Both the Arts and Sports are excellent avenues towards bringing people together and unifying communities from a joyous place. But how can we utilise them in the best way?
Cornerstone Institute recently held a round table event, surrounding the topic and have recently launched two new BCom courses in Sports Management and Arts Management.
The benefits of sport on the future generation
Sport is a great outlet for the energetic youth of South Africa, providing them a safe place to socialise and develop skills amongst their peers and away from the stresses they may be facing at home or the dangers of the streets. However, many South African schools face the challenge of insufficient funding and a lack of trained physical educators. With the rise in mortality amongst an increasingly inactive society the emphasis on creating an active mindset is ever more important.
Physical activity amongst developing children contributes to better cognitive functioning, social skills and coordination, from a holistic view, it increases awareness, improves concentration, lowers anxiety and builds self-esteem. Amongst a society who live a large proportion of their lives through technology these are invaluable skills to be nurtured.
For various reasons of lack, in funding, facilities and educators schools are not always able to facilitate ongoing regular physical education and young adults who are out of school are ever more in call for community sports facilities. Cornerstone Institute has recognised the demand for entrepreneurs in the industry and with their ongoing involvement in community development there is an opportunity for students to collaborate with one another in creating a symbiosis between sports entrepreneurs and community development.
How the arts can be used as a tool for community upliftment
Art is a form of communication, it is to be interacted with and experienced with all the senses. From sound and movement to emotion and thought. The title art hovers over a range of areas including music, dance, the written word, fine art, architecture, graphic design, film, and fashion, to name a few.
Most common approaches for art to be used as a tool for community development is performance art, ranging from festivals and concerts to theatre and dance. Simply bringing a community together for a common cause or celebration can be a very powerful tool for upliftment, engagement and bonding.
Using different forms of art in community development projects should aim to dissipate the idea that art is exclusive. When we start realising our experience of art ranges from the billboards we pass to the buildings we enter to the packaging on our food, we open ourselves to the realisation that art is simply an expression of time and culture.
Hector Esrawe and Ignacio Cadena are two artists creating interactive sculpture from a spatial awareness point of view. One such installation includes 33 multi-coloured structures called the spinning tops, situated in a city court yard. Adults and children can sit in them and spin them around, while admiring them for their colour and craftsmanship. This is a great example of art being used in a way that allows the public to come together and interact through art and bridge the gap between the art as elite and art as a part of life.
Spatial awareness and architecture both form our everyday interaction with the art world. Some projects include, artists creating abstract playgrounds for children and designated areas for buskers and spoken word. A few years ago a group of graffiti artists created a programme where they supplied colourful paints to residents of rural RDP villages in the North West, with the resulting pride it brought for the residents and transformation of the community many of the surrounding areas became involved.
Bringing communities together through organised events, whether it be sport or art, shows care many communities in South Africa need. They’re a safe place to develop new relationships and skills through a positive common cause that eventually flows over into other parts of life.
For more information about Cornerstone Institute, visit: www.cornerstone.ac.za