Arts Aweh! Programme

Children and youth aged 5 – 17 years can join us after school and during the holidays for some constructive, relaxing, fun and enjoyable arts and cultural activities.

About

Children and youth who live in under-resourced communities often lack safe, structured, and constructive after-school and holiday activities. As a result, they are more vulnerable to negative environmental and social influences in their neighbourhoods.

The City’s Community, Arts and Culture Development Department launched the Arts Aweh! Programme in 2022.

Arts Aweh! is an arts-based programme that provides safe, accessible arts and cultural activities at City-owned facilities and public spaces, as well as training and employment opportunities for emerging artists.

The programme aims to combat various issues with five main objectives, namely:

Activating underutilised city facilities
Employing artists from the community as facilitators for the programme
Training and upskilling these artists to serve as confident, experienced and qualified art facilitators.
Mentoring and supporting the facilitators.
Providing a safe place for learners to go after school and during the holidays, where they can engage in arts and cultural activities.

Who can join the programme?

Children and youth aged 5 – 17 years old can join the Arts Aweh! Programme.

How long is the programme and when does it run?

The programme runs on weekdays (Monday to Friday) from 14:00 – 17:00.

It runs for seven months annually; from the end of November until the end of June the following year.

Which City facilities currently offer the programme?

Area	Facility	Days
Athlone	Athlone Community Centre	Mon - Fri
Athlone	Bridgetown Library	Fridays
Ysterplaat	Brooklyn Library	Mon - Fri
Lotus River/ Pelican Park	Lotus River Library	Mon - Thurs
Lotus River/ Pelican Park	Pelican Park Community Hall	Fridays
Hanover Park	Hanover Park Community Centre	Mon - Fri
Mfuleni	Chris Hani Hall	Mon - Fri

Why should I join the programme?

You will learn various skills through art and cultural activities, including but not limited to:

Craft
Visual art
Dance
Theatre/performance
Spoken word
Poetry

Towards the end of the programme, each facility will host an exhibition to showcase the art that the learners have created and the skills they have learned during the programme.