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Mthabisi Tshuma, Showbiz Reporter
SINCE time immemorial, Makokoba Constituency, which covers suburbs that include Makokoba, Mzilikazi, Nguboyenja, Thorngrove and Barbourfields has been known for being the hub of arts in the city.
The constituency has churned out great artistes like Lovemore Majaivana, the late Dorothy Masuka and Beater Mangethe among many others. It is also home to Ibumba Arts Festival, Siyaya Arts, Ingwenyama Arts, Kwabatsha Dance Group and Amakhosi Theatre.
To ensure that this supremacy is revived and maintained, an arts association, Loxion Movement has been formed. This is a unified combination of artistes from Asante Mo, Lights Out, Senko, TRP and DJ Blaaq.
The movement was launched at Kasi Lounge in Mzilikazi where the forerunners of the projects showcased their skills.
In an interview, Loxion Movement co-founder Newman Trinidad said the movement seeks to uphold the arts legacy that the suburbs are aligned to.
“Our aim is to bring back the legacy that our township fathers and mothers created. We used to watch theatre productions at Amakhosi Theatre as well as performances from Siyaya Arts, Ingwenyama Arts and Kwabatsha Dance Group to mention but a few, but this is no longer happening as we’ve lost some young people to drug community groups,” said Trinidad.
He said the movement is working hard to revive township tourism as well as it is one of the best ways to put spotlight on arts in these areas.
“We want to promote our content and talent while at the same time selling our townships to the world. We also want to create a strong networking platform for all our content creators in the community,” he said.
Trinidad said the movement is full of young people who are eager to break through in the industry. “We wish to inspire the up-and-coming artiste to keep their work visible to the community through these performances and platforms that we are creating,” said Trinidad.
The co-founder said going forward, they hope to attract performing artistes as the ones that they have now are mostly studio artistes.
“We are looking forward to having more artistes signing up as we have more interesting ideas for this movement. It’s our hope to roll out Loxion awards, pageants and a festival as time goes on,” he said. – @mthabisi_mthire
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