Makhandzambili Session Zero: Cave of H(ear)ing

This is a hybrid peer-learning seed project that reimagines Southern African natural heritage sites as venues for the sharing of artistic research and practice in virtual and physical spaces.

Part of the SoC Alumn* local events programme, Makhandzambili (“Forerunners”)

invites you to spend time with us in and/or near the cave and listen to what it has to say, live from Sidvwaba Cave, facilitated physically by Pule kaJanolintji, and online by Kit Kuksenok

In May 2022, a concert led by performer-academic Msakha Mona, took place in the ancient Precambrian Dolomite caves near Mbombela, South Africa. Young students from local schools formed the audience in the natural amphitheater. The event sparked a realisation of the need for further mobilisation toward alternative knowledge production. The objective became clear: an ensemble of artists/researchers collaborating to foster endogenous knowledge and tradition.

Located near Verlorenvlei estuary in the Western Cape, Eland’s Bay Cave is adorned with petroglyphs and ancient ochre handprints, connecting people across time and space. The abandoned buildings at the site serve as a meeting place for collective reorientation, bridging the gap between forerunners and their contemporary counterparts.

Makhandzambili’s proposal suggests using these caves as a physical and figurative base to imagine and establish a peer-learning hub that promotes sustainable communal growth, dynamism, and imaginative experimentation. The intention is to engage peers in Mbombela, Cape Town, and Johannesburg, as well as neighbouring countries like eSwatini, Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Lesotho to realise this investigation. The project aims to address the need for alternative peer-learning spaces in Southern Africa.

Register here.