Durban - Creating employment opportunities for budding creatives is the aim of Durban’s Creative Junkies Foundation.
The non-profit organisation - making waves on Durban’s art scene - believes that a “spirit of ubuntu” would enable more young people to make their name in the professional arts world.
Jarred Leroy Camp started the foundation with Sibusisiwe Chibambo and Cameron Somerset Trehaeven in 2015 after they saw a need to create a network of creatives, such as graphic designers, photographers, and sound engineers in the Durban area.
“It is not easy to start your own business in the creative field especially if you are fresh out of college, or doing it to earn extra income. I decided that creating a network where we all help each other, would serve us all better in the long run.
For example, “if a company is looking for a sound engineer and do not know who to trust, they can approach us because we have a database of people who can do the job. Our network is made up largely of young people, who are passionate about what they do,” he said.
The foundation also upskills the youth with work experience, or provides equipment, or advises on entrepreneurial plans. “We are unique, there is no categorisation according to race or gender, we’re just trying to teach the youth that only one hand can wash the other, it’s the spirit of ubuntu that drives us,” said Camp.
They first started out in a garage and now use the property of the Don Brer Studios in Glenmore, where Trehaeven is a studio producer and engineer.
Some of the work they had been commissioned to
undertake included work
for 5-Star Cadbury chocolate marketing, Ballito Pro,
Splashy Fen, the KZNSA
Gallery and First National Bank.
They have also trained interns for the Department of Rural Development.
“Outsourcing and freelance work is the ideology that is sweeping the labour market and finding employment is not as easy as it used to be. Whether one is qualified or not, our foundation wants to embrace young entrepreneurs and help them to build their own brands and identities,” he said.