The En-Shemesh Arts Centre was started in December 2008, and although it is only a few months old it is already wildly popular amoungst rural women from the areas around Rustfontein.
The weekly meeting at the arts centre on the Rustfontein farm is the highlight of the week for many of these women, someof whom walk many kilometres (often in harsh weather and even, on one occasion, a hail storm) in order to attend. The aim of the arts centre is to develop the creativity of rural, uneducated women whose challenging social-economic circumstances do not otherwise. Annelie, the creative brain behind the initiative, opens the gathering with a prayer and a verse from the Bible, reminding these women how special they are and how much God loves them. The women then enthusiastically tackle their tasks. This afternoon they are painting daisies onto a colourful background of fabric. As the women work they sing and chat about the weeks events. Mothers have brought their children along. Many of these youngsters have never seen crayons before and delight in the novelty of drawing and folding.
As the gathering comes to an end, the women enjoy tea and biscuits and the chatter continues. A young woman in her twenties relishes sharing an account of how her husband looked at her in disbelief when she brought a painted cushion home a few weeks before. One of the older women laughs when I suggest that she sell her eye-catching new cloth. “No,” says she, “
They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and in this case I agree. One cannot watch these women without recognizing the pleasure and pride in their faces after an afternoon away from the world and in the possession of a carefully-folded new craft to show off at home.
