ZAlebs had the privilege of attending the day two AFI Fashion week 2020 Masterclass in Cape Town on Friday, where a panel of thriving black excellence took the stage to talk about the creative space.
Held in the Cape Town International Convention Centre, the hall was packed with black creatives in all industries like fashion, to design, to fine art and more. Not only were attendees dressed to the nines, but the energy was high in the air with excitement - not the Corona Virus.
Speaking of which, the Corona Virus did not stop the AFI Fashion week from taking place in the mother city instead, all around the venue played a series of 'how-to' instructional and informative videos on every LSD screen, on ways to prevent the spread of the virus as well as, areas to find your nearest hand sanitisers.
Taking to stage to talk about the creative space was Ballet Dancer extraordinaire, Kitty Phetla, Visual artist and illustrator, Loyiso Mkize, Fashion Designer Sibusiso Mahone and Leslie Lee Kasumba, former YFM DJ, Former head of Channel O and overall one of Africa's influential media personalities.
Instagram embed
These men and women on the panel spoke about everything that surrounds the creative industry, their journey from when they started to how they got to where they are now and they answered the questions from the audience.
The panel was asked nail-biting questions, focusing on the creative industry such as, how can the government assist with uplifting the creative industry? and, how does social media affect your creativity?
All the panellists were thorough in answering questions and truly honest in sharing their experiences and their knowledge. Within their respective fields they each shared with the audience, all they knew and how they went about channelling hardships within their career so those who aspired to be in their positions knew what they could avoid or improve on.
Taking questions from the audience, the panellists handled the questions with thought out answers and with care.
The audience mainly full of aspiring fashion students and other forms of creativity were eager to get inside the minds of the panellist with hard-hitting questions of their own.
Kitty Phetla was confronted with a deep question that none of us were anticipating. An audience member asked her how does she move parts moments in her career where she wants to give up and what was that moment. Kitty gave a personal and in-depth answer, where she admitted to going through that moment in her career right then. Her mother had passed on and one of her siblings and she left the dance company that she was at and she wasn't sure whether she should have done that.
Instead of having us pity her, Kitty asked that we look at her as an example. Yes, she is an excellent ballet dancer but she is also a human being- going through some real stuff. What she does for a living isn't all she is and the same goes for all the other panellists. They all have real moments of doubt and they all have real moments within their career where they feel uninspired.
Lee Kasumba said, 'If you aren't ready to deal with sacrifice, no money, no food and maybe challenging your mental health- do not get into this industry. The creative space isn't only about fame and money, the struggles that happen before the rewards are the biggest tests.'
Let the congregation say, 'Amen'.
Overall, the masterclass was insightful and an open and honest experience for all who attended.
