When local poet Gabriel Plaatjies’ father passed away three months ago, he was determined to continue his legacy by carrying on a developmental programme which they offered to young people in the community who have shown an interest in the art industry.
As previously reported by the Kouga Express, Hankey-born artist, Gabriel, obtained his diploma in performance arts at the StageWorld Theatre School in Gqeberha in 2012.
Once Gabriel gained more knowledge about writing poetry and the art industry, he began writing a variety of poems about his life, on themes such as depression, love, and family.
Apart from writing poems, Plaatjies is also a trained actor and has gained a lot of experience as a rapper.
To share his knowledge as an artist and, in turn, help young people in his community, in 2010, Gabriel, together with his late father, Clifton Plaatjies, established the Hankey Performance Art Development, which focused on developing young people for a career in the arts industry.
Unfortunately, after his father’s passing in July, the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and relocating to Cape Town, Gabriel said that the developmental programme was not as active as before.
“The developmental programme gave children in Hankey, Patensie, Humansdorp, Loerie and Jeffreys Bay the opportunity to be on stage to showcase their talent and to gain experience in the performance arts industry,” said Gabriel.
He said with the help of his late father, they were able to develop many children and better their stage presence, behaviour, and their attitude towards the arts industry.
In addition, the development programme often received helped from Ismeal Cona and Rivaldo van Rhyn, from the arts and entertainment industry, to arrange regular theatre plays for children to practise and further develop their skills.
“We were constantly trying to fill the need our community had for developmental programmes,” said Gabriel.
“We were willing to offer our time and skills to help many children so that they can learn how to operate in the arts and entertainment industry.”
Gabriel said, since his father’s passing, he had felt stronger than ever to continue with the developmental programme.
“My father’s passing renewed my determination and my desire to continue with the developmental programme,” he said.
Thankfully, in September, Gabriel received the necessary financial push he needed to continue the developmental programme when he won the first prize for his poem titled Up we go in the ‘Spoken Word’ category in the Up We Go Mzansi national competition, which provided a platform for young people to inspire the country with their talents.
“I felt ecstatic when I won the award. Winning the award did a lot for me as an artist because I could put myself out there as a poet which gave me the necessary confidence to put all my energy into my work as a poet,” said Gabriel.
As the winner, he received a R25 000 cash prize which he plans to use to register his production company Big Show Productions and revive the Hankey Performance Art Development to help more young people in his home town.
“I plan to use the development programme as a starting point for children in the community who are interested in a career in the arts and entertainment industry. Once they have gained enough experience, I plan to move them over to Big Show Productions to help them manage their careers in a professional capacity,” he said.
To further his career in the arts and entertainment industry, Gabriel plans to remain in Cape Town while his sister, Joslyn Plaatjies and his rap partner, Jeswayne Nantoe, will manage the development programme to ensure that it remains active.
“Reviving the developmental programme and establishing my production company will bring to life my dream of helping young people reach their dreams,” said Gabriel.
