Hey dolls,
How is it Wednesday already? It might as well be December 27th. I just don't know where the time goes anymore. Sorry for my poor blogging but I'v been busy working. The moon has also been wreaking havoc in my life and there have been a lot of changes to deal with. It really feels like it's almost the end of the year.
On the news front, Two, the shop which has been sharing the space with Mememe Joburg, moved out yesterday. They moved to a factory in Doornfontein and no longer have a retail front, except they are now going to produce their own clothing to distribute to hundreds of stores nationwide. Good for them. It was a little surreal seeing them pack because it was exactly two years ago this time that we were all moving in. We will miss them shem but I guess change is good for everyone.
From 1 April, the space will be rented out by photographer Liam Lynch and stylist Zandi Tisani under the name Trade Union. It will become a living breathing space for various projects, exhibitions and it's going to become Liam's photography studio that will be rented out for shoots but more on that when it's actually happening. Trade Union will also be collaborating with MeMeMe, our first initiative being Sterring. The word Sterring is actually derived from ''Starring'' as in X Movie starring X actor. But naturally as blacks, we barstadized the word and for some reason, every black person in this country knows what you mean when you refer to the ''Sterring'' of the film. Our childhood conversations would go something like this:
''Hey have you seen True Lies?"
''No, what's it about? Who is the sterring?''
''It's the new one with Shwaznega''
Typical 80s Sterrings include the likes of Bruce Lee, Steven Segal, Jean-Claude van Damme, Charles Bronson or is it Branson?, Arnold 'Shwaznega' Schwazernegger, Chuck Norris and the sterring to top all Sterrings:
I don't think there's a single person in the world who doesn't picture the face of Henry Cele when they think about Shaka Zulu. The word has actually remained in our collective cultural consciousness and we thought it is the perfect name to give our series of free outdoor screenings of African films. Starting this Friday, we are screening Senegalese filmmaker Djibril Diop Mambety's Touki Bouki and I'm happy to report that we are already fully booked! There's not much to do in the early evening on Fridays in Jozi and this is honestly just for the fun of it, because we can and because we like things. Our next film is on the 5th of April and if I were you, I would book early by emailing sterringjhb@gmail.com. We are very excited about this initiative. In April, Trade Union and Mememe will be bringing you a very delicious imported initiative - stay tooned! Hope everybody is having a lekker year so far!
Re the title of today's post: Izaziso is a Xhosa word that means ''announcements''. Every Sunday at Church when we were kids, we would be so excited when some clergyman would stand at the pulpit and say very slowly in a deep and reassuring voice ''Izaziso'' to announce that week's church news, a weekly event that would indicate the end of that week's sermon; music to our impatient little ears, a message of freedom that released us from those scratchy merengue dresses and bobby socks. And of course, the knowledge that Sunday lunch came with jelly and custard would have us hop skipping to the car for the long drive back home.
How is it Wednesday already? It might as well be December 27th. I just don't know where the time goes anymore. Sorry for my poor blogging but I'v been busy working. The moon has also been wreaking havoc in my life and there have been a lot of changes to deal with. It really feels like it's almost the end of the year.
On the news front, Two, the shop which has been sharing the space with Mememe Joburg, moved out yesterday. They moved to a factory in Doornfontein and no longer have a retail front, except they are now going to produce their own clothing to distribute to hundreds of stores nationwide. Good for them. It was a little surreal seeing them pack because it was exactly two years ago this time that we were all moving in. We will miss them shem but I guess change is good for everyone.
From 1 April, the space will be rented out by photographer Liam Lynch and stylist Zandi Tisani under the name Trade Union. It will become a living breathing space for various projects, exhibitions and it's going to become Liam's photography studio that will be rented out for shoots but more on that when it's actually happening. Trade Union will also be collaborating with MeMeMe, our first initiative being Sterring. The word Sterring is actually derived from ''Starring'' as in X Movie starring X actor. But naturally as blacks, we barstadized the word and for some reason, every black person in this country knows what you mean when you refer to the ''Sterring'' of the film. Our childhood conversations would go something like this:
''Hey have you seen True Lies?"
''No, what's it about? Who is the sterring?''
''It's the new one with Shwaznega''
Typical 80s Sterrings include the likes of Bruce Lee, Steven Segal, Jean-Claude van Damme, Charles Bronson or is it Branson?, Arnold 'Shwaznega' Schwazernegger, Chuck Norris and the sterring to top all Sterrings:
I don't think there's a single person in the world who doesn't picture the face of Henry Cele when they think about Shaka Zulu. The word has actually remained in our collective cultural consciousness and we thought it is the perfect name to give our series of free outdoor screenings of African films. Starting this Friday, we are screening Senegalese filmmaker Djibril Diop Mambety's Touki Bouki and I'm happy to report that we are already fully booked! There's not much to do in the early evening on Fridays in Jozi and this is honestly just for the fun of it, because we can and because we like things. Our next film is on the 5th of April and if I were you, I would book early by emailing sterringjhb@gmail.com. We are very excited about this initiative. In April, Trade Union and Mememe will be bringing you a very delicious imported initiative - stay tooned! Hope everybody is having a lekker year so far!
Re the title of today's post: Izaziso is a Xhosa word that means ''announcements''. Every Sunday at Church when we were kids, we would be so excited when some clergyman would stand at the pulpit and say very slowly in a deep and reassuring voice ''Izaziso'' to announce that week's church news, a weekly event that would indicate the end of that week's sermon; music to our impatient little ears, a message of freedom that released us from those scratchy merengue dresses and bobby socks. And of course, the knowledge that Sunday lunch came with jelly and custard would have us hop skipping to the car for the long drive back home.
6 comments:
Love it!! Thanks Milli, you are a sterring in your own right :)
What is this "Church" thing you speak of?
The title of this post made me beam and your anecdote at the end made me smile wider. Good luck in all your endeavours and I hope your new relationship with Trade Union is a great one that brings us more cool tings.
Hahaha...brilliant post. Ngihleli in my campus library reading this, and the church anecdote had me laughing relatively loudly - inviting a few 'crazy girl' side eyes. still so true to this day.
Milli is a STERRING!!!
lol.. those church dresses
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