Poet, performer and playwright Malika Ndlovu has remained true to her voice throughout her long career, and, as we celebrate Youth Month in June, she encouraged young people to do the same.
Interviewed on the Crossing the Line podcast by media veteran and former Cape Times editor, Ryland Fisher, she said it is important that young people realise their own uniqueness. She was asked if she had any message to young people who might want to follow a career in the arts.
“Stay close to home. What that means is that it is fine to have role models and inspiring sources, whether this is elsewhere in the world or online. But there is literally no one else like you. Your voice and your form of creative expression is as unique as your thumb print. Go figure out what it is, follow the people who are doing things that excite you. Be brave enough to ask whether you can shadow people who inspire you.
“One of the things about growing your confidence as an artist is to copy people who do the stuff you love and, in the process, finding your own voice. It is about staying true to yourself while learning from others. Go deeply inward and think about what really lights your fire.
“Remember there is no original idea. How liberating is that? Stop trying to be the first to do something, because it has been done before. The only thing that’s new is you is your way, your lens, your voice, your form of expression, your vocabulary and your moment in time.
