South Africa’s Keith Boyd (Rainbow Runner) signed up for a mammoth ‘jog’ last year in July—the Cape to Cairo trek. With thousands of kilometres behind him, legs that are tired but a heart that’s determined, he is closer to Egypt than ever before, and still sharing words of positivity and insight along the way:

Sudan (05 March 2024) — South Africa’s Rainbow Runner Keith Boyd embarked on a mammoth jog in July last year after he left Cape Town on the long road to Cairo.

With conversations around election season in full swing in our home country, Keith’s reason for being on this continental odyssey becomes even more relevant. He became the Rainbow Runner to quite literally go the extra mile in encouraging active citizenship and voter participation (not for any single political party but rather the ethos of democracy), especially for young people.

And despite the many turns his path has taken (including being held at gun point en-route to the finish line) it’s a message he’s still willing to risk it all for.

But the end is near for the Rainbow Runner who had dusted well over 7000 kilometres in February. With a resilient heart, Keith has made it to Sudan, Egypt’s border country.

During Keith’s travels, he has been his followers’ eyes and ears on what other African countries are dealing with.

“The deepest challenges aren’t physical. They’re what I’ve witnessed in the people and societies they live in,” he shared.

 

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A post shared by Keith Boyd (@rainbowrunnerza)

With a willingness to discover as his guide, Keith is bringing an even bigger message to those who know of his trek—perspective. Lessons we can learn from other cultures, and how this run isn’t about one person or one dream of active citizenship, but a nation and a continent.

While the end dates for Keith’s run are not set in stone, his last update tapped in on day 217. He praised the Sudanese people for having “kindness of the highest order” and urged people to send prayers for the war they are facing.

Keith’s initial target was to finish the Rainbow Run in 280 days which could also set a world record. But even without world records, the dedication he’s made to South Africa’s future by encouraging people in the most epic way to remember that we can shape this future is an achievement worth its weight in accolades.

All the best for the final pushes Keith! You can keep up with his journey here.

Sources: Rainbow Runner

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Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

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South Africa is readying its creative forces to put on a thought-provoking showcase that’ll spotlight the concept of home and reconnection at the renowned International Art Exhibition—La Biennale di Venezia!

Global (23 February 2024) — The 60th International Art Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia, is around the corner and South Africa is readying its creative forces to put on a thought-provoking showcase centred around a theme both pensive and close to home.

Under the overarching International Art Exhibition’s theme ‘Foreigners Everywhere/ ‘Strainer Ovunque’, the South African Pavilion will be presenting a showcase titled ‘Quiet Ground’. Led by think and do tank non-profit, the Institute for Creative Repair and curated by senior lecturer and curator of African and African Diaspora, Dr Portia Malatjie, the message here is one of how hope can grow from hardships against the backdrop of feeling foreign in your own home.

‘Quiet Ground’ will also spotlight a fresh commission and sound installation ‘Dinokana’ by art duo MADEYOULOOK (Molemo Moiloa and Nate Mokgotho).

With these brilliant creative minds behind the steering wheel, South Africa’s showcase will take the International Art Exhibition on a journey as to how the possibilities of individual and collective repair can grow from the spaces of displacement, as well as how those who are dispossessed reconnect with the land through experiences like land rehabilitation.

The Institute of Creative Repair’s mission is to heal people, communities and institutions through art, heritage and culture. As such, Quiet Ground will speak to re-rooting South Africa despite dispossession and finding solace in our homeland despite historical and present disconnection.

Through three art pillars (Art in South Africa, The Land as Classroom, and notions of Repair through Art), they showcase a message that may be rooted in hardship but can grow into hope. Although it will be presented to the world, it is largely a message for South Africa.

The La Biennale di Venecia will kickstart on 20 April and run all the way until 24 November!

Sources: Department of Sport, Art and Agriculture 

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Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

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South African glass artist Malebogo Molokane’s is layered with emotion in a very literal way. But, her creations are also fused with a beautiful message of resilience:

Johannesburg, South Africa (21 February 2024) — South Africa’s glass artist Malebogo Molokane is embarking on her first official tour across her home country where her unique artistic edge will blow the minds of anyone who knows how to look beyond the surface.

The glass artist and Tshwane University of Technology alumni and part-time lecturer who was crowned the distinguished recipient of the 2022 Absa L’Atelier Gerard Sekoto Award got the chance to share her creations with the art capital, Paris, after her big win. There at the Cité Internationale des Arts, she challenged herself as the only glass artist among her peers. Unwavering and determined, the doubts she faced in her delicate craft culminated in something much bigger—her first solo exhibition.

Malebogo is now presenting her exhibition thanks to the French Institute of South Africa and the South African National Association for the Visual Arts (SANAVA), where her body of work has inspired visitors through both the message of the art and the craft behind it.

‘A Re Tshamekeng’ (“Let’s Play” in Setswane) explores the intricacies of emotional gestures and facial expressions through layered glass artworks. For the glass artist, the fragility of her medium is a reflection of the delicate balance of her journey and the subtle power of human expressions.

Moments of tension, misery, excitement and confusion—life is a game that ‘A Re Tshamekeng’ brings to the forefront in a most unique way.

But life is also nothing if not full of fun at the best of times, which is why her work also focuses on fun board and indigenous games using a variety of glass techniques, from blowing to beading and sand casting. The results are mind-blowing layered glass creations that blend journeys, fun, expressions and the human experience.

Says the artist:

“Glass art is a process and a bundle of emotions from studio to display. It is also a fragile process, mirroring the delicate nature of human emotions. Each time I engage with glass, it becomes a different form of self-expression. I can experiment with it in various ways, even when it cuts through me—yes there’s pain but also fulfilment. The comparison between the fragility of glass and life is essentially the same, with moments of added frustration both in daily challenges and the delicate process of working with glass.” 

The message, then, is that of resilience—just like her journey in creating the pieces. There will be pain, laughter, triumphs and challenges, but when you keep going and take a moment to reflect on all you’ve actually created, you’ll realise life is a game well worth giving your best shot.

Sources: Supplied 

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Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

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Artist Patrick Bongoy’s latest exhibition hopes to spark action in the fight to restore our planet. Made from discarded materials, his art is here to give us a different perspective on what is possible together:

Stellenbosch, South Africa (15 February 2024) – Our planet is facing great stress. We see it in the chaotic weather events, resource depletion and degradation of natural wonders. The situation is serious, but it does not come without hope—as long a collective will to better what we have ruined is alive. This is the prevailing narrative behind artist Patrick Bongoy’s work and his latest exhibition, Ebbing, set to come to Stellenbosch.

For Patrick, the challenges facing humanity are not unlike waves repeatedly crashing onto the shore. This idea of movement is linked to action; action Patrick hopes his art will spark.

“In my understanding as an artist, in my understanding of the world, Earth is a blank canvas that has been given to human beings to imagine and to create – and to make it better for us to live on,” the artist says.

“We’ve been given the power to shape this world and protect it…but we’ve created a monster. It’s dangerous and we don’t know what to do with it.” 

In his latest exhibition, Patrick’s message of hope capitalises on the idea of action through recreation. By turning traditionally discarded materials into unique creations, the artist gives us a visual expression of a new way at looking at our relationship with waste.

“I use the material, translated into whatever I create, as a language of hope and movement,” he says. By making art from waste, balance and harmony in this world find their place—something the artist hopes those who see his exhibition will be encouraged to reflect on.

“I want people to see the beauty and new life that translates out of this dead material,” he explains. 

Technically impressive and visually engaging, Bongoy’s art invites the viewer to contemplate forgotten dreams and stolen futures – as with the wall-to-wall canvas of silhouetted children – but not without a pinch of hope.

Inspired by the people and organisations who upcycle materials like plastic into concrete and furniture, Patrick believes the capacity for momentum is within us when we choose to work together.

In his words “There are possibilities and solutions. It’s just a matter of effort, energy and consciousness – and the collective will to change.”

Ebbing will be free to the public until 12 May at Spier Wine Farm’s Old Wine Cellar. Open daily from 9am-5pm.

Sources: Supplied

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Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

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Artivist Natania Botha is a force to be reckoned with in the meeting place between art and environmental goodness. Her recent “The Last Correspondent” was presented to the United Nations and has a big message for global leaders!

Global (15 September 2023) — Earlier this week, South African artivist (artist and activist) Natania Botha did something important in the meeting place between art and environmental goodness—a space she has made a fantastic name for herself in.

Botha presented her opus, “The Last Correspondent” (a mosaic torso sculpture with a big story in each piece) to the esteemed halls of the United Nations in a handover during the Nelson Mandela Sustainable Development Goals Book launch at the Nelson Mandela Foundation. But this was not just a transfer of gorgeous mosaic art.

Botha’s recent opus (40 pieces in total) and spotlit torso sculpture are the reflection of the time she’s spent documenting the wonders and woes of our natural world; something she’s earned a fabulous reputation for, evident in her many recognitions from being one of the ‘100 South African Shinin Stars’ for Community Upliftment in 2020 to being part of the ‘200 Mail and Guardian Young South Africans’ list in the Environment category, 2021.

Her dedication to environmental preservation was also acknowledged in M&G’s Greening the Future awards in 2022; a culmination of the many hats of leadership the artivist has worn in non-profit spaces focused on conservation and green entrepreneurship, including being the Head of Membership for the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa.

From her numerous green journeys and insights, she became inspired to create “The Last Correspondent”—works described as a luminous testament to her deepest aspirations and unwavering dedication.

Of the recent catalyst that inspired her work, Botha shares:

“In the latter half of 2022, I have dedicated a significant portion of my time to documenting the impacts of climate change and profiling the work of the United Nations Development Programme in South Africa, particularly their contributions to South Africa’s Climate Promise and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). 

“This journey took me across thousands of miles of road, including remote areas like the Richtersveld near the Namibian border. Throughout this journey, I have witnessed both the breathtaking wonders and devastating effects of climate change on my country, notably in the Northern Cape where iconic plant species like the quiver tree face potential threats due to shifting climate conditions.” 

It was during these transformative experiences that the artivist drew her inspiration to create art that stands not just as something for the eyes to behold, but for leaders to consider at all costs.

For Botha, it is a plea to world leaders, urging them to heed the call for transformative change in climate action and the very urgent need for global sustainability.

“In my eyes, true sustainability can only be achieved by actively supporting and empowering the youth to innovate and create a world that aligns with our vision, transcending the boundaries set by international agreements like the Paris Agreement.

“I firmly believe that unlocking our collective imagination and taking bold actions are the keys to realizing the world we want for our children and experiencing it ourselves in our lifetime.”—Natania Botha.

Sources: Natania Botha 

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Have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

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