From Workers to Students to Graduates.

This day five young people from Hamburg received their degrees.

This will change their lives and will encourage other talented people in the Keiskamma Project to go to university and fulfill their dreams.

This was a proud day to remember for Hamburg. Five students who went to college three years ago received their diplomas as graduates in Fine Art.

Cebo Mvubu
Nomfusi Victoria Nkani
Kwanele Ganto
Zukisma Pakama
Nokupiwe Gedze

They are all members of the Keiskamma Art Project and they all have a different story to tell; how they made the journey from a young people in Hamburg with little future, to graduates in Fine Art and Journalism.

At the end of this article are three letters from the students themselves to give you a deeper insight.

Jan and I could not let this momentous occasion go unnoticed, so a party was organized, invitations were sent to proud friends and family, who all came to help make this a special day for them.

There were speeches of congratulations from the head teacher Bodiam School, from Justus Hofmeyer, and from Carol.

Back in 2002 these young people were working in Hamburg and Bodiam studios which are the launch pads for many artists of the Keiskamma Art Project. Their unique talent was spotted by Carol and they were encouraged to go to university.

If you come from Hamburg the big city of East London is a far and frightening place, it is doubly hard if you have no money.

Thanks go to all the benefactors who supported them all during these years,

Now the future looks brighter for them; for the moment they are all back working within the Keiskamma Art project but in a very different role: that of ‘Qualified Artist’. They will be an inspiration for the other young people who have exceptional talent and courage, and whom we would like to see in four years time at another party.

Jacky Jezewski.
June 2006

Cebo Mvubu

I grew up in Peddie a Bodiam Village. I attended my High School at St Charles Sojola. Where art could not be taken as a subject. My passion for it started when I was very young and what I enjoyed most was doing drawings.

In 2002 I decided to join the Keiskamma Art Project and this is where I got the chance to further my studies. I graduated my national Diploma in Fine Arts as Walter Sisula University.

My work is based on my real life experiences and is done in clay as ceramics in my major.

Kwanele Ganto.

I am 25 years old and live in Bodium
My major subjects are drawing and ceramics/sculptures.

I’m one of the children who got the opportunity to go to Technikon through
Keiskamma Art Project.

As a young artist I’m still looking forward to continue my studies.
I would love to hear people saying Prof. K Ganto in the future.

Last but not least, if I can get a job things might be easier, because capital is the key to success.

Nomfusi Victoria Nkani

I grew up in Hamburg. I did my primary and secondary schooling here in Hamburg.
I joined the project in 2000, I started to learn drawings and working with plastics.
I helped a lot in preparing some work for the embroiderers, drawing some big works.
I attended a lot of workshops for printmaking, painting, and material dying. It was all very exciting for me because I had that dream one day I will go to school. I went to college in 2003 and I completed my first year. In that year I achieved an award for Art Theory. That was the start, In my second year I achieved an award from the government (IMBIZA) this was a project of doing some aids awareness posters, I got second prize.