March 13, 2006
By Thuli Ntuli
POETS, story tellers, musicians and artists from around Jozi are showcasing their talents at the Forgiveness Festival, taking the city on a journey of emotional discovery. The festival is a celebration of reconciliation.
On until 25 March at the Unity Gallery in Vrededorp, the festival is the first of its kind in South Africa. It takes the form of a photographic exhibition, The F Word, exploring forgiveness in the face of atrocity, and depicts the stories of both victim and perpetrator.
Stories come from around the world, with the concept being the brainchild of British journalist Marina Cantacuzino, who started The Forgiveness Project. Brian Moody took the photographs.
South African stories feature prominently, including that of Father Michael Lapsley, whose hands were blown off in 1990 by a South African government death squad letter bomb placed between the pages of a religious magazine.
The festival included a forgiveness day, held on 11 March, where poets and storytellers shared experiences, including Phehello Mofokeng, the editor of Black Knocked Out magazine, and Lebo Xaba of the Unity Gallery.
Cantacuzino started telling stories of reconciliation when, in 2002, she saw a report in a local British newspaper about a three-year-old girl who had died after she was given laughing gas instead of oxygen. Her father, when asked how he felt about the doctor responsible, told the consultant, "I forgive you".
At that moment, said Cantacuzino, she was "struck by a powerful urge to find more stories like this one - stories where people's responses to violent actions were not met by cries of revenge".
According to Cantacuzino, not everyone who features in the exhibition has forgiven, but almost everyone is in no doubt that revenge only fuels further violence.
The gallery is open from Monday to Friday, from 9am to 4.30pm, and on Saturday from 9am to noon.
On Saturday, 18 March a healing event is being held for selected communities. This event is not open to the public.
On Saturday, 25 March a day of music and healing memories will take place; music will be played and stories will be told. The Johannesburg clinical psychologist and spiritual healer Marensia Lotter will join the healing session. People will be able to share their healing memories and Lukas will lead a drumming circle.
The cost for the Saturday is R150 and tickets can be bought from mandy@soulo.co.za or mandyd@mweb.co.za.
The Forgiveness Festival is on from Thursday, 9 March to Saturday, 25 March at the Unity Gallery at Mode, 22 Solomon Street, corner of Smit Street, Vrededorp. For more information contact SoulCircle on 082 557 9190.
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