Chilling With The Creatives is a movement with a purpose of redefining the arts through creativity and to reduce illegal behaviors in the townships. This movement from Soshanguve gives young upcoming artists a platform to showcase their creativity.
The movement was founded in August 2016 by four young art lovers, Mackson Gopolang Chirwa (24), Innocent Kgothatso Moreku (22), Lehlogonolo Chauke (24) and Thato Sambo all from Soshanguve.
After every two months, the group hosts social markets at the Falala Community Hall parking lot. They also host promotional shoots before every event to promote the upcoming events.
One of the founders, Mr Mackson Chirwa, said the aim of the social markets is not only to display art but also to see local resident benefiting from what they do.
“We saw that there was a gap between urban areas and the townships as far as the arts is concerned. This is why we decided to bring these social markets into the townships to try and accommodate those who cannot afford to go to urban areas to showcase their talents,” he said.
At these events, different Local artists come together to create what they call an Art Explosion. Djs, poet’s and musicians come together on the day to perform to the audience while photographers capture every moment. This helps to promote the artists as brands and create profiles for outside gigs.
One can also expect to find art stalls where local designers get to showcase their work and also sell their brands. Refreshment are also sold at the event where local student who studied hospitality showcase their best dishes and promote themselves in the community.
Like any other organization, Chilling With The Creatives also experiences some kind of challenges and one of those is that they have to finance the movement out of their own pockets.
Mr Chirwa said it was difficult for their parents to accept the movement because to parents, the only success is through getting education and a formal qualification.
“Members of the community also have the same mentality and we have to find out those with talent who are brainwashed into believing that one cannot be successful in the art business and to make them believe in themselves’’, He added
Apart from hosting the events, the movement has also started a Campaign called “Break the Silence” aimed at fighting social issues such as substance abuse, rape, emotional and physical abuse, crime and poverty in the community.
During the social markets, we encourage people to donate sanitary pads and toiletries in order to donate to disadvantaged children.
One of their motto is ‘we keeping warm while fighting hunger’ where they clothes, food and blankets for the needy.
