In support of art as a medium to effect social change I promote

The Amani Arts Festival

When towards the end of the 2010 Fifa World Cup xenophobia threatened to rear its ugly head again in South Africa, performance poet and arts columnist Suzy Bell took action. She called on fellow artists to use their work to raise awareness of this complex socio-political issue. As a result the African Artists Unite as One, a voluntary community of African artists based in Cape Town was formed. After three months of stimulating cross-cultural collaborations and projects to explore a wider, fresh cultural perspective, they are presenting the first Amani Arts Festival.
The festival  promises never-before seen interdisciplinary and cross-cultural collaborations with original African music, poetry, hip hop, film, video, performance and a visual art.

The Amani Arts Festival 2010 takes place at Look Out Hill in Khayelitsha on Saturday 30 October from 11h00 to 17h00 and entrance is free.

At times I can be a real fire-breathing dragon. I also like butterflies. I like their colours and how they symbolize the ability to change.  So I decided that dragon+butterfly=dragonfly and jokingly I made it my symbol. 
Recently,  I discovered that the dragonfly stands for transcending the self-imposed restrictions that prevent us from changing and growing. People who identify with dragonflies strive to achieve balance with mental clarity and control. 
Like the dragonfly I am drawn to water, and I hope that like the dragonfly I can stand for expressing mental and emotional balance in everything I create.

MISSY 

Missy takes the steps
And walks to centre stage
For a moment she looks down
Then takes a breath
And starts to sing in praise 

Missy’s voice brings forth
A tune soft and pure
Pain-filled words from her lips
Choke up the place
Leave not one eye dry 

Missy sings and says farewell
To her mama
By disease turned into someone else
But still her mama
And gone too soon 

Missy sings biting back the tears
To greet a future on her own
Through the months the years
Missy sings
Sings her blues and makes it sound like rock 

© Ann-Elize Petersen, 2010

It had been on my mind for months and last night it finally came. The poem about a young girl whose talent and strength I admire. I wrote it and then before courage would fail me I entered it into O, The Oprah Magazine's Phenomenal Woman Poetry Competition. This morning when I read it again I found that I had not written a poem at all, but a song.