Thamsanga Mnyele
Encyclopedia
Thamsanqa Mnyele (10 December 1948 - 14 June 1985) was a South Africa
n artist associated with the anti-apartheid politics of the African National Congress
and the Black Consciousness Movement
. His artistic career took off in the 1970s when he produced works dealing with the emotional and human consequences of oppression. By the 1980s, his work followed the trajectory of the movement resisting apartheid, celebrating African strength and unity against the oppressors.
Mnyele was born in Alexandra, in Johannesburg
. His father was a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and his mother was a domestic worker. He was sent away from the crime-ridden township to a boarding school in a village northwest of Pretoria
when he was eight. It was there where he began drawing, a skill which he maintained throughout his schooling and led to his hiring as a graphic artist by the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency. In 1973, he spend several months studying at the Swedish
Lutheran art center, Rorke's Drift
in Natal. He met many other young men who were inspired by the ideas of the Black Consciousness Movement
, and he was inspired by their fight for equality and racial pride.
In 1979, he moved to Gaborone
, the capital of Botswana
, where he joined the art troup, Medu Art Ensemble, with his friend, poet Wally Serote. Beyond art, the ensemble published newsletters and held a famous conference in 1982 entitled "Culture and Resistance." While in Botswana, he joined the ANC and studied guerrilla tactics at an ANC camp in Caxito, Angola. In June of 1985, the exiles knew that South African forces were approaching, but Mnyele did not leave early enough. In the morning of June 14, he was killed by South African commandos.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n artist associated with the anti-apartheid politics of the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
and the Black Consciousness Movement
Black Consciousness Movement
The Black Consciousness Movement was a grassroots anti-Apartheid activist movement that emerged in South Africa in the mid-1960s out of the political vacuum created by the jailing and banning of the African National Congress and Pan Africanist Congress leadership after the Sharpeville Massacre in...
. His artistic career took off in the 1970s when he produced works dealing with the emotional and human consequences of oppression. By the 1980s, his work followed the trajectory of the movement resisting apartheid, celebrating African strength and unity against the oppressors.
Mnyele was born in Alexandra, in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
. His father was a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and his mother was a domestic worker. He was sent away from the crime-ridden township to a boarding school in a village northwest of Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
when he was eight. It was there where he began drawing, a skill which he maintained throughout his schooling and led to his hiring as a graphic artist by the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency. In 1973, he spend several months studying at the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Lutheran art center, Rorke's Drift
Rorke's Drift
The Battle of Rorke's Drift, also known as the Defence of Rorke's Drift, was a battle in the Anglo-Zulu War. The defence of the mission station of Rorke's Drift, under the command of Lieutenant John Chard of the Royal Engineers, immediately followed the British Army's defeat at the Battle of...
in Natal. He met many other young men who were inspired by the ideas of the Black Consciousness Movement
Black Consciousness Movement
The Black Consciousness Movement was a grassroots anti-Apartheid activist movement that emerged in South Africa in the mid-1960s out of the political vacuum created by the jailing and banning of the African National Congress and Pan Africanist Congress leadership after the Sharpeville Massacre in...
, and he was inspired by their fight for equality and racial pride.
In 1979, he moved to Gaborone
Gaborone
' is the capital and largest city of Botswana with a population of 191,776 based on a 2006 survey, about 10% of the total population of Botswana....
, the capital of Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
, where he joined the art troup, Medu Art Ensemble, with his friend, poet Wally Serote. Beyond art, the ensemble published newsletters and held a famous conference in 1982 entitled "Culture and Resistance." While in Botswana, he joined the ANC and studied guerrilla tactics at an ANC camp in Caxito, Angola. In June of 1985, the exiles knew that South African forces were approaching, but Mnyele did not leave early enough. In the morning of June 14, he was killed by South African commandos.