Latest news with #Latitudes
TimesLIVE
30-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- TimesLIVE
Thrive Student Living uses art to put the heart into new Joburg res
Sleep, study, eat. Sleep, study, eat. Sleep, study ... art? For tertiary-level scholars studying in Johannesburg, far away from their roots and often with the weight of their family's expectations on their young shoulders, the chance to find beauty and breathing space amid the relentless learning may seem like a fanciful dream. However, at Thrive Student Living's new Arteria Parktown 500-bed student residence, the art is right there in — even on — their custom-built home away from home. Local poet, healer and multidisciplinary artist Thobile Mavuso was commissioned by Thrive Student Living to create a mural for the R200m Arteria Parktown property and designed a unique artwork that encapsulates both the displacement and excitement of student life in 'res'. The piece is fittingly titled Ukuzilanda Ukuzilandela Nokuzelapha, which loosely translates as 'to return to one's roots is to care for and heal oneself'. For Mavuso — who is now doing a master's degree in Fine Art at the University of the Witwatersrand — those roots are in her Ndebele background, echoes of which are found in her vibrant yet restful mural. Painted on an internal courtyard wall in acrylic, using a palette of teal, yellow ochre, red and green, this vast piece features a circle of connected figures in traditional headdress ... or perhaps a tangle of opening flowers ... or perhaps a patchwork of homesteads amid fields ... Whatever, it begs to be looked at, to be contemplated. And that is precisely the point. The Arteria Parktown mural, says Mavuso, explores 'the wounding that comes with displacement, dispossession and landlessness that many South African people experience, which often leads to a loss of cultural identity, heritage and traditions'. The interplay depicted between the human body and the land communicates the interconnectedness of the two, she explains. 'It encourages enquiry into one's history, roots, and imvelaphi — one's origins — as a means of care and healing. The artwork aims to suggest that through knowing who one is, they may find what they are not.' Mavuso was commissioned by Thrive Student Living in consultation with Latitudes, the curated online market for art from Africa, and SA in particular. This collaboration was a natural one, as Latitudes' inclusive ethos mirrors that at Thrive. 'Latitudes is not just a marketplace but an educational platform about and for art,' says co-founder Roberta Coci. 'The difference is in our approach. We are flexible, inclusive, and insistent on equitable participation for all players, from the artists, like Thobile Mavuso, to the galleries, curators, and the collectors — many of whom first find the courage to start buying art through our open, inclusive showcase.' Thrive Student Living is operated by Growthpoint Student Accommodation, part of JSE-listed Real Estate Investment Trust Growthpoint Properties' portfolio. As such it benefits from Growthpoint's award-winning green building initiatives and ongoing mission to create healthy, sustainable environments, with a socially conscious mandate. 'We believe in lifting as we rise and endeavour to partner with members of the university community where possible,' says Amogelang Mocumi, fund manager of Growthpoint Student Accommodation. 'The decision to partner with Thobile was easy given that she is a Wits student and her work resonates with what Thrive Student Living stands for.' Thrive offers tailor-made campus communities, which include study areas, games rooms, gyms, and backup power and water. Its Student Life programme offers around-the-clock support for students, encompassing everything from academic performance to physical health and mental wellness. It is this unique approach that gives parents and bursary providers peace of mind, knowing students are in a fully supportive environment. Ukuzilanda Ukuzilandela Nokuzelapha is a visual extension of this spirit, says Amogelang. 'Art is a language, a universal form of expression,' he says. 'When students are sitting in the courtyard underneath this wonderful mural, and they then read the plaque detailing its inspiration, they find new meaning in it and derive their own meaning from it.' Commissioning Mavuso proved the perfect fit: she is young, female, vibrant, upcoming, locally based in Joburg, multidisciplinary — she works in paint, photography, text, sound, and printmaking — and is a student too, with her own complicated history. Born and bred in the city, she has long wrestled with her Ndebele culture. She started writing poetry in earnest at the age of 11 to process her emotions around troubles at home, culminating in the publication of her award-wining anthology Songs Broken Women Sing in 2019. 'This latest artwork calls for its viewers to remember who they are no matter how far away they may feel or be from their ancestral lands and events,' she says. 'Their work is to celebrate their culture, and to keep it alive. Culture, like art, is a living thing.'
TimesLIVE
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- TimesLIVE
All the artistic latitude you need
RMB Latitudes Art Fair returns for its third edition at the baroque hideaway of Shepstone Gardens on Jozi's east side next week, from Friday, May 23 to Sunday, May 25. Despite its relative youth, the co-founders of Latitudes — Lucy MacGarry and Roberta Coci — have done well to carve out and sustain a particular niche, one focused on emerging artists and accessible collecting...
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill to impose 6% alcohol sales tax passes first committee
Feb. 19—SANTA FE — Democrats are trying once again to impose a tax on alcohol sales in the hopes of addressing one of the leading causes of death in New Mexico. The legislation might have enough support this year to get to the governor's desk after failing in past years. The House Health and Human Services Committee passed House Bill 417 Wednesday morning by a vote of 6-4. All committee Republicans voted against the measure that would institute a 6% tax on alcohol sales at the register, on top of the state's current wholesale liquor excise tax, starting in July 2025. The effort aims to discourage New Mexicans from buying alcohol. The proposed 6% alcohol tax is estimated to reduce the consumption of spirits by 1.2%, wine by 1.14% and beer by 0.66%, according to a legislative analysis of the bill. HB418 would also redirect where money from the current liquor excise tax goes, sending the annual $25 million to $50 million to local harm alleviation funds instead of the state's general fund. The surtax revenue, an estimated $30 million to $60 million annually, would go to the Indian Affairs Department for tribal prevention and help efforts. Bill sponsor Rep. Micaela Lara Cadena, D-Mesilla, said New Mexico would become the second state to impose such an alcohol surtax. Legislative finance and tax officials would be required to review the tax and surtax rates as well as the distributions before 2033 to consider if any changes should be made. "We have enough humility to say we are not projecting that we're getting this exactly right, but we know we need to go in a new direction," Cadena said in a news conference after the committee meeting. The legislation came after failed attempts in past years to impose new alcohol taxes. The state hasn't changed its liquor excise tax in 30 years, said bill sponsor Rep. Joanne Ferrary, D-Las Cruces. Cadena explained that she joined onto the bill this year because she thought it was more reasonable than last year's proposed 12% tax. The proposal started over the summer as a 3% surtax from Reps. Cadena and Christina Parajón, D-Albuquerque, and the bill's seven sponsors landed on a flat 6% as a compromise, Cadena said. "We've spent many contentious hours looking at research around the country, like what impact do we think we can have? My argument continued to be before we go to a sky-high rate, I need to see that we're even changing consumption," she said. "Six was about as low as they would go, and we said we couldn't go higher." Many liquor and restaurant industry representatives showed up to oppose the bill. Ron Brown, who owns the convenience store Latitudes in Rio Rancho, said the legislation "was a brilliant vision" at 3%. "And we could have supported that vision at 3% as it was this summer. It would have helped out retailers with cash flow," he said. "But unfortunately at 6% this creates a giant bureaucracy ... and it's going to put us in an uncompetitive point." He also brought up that alcohol consumption and charges for driving while intoxicated are down. Data from the New Mexico Department of Health indicates that alcohol-related deaths have dropped over the past two years. However, New Mexico is still consistently at the top in the nation for alcohol-related deaths and had twice the national average in 2021, when the number peaked at 2,274 deaths. The pandemic worsened the rate of alcohol deaths. In 2023, nearly 1,900 people in New Mexico died as a result of alcohol, according to DOH. Rep. Jenifer Jones, R-Deming, said she wasn't completely confident in the accuracy of New Mexico's data tracking deaths directly caused by alcohol. "I have a feeling that we are reporting alcohol-related deaths, like in cirrhosis of the liver, that perhaps have nothing to do with alcohol. ... We may not really be that far ahead of anybody. We may not even be at the top of the list," she said. The bill is expected to be heard in the House Taxation and Revenue Committee Friday or Monday, Cadena said.
