’t think about or make much of it, however my friends and loved ones made it very special none the less. This made me truly grateful and thankful. Asante. Asante. Asante.

There were a number of other birthdays this month: my Dad's on the 8th and Paul’s mom on the 18th. This month also saw my Gran celebrating her 90th birthday on the 12th. Wow! 

The has been a lot of negative and devastating events occurring throughout the country this month which I'm not going to dwell on here, I would rather focus the positive and on giving out positive energy.

It is so easy to take things for granted, so easy to let each day roll into the next and the next and the next without even realising where one begins and where one ends. I'm learning the art of pausing, being open to life, and being grateful. 

Paul and I got the opportunity to visit Dubai during Eid. We stocked up on books from the library but didn't get to read them on the trip, the inflight entertainment was more than enough. I'll renew them. I really want to finish them.

The experience was amazing! Being able to walk around at night without fearing for your life, using reliable public transport and knowing you can shop for a sim card at a mall at midnight is pure bliss. With day temperatures soaring above 40°c, I didn't really feel the heat because almost everything is air-conditioned: metro, hotels, big and small shops, malls, cabs etc  making it bearable for everyone to live, work, play and move around comfortably. I think our leaders can learn a lot from some aspects of how that country is run. 

View from our friend's apartment balcony.

We got to meet and make new friends on the trip whose hospitality made us feel very welcome. I also love how courteous everyone was, a far cry from the mannerisms displayed by a large number of motorists here in Jo'burg. It was so easy to lose one's cool on the drive back home but Paul kept reminding me that it doesn't have to be that way, we can be better. It doesn't cost anything to be polite.

I feel this new energy within me that I haven't felt in almost 2 years. Suddenly I feel alive. Very alive.

Winter morning stroll

Taking random strolls through my neighbourhood in my hometown  is something I haven't done since, maybe my early years of varsity or possibly high school. As a highly discontent youngster who couldn't wait to leave this small town called Middelburg, I paid very little attention to my surroundings. Now that I've earned a few years to my age, I'm more appreciative of this place I've called home for so long and thus eager to freeze my butt off just to explore it from a more sensible point of view.

Patterns and textures


Frost


Burning wood

Rusty stands

Black Jacks

Things I need to remember for the next time I'm inspired to go for a stroll on a 5ºC cold morning: gloves, woollen hat, ear muffs and waterproof boots. So much for packing light and travelling with just a backpack.

WAM opens its doors to the public

In the heart of Braamfontein, just a stone throw away from the Nelson Mandela Bridge, the Neighbourgoods Market and the Newtown Cultural Precinct lies the newly opened Wits Art Museum.

The impressive architecture with its glass walls on the ground floor has allowed passersby to have a glimpse of the 5000m2 exhibition space for the last couple of months and on the 19th of May 2012, the museum opened its doors to the public for the first time, presenting an opportunity for art lovers and curious minds to explore its collection.

The University of Witwatersrand has preserved a collection of 9000 pieces of art from across the continent for several decades including paintings, drawings, photographs, beadwork and wooden sculptures amongst others.

The museum’s first exhibition called “WAM! Seeing Stars” featured some of the most valued pieces of this collection including Jackson Hlungwani’s “The Altar of God”, a piece by Walter Batiss and the contemporary “Weather 1” piece by Gerhard Marx. Even Madonna makes an appearance on one of the artworks. There are also a number of pieces by unknown artists, an indication of the many nameless faceless individuals across the continent who may never get any recognition for their talents, but continue to produce artwork regardless.

Alexix Preller- Hieratic Women, c 1955-57
Oil on canvas

Judith Attwood- Christ at the Column, 1965
Oil,wire and cloth on board

Lucky Sibiya- Guitar Player, c1973
Incised and painted wood

Gerhard Marx- Weather 1, 2011
Plastic rulers on black wooden substrate

The opening exhibition was worth attending and I will definitely keep going back. Have you paid the museum a visit yet? How was your experience? 

Once more with feeling

It's been a while and I'm really excited about posting again. I needed to take a break from the blog for a while for a number of reasons. It was necessary and I'm glad that's done. One of the reasons I left was because blogging is meant to be a fun way of expressing oneself, however I found that my approach to it was becoming one dimensional and thus I was subconsciously constricting my thought and creative process. The honest truth is that I was finding myself spending more time wondering about what to put on instead of just posting and sharing. Anyone who has ever found themselves spending a considerable amount of time worrying about something, be it anything instead of acting on it will know that it's quite exhausting. 

So, what has changed? Nothing and a lot. Quite the juxtaposition. Mindset. Feeling. That invisible string that's attached to this little space. Not only have I given the blog a new look and feel that I really like, I'm challenging myself to improved the way I'll approach things from now on. Initially I wanted to focus only on photography and was going to use this as a means of documenting the learning experience and sharing the new knowledge and skills I was acquiring. The objective hasn't changed, but the focus will be more on story telling, capturing moments and surroundings. This means that more emphasis will be places on exploring events around the city and things that city folks do, capturing landscapes when hitting the open road, opening up more on environmental issues, sharing artwork and creative crafts as well as anything that captures my imagination at any given moment.

Once more with feeling.

View of the other complex from the balcony, taken at 6:02pm on a Winter evening.