Collaborative Conversations

Celebrating Twenty-One Years of The Mothertongue Project

Sara Matchett, Sara Matchett

• Publisher: Modjaji Books
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781991240101
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Dance

To celebrate Mothertongue's 21st anniversary, Collaborative Conversations weaves together the reflections of a group of artists, scholars and writers who have journeyed with the organisation over the last two decades. Since its inception in 2000 with What the Water Gave Me, The Mothertongue Project has used participatory, integrated arts methods to create theatrical works that strive for personal and collective dialogue and healing in South Africa. In poetry, scholarly writing and transcribed oral conversations, the contributors now think and feel their way through the aspirations and achievements - and the alchemy - of The Mothertongue Project's work. Accompanied by photographs of performances from across the 21 years, this book provides a sense of what a Mothertongue theatre piece does: it draws audience and performers into transformative, embodied conversations. Includes work by Awino Okech, Genna Gardini, Koleka Putuma, Makgati Mokwena, Malika Ndlovu, Mwenya B Kabwe, Nicosia Shakes, Nina Callaghan, Ntomboxolo Makhutshi and Rehane Abrahams.

Table of contents

• COVER
• TITLE PAGE
• COPYRIGHT
• DEDICATION
• CONTENTS
• FOREWORD Phoebe Kisubi Mbasalaki
• CONTRIBUTOR BIOGRAPHIES
• CONVERSATION 1 WITH REHANE ABRAHAMS, ALEX HALLIGEY AND MALIKA NDLOVU, selected and edited by Mwenya Kabwe
• CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION, Sara Matchett and Alex Halligey
• CONVERSATION 2 WITH REHANE ABRAHAMS, NICOSIA SHAKES AND NINA CALLAGHAN, selected and edited by Mwenya Kabwe
• CHAPTER 2: ACTIVIST AESTHETICS AND THE WORK OF THE MOTHERTONGUE PROJECT, Nicosia Shakes
• CONVERSATION 3 WITH SARA MATCHETT, selected and edited by Mwenya Kabwe
• CHAPTER 3: ECHOLOCATING WHAT THE WATER GAVE ME, Rehane Abrahams
• CONVERSATION 4 WITH AWINO OKECH AND MALIKA NDLOVU, selected and edited by Mwenya Kabwe
• CHAPTER 4: RITE OF BEING: GENDER AND BODILY AUTONOMY IN MANENBERG, Awino Okech with poetry by Malika Ndlovu
• CONVERSATION 5 WITH MALIKA NDLOVU, selected and edited by Mwenya Kabwe
• CHAPTER 5: UHAMBO: PIECES OF A DREAM: IMAGES AND POETRY, poetry by Malika Ndlovu from Uhambo: pieces of a dream with introduction by Sara Matchett
• CONVERSATION 6 WITH SARA MATCHETT AND ALEX HALLIGEY, selected and edited by Mwenya Kabwe
• CHAPTER 6: CROSS-COMMUNITY PROFESSIONAL THEATRE AS SOCIO-SPATIAL ACTIVISM IN BREATHING SPACE, Alex Halligey
• CONVERSATION 7 WITH NICOSIA SHAKES AND MALIKA NDLOVU, selected and edited by Mwenya Kabwe
• CHAPTER 7: WASHA MOLLO: THEATRE AS A MILIEU FOR CONVERSATIONS AND HEALING, Sara Matchett and Makgati Mokwena
• CONVERSATION 8 WITH MALIKA NDLOVU, selected and edited by Mwenya Kabwe
• ‘SPEAK’, a poem by Koleka Putuma from Walk
• CHAPTER 8: WALK: PERFORMANCE, GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AND SOUTH AFRICA, Genna Gardini
• ‘MORE OF A COMMENT THAN A QUESTION’, text extract by Genna Gardini from Walk
• CONVERSATION 9 WITH MAKGATI MOKWENA, selected and edited by Mwenya Kabwe
• CHAPTER 9: CURATING CARE: THE LANGEBERG YOUTH ARTS PROJECT, Sara Matchett
• CONVERSATION 10 WITH NINA CALLAGHAN, SARA MATCHETT AND MAKGATI MOKWENA, selected and edited by Mwenya Kabwe
• CHAPTER 10: THE MOTHERTONGUE LANGEBERG YOUTH ARTS PROJECT: ARTS DEVELOPMENT AS A WAY OF BELONGING TO SELF AND PLACE, Nina Callaghan
• CONVERSATION 11 WITH MAKGATI MOKWENA, selected and edited by Mwenya Kabwe
• CHAPTER 11: THE MAKING OF WOMB OF FIRE: THE APPLICATION OF A TRANSLATIONAL PERFORMANCE METHOD USING ARCHIVAL MATERIAL, PERSONAL NARRATIVE, MYTHOLOGY AND SOMATIC PRACTICES, Sara Matchett and Rehane Abrahams
• CONVERSATION 12 WITH MWENYA KABWE, SARA MATCHETT, REHANE ABRAHAMS AND MALIKA NDLOVU, selected and edited by Mwenya Kabwe
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• FIGURES LIST