Episode 1
Listen to the first episode of Season 3 of The ICA Podcast! Featuring performance artist, activist and educator Tandile Mbatsha.
Mbatsha takes us through their intimate performance I AM, which premiered at the 2022 ICA Live Art Festival, inviting us to reflect on queer histories and survival in a work permeated with deeply personal recollections, and captivating sounds and movement.
Listen on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Podcast Addict, on our website; or wherever you find podcasts.
Tandile Mbatsha, I AM. 2022 ICA Live Art Festival. Photos by Xolani Tulumani.
Tandile Mbatsha (They, Them and Theirs) is a South African queer and gender non-binary performance artist, choreographic-activist, educator, speaker, host, producer, model and scholar. They make multimodal performance art work that illuminates imigudu of racialised queer people to self-fashion and self-determine. Tandile makes work that emphatically declares the full humanness and citizenship of queer people. They have performed at the PERFORMA17 Biennale in New York, in Zoë Modiga's set at Afropunk, at the Investec Cape Town Art Fair and opened for FAKA at the Cape Town Electronic Music festival. They produced the film The Solo Ball on the virtual National Arts Festival curated programme. Tandile has also worked with internationally acclaimed artist Zanele Muholi.
Tandile Mbatsha.
About The ICA Podcast
The Podcast – launched in July 2020 – emerged out of the ICA's 2019 publication Acts of Transgression: Contemporary Live Art in South Africa and extends the work begun by the book through conversations with the creators and curators of Live Art. Each episode is alive with music and audio from artists’ performances, and the weight and emotion of their personal stories.
Season 1 looked at the body of work of 8 diverse artists. In Season 2, each episode focused on a single performance, and the creative processes that brought them into being. Catch up on any episodes you may have missed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.
In Season 3 – hosted by writer Nkgopoleng Moloi – each episode explores a performance featured at the 2022 ICA Live Art Festival. Join us over the course of the next 7 episodes as each artist brings their immersive and richly layered performance to life, and reflects along the way on how their upbringing and education has shaped their practice.
We'll be diving into:
I AM by Tandile Mbatsha
Between my finger and thumb by Asemahle Ntlonti
We are everywhere by Qondiswa James
Ifu Elimnyama: The Dark Cloud by Russel Hlongwane
Ingoduko yamaNkazana (The Return of the Home of Harlots) by Lukhanyiso Skosana
UkuNqula kukuThandaza by Nkosenathi Koela; and
Reclaiming the Poetics of Indigenous Horns by Kolawole Gbolahan.
Looking ahead
In Episode 2 we'll be speaking to visual artist Asemahle Ntlonti. Join us then!
Rate and review the podcast on Apple podcasts to help other listeners find the show. Or share The ICA Podcast with a friend!
Tandile Mbatsha, I AM. 2022 ICA Live Art Festival. Photo by Xolani Tulumani.