Despite being the smallest school in the Faculty of Humanities with only two departments, the postgraduate uptake and throughput in their honours and master’s programmes has steadily grown over the past couple of years. Three current graduates have also expressed an interest in doctoral studies and are currently working on their concept notes.
Back, from left, Mduduzi Mdladla (Lecturer), Prof Pieter Binsbergen (Director of School of Visual and Performance Arts), Dr Rudi Bower (Head of Department of Music and Performing Arts) and Jonathan van der Walt (Lecturer). Middle, Raquel Adriaan (Lecturer and Graduate), Mieke Janse van Rensburg (Lecturer), Jared Houlie, Creshwell October, Andrieta Wentzel (Senior Lecturer) Prof Alethea De Villiers (Senior Academic Music & Performing Arts), Jessica Staple (Lecturer), Siyamthanda Xotyeni (Lecturer and Graduate). Front, Sara van Rooyen, Danica Ridgeway, Taryn Jade Benade, Beatrice van Wyk, Kylie van der Merwe and Dr Jacqui Luck (Acting HoD Visual Arts)
School Director Professor Pieter Binsbergen attributes the growth to the efforts and dedication of their teaching and supervising staff. “This has also been one of the major strategies employed by the School of Visual and Performance Arts’s management team and part of our vision for the future”, he says.
The school employed a concerted effort in bolstering staff qualifications in both departments and with more senior staff members with MA and PhD qualifications on board, supervision capacity and throughput can be generated.
This has led to the successful registration of the PhD programme in visual art, which was registered with the DHET in February 2024. To date, seven students are currently registered in the programme of which five are staff members.
This also aligns with the University's Vision 2030 of growing postgraduate student numbers and the revitalisation of humanities.
Besides producing five previous staff graduates with MA and honours qualifications, Raquel Adriaan, lecturer in Fashion Design, is the latest MA visual art graduate of which the school is proud.
The current graduates also boast the first two Jazz guitar MMus graduates in performance, namely Creshwell October and Jared Houlie. Alumnus Siyamthanda Xotyeni also obtained his research MMus in Steel Pan Music and has been appointed as lecturer in the Department of Music and Performing Arts this year.
These three graduates emphasise the revitalisation of humanities, offering postgraduate specialisation qualifications, including other musical genres besides traditional western music.
Jared Houlie (MMus) performance in Jazz Guitar was a PA en Alize Gedenktrust bursary recipient and investigated the attributes of Maskanda and Ramkie guitar in shaping South African music.
Kylie van der Merwe (MA Visual Art) reimagined the digital archive offering alternative digital platforms to view art where the audience become the co-creators of an immersive visual experience, thereby freeing artworks from the time and place bound traditional art gallery.
Kylie has also been offered a position as a Graphic Designer for JAS Worldwide, a global freight forwarding and logistics company founded in 1978 that provides comprehensive supply chain solutions, including air, ocean, road, and rail freight. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company operates in over 100 countries, specialising in customs brokerage, warehousing and specialised project logistics for various industries
Taryn Jade Benade (MA Visual Art) offered contemporary visual commentary on the dereliction of contemporary Gqeberha. Her master’s exhibition was hosted by the Nelson Mandela Art Museum.