Ismail Mahomed is the director of the Grahamstown National Arts Festival. Mahomed has worked in the arts industry for most of his professional life, most recently as a Senior Cultural Specialist for the US Consulate. He has also worked as the Director of the Witbank Civic Theatre and the Creative Arts Workshop. As a practitioner he is an award-winning arts administrator, having won the Arts & Culture Trust Award for Arts Administrator of the Year, the Mpumalanga Premier's Award, the Witbank Mayor's award, and the U.S. State Dept Africa Bureau Award.He is also a prolific writer, critic and commentator on the arts and a playwright. Read on to find out more in his own words.
Nationality: South African
Education Background: Graduated as a mathematics teacher and moved to the arts over the years. Currently working towards an MBA
Drink that you would order at a coffee shop: Caffe Latte
Pet Peeve: I don’t like dripping taps. It irritates me enormously particularly when there are so many communities who have very little access to water.
1. Firstly, thank you for agreeing to be interviewed despite your very hectic lifestyle.So tell me who is Ismail Mahomed? Tell me a little bit about your background. Where were you born? Basically a brief synopsis of your life from a child up until university.
I’m a 4th generation South African. I grew up in south Africa under its oppressive apartheid laws. My family was forcibly removed from Johannesburg to Lenasia, a suburb about 30km south of Johannesburg. Lenasia was a dust-bowl with hardly any infra-structure. The community however was dynamic. They embraced the challenges and with a deep sense of philanthropy they built the community. My late father was a travelling salesman prior to us opening up our own family business. I guess it is from him that I found the inspiration to also travel. In many ways I’m a restless soul. I’m always asking questions, looking for new inspirations and opting for newer experiences. I taught mathematics for eight years. Whilst I loved teaching, I am not fond of bureaucracies that come with working in a formal education system. Hence, I guess I gravitated from mathematics to the arts.
2. How did you become involved in the arts industry?
During my teaching years, I was constantly looking for newer and exciting ways to inspire young learners. I discovered the power of theatre as a medium for education. I began writing scripts initially for theatre and then radio and television. When I was a finalist in a national Playwright of the Year Competition, there was no turning back. During 1995, I was offered the opportunity to participate in a cultural exchange programme in the USA. This exchange visit introduced me significantly to arts administration. Soon, after my return to South Africa, I took up a management position at a theatre in South Africa. From there on, I moved to my current position as the Artistic Director of the National Arts Festival (www.nationalartsfestival.co.za ). Of course, along the way, I continued to write, direct, stage manage and do various other kinds of work in the arts sector.
3. What would you say are the positives and the negatives of your job?
As Artistic Director of the Festival, in many ways I get to set the cultural barometer for the arts in South Africa. This gives me the opportunity to be exposed to diverse forms of expression and excellence; and to be able to choose the annual programme from this broad offer. I also get several opportunities to travel and to meet celebrities.
I suppose one of the challenges of the job is that it requires irregular hours of work.
4. Define success? What does success mean to you?
Success is about having the freedom to set your own goals and to be able to achieve those goals. Success is also measured by how you embrace the goals that others set for you and how you work towards meeting those challenges.
5. The South African Indian Muslim community has always steered clear from encouraging their kids to participate in arts and culture in terms of song and dance as religious clerics have branded this career choice as being prohibited or haraam under Islamic rulings. How do you view yourself as a Muslim man being in a commanding position within the arts industry?
People who assume that the arts art immoral have a very primitive understanding of the arts. The arts are centred around developing imagination, stimulating creativity, inspiring innovation, solving problems, working in teams and taking responsibility for your actions. The arts develop your confidence. These are the very same traits that any employer looks out for in a good employee. If it wasn’t for the arts, can you imagine an engineer who cannot draw? Would you be able to imagine a politician who lacked the confidence to stand in front of an audience? Could you imagine a journalist who did not have power to play with words. The arts have its value in our society in as much as the sciences and mathematics. The sciences may teach you reason but the arts teach you understanding.
6. What are some of the difficulties you face in your job?
In all countries the arts are always challenged by a shortage of resources. As arts administrators, we are on constant search for new funders, grants and sponsors. These don’t come easily. They come through hard work and years of relationship building.
7. How do your balance your personal life and your career?
I don’t take any administrative work home. If I need to work longer hours at the office, I do so.
At a social level, I am very fortunate in that most of my friends work in the arts or the media sector so I don’t find a conflict in my personal and work spaces.
8. Do you consider yourself a spiritual person?What are your thoughts on faith and religion?
I’m not religious at all but I am deeply spiritual. Many people are often surprised to learn that I completed the Haj in 2003. There seems to be a perception that an artistic director of the world’s second largest arts festival would not be spiritual. The arts are often rooted in deep spirituality. I often find answers to the many questions that we seek through an interpretation of the arts. The arts define who we are as a nation. It give us a sense of identity. It teaches us to embrace difference and to understand and tolerate each other. Embracing our fellow human beings as equal is perhaps one of the most valuable principles that ought to underline all religion. Unfortunately, the reality is that society has found ways of engaging religion as the primary divider rather than as the unifier.
9. How does arts and culture play a role in terms of integrating and bridging societies and nations?
The arts give us a window into each other’s souls. We can all laugh at the same amusing things. We can all cry at the same pain. In the darkness of a theatre, in the silence of an art gallery, we discover our common humanity. By creating work together, we share ideas and dialogue. In south Africa, the struggle against apartheid was won by the slogan “culture is a weapon of the struggle”. In post-apartheid South Africa, we constantly use the arts as a means to bring people together into dialogue.
10.What impact does the arts industry have on the political situation of a country and vice versa?
In a free society artists will always mirror their society. Often politicians fear the artists. This is the reason why in most repressive countries, the artists have the least freedoms.
11. What is your opinion on interfaith marriages?
We are all created equally in the eyes of God. There should be no reason why we can’t worship in our different ways. Whether we say Allah, Bhagwan or God, we are all supplicating a higher force. Inter-faith marriages, like all marriages, require the maturity to respect each other’s values, weaknesses, strengths and expressions.
12. If you were not involved with the arts industry, what would you be doing?
I probably would travel strange lands. Meet exciting strangers. Discover great food. All the world’s a stage.
13. What subjects and topics are you the most passionate about?
I certainly am most passionate about the arts.
Youth development probably is the second most important subject to me. I believe that if we develop young people, we create a world that we can proudly endow to them.
14. If someone could grant you one wish and you could choose to have any skill or talent in the world, what would it be?
To learn foreign languages. I am hopeless at learning foreign languages.
15. What are your favourite websites?
Google Translate : let’s me communicate relatively efficiently with strangers across the globe
Wikepedia : gives me as much basic info that I require
Facebook : keeps me connected to friends, family, acquaintances, events and small talk.
The above three websites are probably my closest friends. I go to bed with them. I never close those tabs on my computer.
16. From where or from who do you seek inspiration from?
I find inspiration from all sorts of people. The more creative and humble the person is the greater I am inspired by them.
17. What is your opinion regarding censorship within the arts industry?
I’m in total support of parental guidance over subject matter. I am totally opposed to any form of blanket censorship.
18.What advise would you give to someone out there who aspires to be a part of the arts industry in the future?
Discover your passion. Work very work. Build and upgrade your skills constantly. Build your networks. Expose yourself to as many diverse forms of art. Have an open mind. Be critical and embrace criticism. Be ready for enormous challenges.
19. Are there any additional comments you would like to add for the blog readers?
Sumayya, I am constantly inspired by the positive energy that you radiate. You are an enormously positive role model for those of us who work towards creating progressive and positive perceptions of Muslim people. One of the greatest weaknesses of Muslims across the globe, is that they have made the least investment in media and in the arts. If they invested more in the arts and media, they would be able to use the power of the arts and the media to influence and inspire positive images about themselves.
Once again, thank you very much Ismail Mahomed for taking the time to answer these questions and also for sharing some of your priceless pictures with all of us.Desert Moon wishes you all the best in your career and beyond!!!
Nationality: South African
Education Background: Graduated as a mathematics teacher and moved to the arts over the years. Currently working towards an MBA
Drink that you would order at a coffee shop: Caffe Latte
Pet Peeve: I don’t like dripping taps. It irritates me enormously particularly when there are so many communities who have very little access to water.
1. Firstly, thank you for agreeing to be interviewed despite your very hectic lifestyle.So tell me who is Ismail Mahomed? Tell me a little bit about your background. Where were you born? Basically a brief synopsis of your life from a child up until university.
I’m a 4th generation South African. I grew up in south Africa under its oppressive apartheid laws. My family was forcibly removed from Johannesburg to Lenasia, a suburb about 30km south of Johannesburg. Lenasia was a dust-bowl with hardly any infra-structure. The community however was dynamic. They embraced the challenges and with a deep sense of philanthropy they built the community. My late father was a travelling salesman prior to us opening up our own family business. I guess it is from him that I found the inspiration to also travel. In many ways I’m a restless soul. I’m always asking questions, looking for new inspirations and opting for newer experiences. I taught mathematics for eight years. Whilst I loved teaching, I am not fond of bureaucracies that come with working in a formal education system. Hence, I guess I gravitated from mathematics to the arts.
2. How did you become involved in the arts industry?
During my teaching years, I was constantly looking for newer and exciting ways to inspire young learners. I discovered the power of theatre as a medium for education. I began writing scripts initially for theatre and then radio and television. When I was a finalist in a national Playwright of the Year Competition, there was no turning back. During 1995, I was offered the opportunity to participate in a cultural exchange programme in the USA. This exchange visit introduced me significantly to arts administration. Soon, after my return to South Africa, I took up a management position at a theatre in South Africa. From there on, I moved to my current position as the Artistic Director of the National Arts Festival (www.nationalartsfestival.co.za ). Of course, along the way, I continued to write, direct, stage manage and do various other kinds of work in the arts sector.
3. What would you say are the positives and the negatives of your job?
As Artistic Director of the Festival, in many ways I get to set the cultural barometer for the arts in South Africa. This gives me the opportunity to be exposed to diverse forms of expression and excellence; and to be able to choose the annual programme from this broad offer. I also get several opportunities to travel and to meet celebrities.
I suppose one of the challenges of the job is that it requires irregular hours of work.
4. Define success? What does success mean to you?
Success is about having the freedom to set your own goals and to be able to achieve those goals. Success is also measured by how you embrace the goals that others set for you and how you work towards meeting those challenges.
5. The South African Indian Muslim community has always steered clear from encouraging their kids to participate in arts and culture in terms of song and dance as religious clerics have branded this career choice as being prohibited or haraam under Islamic rulings. How do you view yourself as a Muslim man being in a commanding position within the arts industry?
People who assume that the arts art immoral have a very primitive understanding of the arts. The arts are centred around developing imagination, stimulating creativity, inspiring innovation, solving problems, working in teams and taking responsibility for your actions. The arts develop your confidence. These are the very same traits that any employer looks out for in a good employee. If it wasn’t for the arts, can you imagine an engineer who cannot draw? Would you be able to imagine a politician who lacked the confidence to stand in front of an audience? Could you imagine a journalist who did not have power to play with words. The arts have its value in our society in as much as the sciences and mathematics. The sciences may teach you reason but the arts teach you understanding.
6. What are some of the difficulties you face in your job?
In all countries the arts are always challenged by a shortage of resources. As arts administrators, we are on constant search for new funders, grants and sponsors. These don’t come easily. They come through hard work and years of relationship building.
7. How do your balance your personal life and your career?
I don’t take any administrative work home. If I need to work longer hours at the office, I do so.
At a social level, I am very fortunate in that most of my friends work in the arts or the media sector so I don’t find a conflict in my personal and work spaces.
8. Do you consider yourself a spiritual person?What are your thoughts on faith and religion?
I’m not religious at all but I am deeply spiritual. Many people are often surprised to learn that I completed the Haj in 2003. There seems to be a perception that an artistic director of the world’s second largest arts festival would not be spiritual. The arts are often rooted in deep spirituality. I often find answers to the many questions that we seek through an interpretation of the arts. The arts define who we are as a nation. It give us a sense of identity. It teaches us to embrace difference and to understand and tolerate each other. Embracing our fellow human beings as equal is perhaps one of the most valuable principles that ought to underline all religion. Unfortunately, the reality is that society has found ways of engaging religion as the primary divider rather than as the unifier.
9. How does arts and culture play a role in terms of integrating and bridging societies and nations?
The arts give us a window into each other’s souls. We can all laugh at the same amusing things. We can all cry at the same pain. In the darkness of a theatre, in the silence of an art gallery, we discover our common humanity. By creating work together, we share ideas and dialogue. In south Africa, the struggle against apartheid was won by the slogan “culture is a weapon of the struggle”. In post-apartheid South Africa, we constantly use the arts as a means to bring people together into dialogue.
10.What impact does the arts industry have on the political situation of a country and vice versa?
In a free society artists will always mirror their society. Often politicians fear the artists. This is the reason why in most repressive countries, the artists have the least freedoms.
11. What is your opinion on interfaith marriages?
We are all created equally in the eyes of God. There should be no reason why we can’t worship in our different ways. Whether we say Allah, Bhagwan or God, we are all supplicating a higher force. Inter-faith marriages, like all marriages, require the maturity to respect each other’s values, weaknesses, strengths and expressions.
12. If you were not involved with the arts industry, what would you be doing?
I probably would travel strange lands. Meet exciting strangers. Discover great food. All the world’s a stage.
13. What subjects and topics are you the most passionate about?
I certainly am most passionate about the arts.
Youth development probably is the second most important subject to me. I believe that if we develop young people, we create a world that we can proudly endow to them.
14. If someone could grant you one wish and you could choose to have any skill or talent in the world, what would it be?
To learn foreign languages. I am hopeless at learning foreign languages.
15. What are your favourite websites?
Google Translate : let’s me communicate relatively efficiently with strangers across the globe
Wikepedia : gives me as much basic info that I require
Facebook : keeps me connected to friends, family, acquaintances, events and small talk.
The above three websites are probably my closest friends. I go to bed with them. I never close those tabs on my computer.
16. From where or from who do you seek inspiration from?
I find inspiration from all sorts of people. The more creative and humble the person is the greater I am inspired by them.
17. What is your opinion regarding censorship within the arts industry?
I’m in total support of parental guidance over subject matter. I am totally opposed to any form of blanket censorship.
18.What advise would you give to someone out there who aspires to be a part of the arts industry in the future?
Discover your passion. Work very work. Build and upgrade your skills constantly. Build your networks. Expose yourself to as many diverse forms of art. Have an open mind. Be critical and embrace criticism. Be ready for enormous challenges.
19. Are there any additional comments you would like to add for the blog readers?
Sumayya, I am constantly inspired by the positive energy that you radiate. You are an enormously positive role model for those of us who work towards creating progressive and positive perceptions of Muslim people. One of the greatest weaknesses of Muslims across the globe, is that they have made the least investment in media and in the arts. If they invested more in the arts and media, they would be able to use the power of the arts and the media to influence and inspire positive images about themselves.
Once again, thank you very much Ismail Mahomed for taking the time to answer these questions and also for sharing some of your priceless pictures with all of us.Desert Moon wishes you all the best in your career and beyond!!!
