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Monday, 4 December was a creative Christmas at Constitution Hill in Braamfontein as lovers and patrons of all art forms convened at the launch of the Creative Uprising Hub, which was attended by Gauteng MEC for the department of economic development, Tasneem Motara.
For those who do not already know, creative hubs are a global phenomenon that aims to give a platform or workplace to visual artists, designers, filmmakers, musicians, app developers or other types of creative start-up entrepreneurs. The mandate of the Constitution Hill’s Creative Uprising Hub is to offer support to aspiring and professional creatives through their network-enabling programmes, as well as with upskilling and market access, in addition to opening these creatives up to collaboration opportunities.
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Londi Modiko, Creative Hub Project Manager, described the hub as an ongoing ecosystem of creative spaces and communities, from Flame Studios and Movement Store to Creative Uprising Hub Studios. Their programmes run throughout the year and are accessible to creative SMMEs in Johannesburg and surrounding areas. She added,
The number of creative hubs worldwide has been growing rapidly, as artists and creatives recognize more and more that their work deserves more than confinement to galleries, artist studios or cultural institutions. Through these hubs, artists are discovering new ways of sharpening their creative skills and finding innovative ways to trade through the latest technological advancements.
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Modiko and her team have been working tirelessly for the past 16 months to put this launch together, through the collaborative efforts of the Constitution Hill and the various organisations that have found a home for themselves at the studios there. She also expressed the team’s excitement in being able to curate a sustainable environment of growth for creatives as this is pivotal in ensuring that their businesses and craft thrive and become a success.
Entrepreneurship is fast becoming the South African youth’s answer to the ever-rising unemployment statistics. Explaining how entrepreneurship can be used effectively by those working in creative spaces, Modiko said:
The MEC commended Modiko and her team, declaring that they were the perfect example of how support from various funding bodies including government, can be instrumental in the creative industry’s strides towards turning the country’s economy around.
