Egazini Outreach Project

“They shall beat their swords into plowshares…” (Isaiah 2:4) In 1819 the Xhosa tribe fought a combined army of Dutch and English and were driven out as they lost the battle. Engazini is the Xhosa word for this battle and it’s considered a turning point in South African history for the European settlers expanding into the country. The Joza Township was built for the Black South Africans on this site since it‘s well outside the commercial range of town. Placed in the corner of the township was a detention center during the Apartheid era called an Internal Stability Unit.
The building is a stark construction fit for it’s grim purpose. Since 2001, however a local group of artists have entered the space and use it to create art, sell their work on commission and stage dramatic performances. The bloody history of that site is a common theme of the wood carving, painted fabrics, and linocut prints. The artists also provide a prophetic voice for current events and conditions in modern South Africa. But most prevalent is the pride in the beauty of the land and their traditional ceremonies. The building itself has become a artistic canvass with a relief of historical references.
Art is healing. Creating beauty out of the rubble of unconscionable abuse is the ultimate triumph of the spirit. Art is the voice deeper than words to salve the pain deeper than words. The artists’ pride is not only in their craft but the strength of their people, as well as their courage and determination to overcome. Each work shines a light on the place where evil lived in secrecy and moral darkness. It makes sacred that which was profaned and witnesses that the deepest Spirit of God living in human frailty will overcome evil.