Monday Blues Birthday Celebrations throughout October

This incorporation has been a special one in that Monday Blues was established 1991 October and Arts Alive in 1991 September. Both these companies have been running for years with nothing but drive and passion to uplift artists and the industry in South Africa. For the first time in both their existence, they joined forces and killed it!

So here's to a lifetime friendship between Monday Blues & Arts Alive!!

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This month we are celecrating this legendary stage's birthday, established October 1991 but Peter Makurube. It began in Hillbrow and has since been presented in various communities in Johannesburg. The format is based on performance of whatever art form and exhibitions of visual arts. It has staged live in music venues around the city and welcomes all cultural expression.

Yeoville has been our main base, starting in 1997. Our first home there was Jahnitos, where fantastic performers like JIMMY Dludlu, Zim Ngqawana and Sandile Dikeni played to full-houses every week. We then moved to Raymond Street, where Blk Sonshine was born. Both Neo and Masauko met there and formed this incredible group that went on to win many fans across the social and geographical barriers. Time Square, a few blocks up the road also provided some memorable events - Roots 2000 was born there (Sliq Angel/MXO). The two have since become big names in the music scene. We once again relocated to Orange Grove - this time to Club 206, where Victor Ntoni's career was revitalized. We also put a lot of artists on the map, among them, Waddy Jones(rapper) who ended up as a recording artist and television presenter. This venue attracted the biggest number of audiences for the movement. Other venues, Horror Cafe in downtown Joburg, Mega Music, Rosebank (Mama's) and many more followed.

The Monday Blues has been strong on poetry, music, film, dance art and comedy. Projects undertaken by the movement are varied and are aimed at improving relations between people both inside and outside South Africa. Our longest campaign is the anti-rape project - whose target is men who don't rape. The artistic approach toward discouraging and condemning this scourge has helped create awareness and breaking resistance from men in general. The idea is to encourage law-abiding men to beinvolved in combating rape. It went on for four years and we intend to keep highlighting this issue until there is no reason to do so anymore. We have also undertaken projects to eliminate other prejudices - homophobia, chauvinism and xenophobia. The latter project helped bring in refugees both political and economic into the mainstream of society in South Africa. To this day Monday Blues remains the most inclusive cultural movement on the continent.

So as we celecrate this beautiful creation throughout the month of October we urge all of you that have been to Monday Blues to share your stories and experiences at Monday Blues. Please feel free to put them up on the Monday Blues wall or e-mail them for us to put up on the blogspot. We know, groups have been formed, friendships started, careers revitalized, marriages formed, tell us all about it. CD's of MB recordings and T-shirts will be on sales at Monday Blues throughout the month so by all means, put that in your monthly budget :)

Lastly, a HUGE thank you to Peter Makurube for the initiative of creating such a beautiful stage. Not forgetting, thank you to everyone that has ever attended at Monday Blues show, whether it was to perform or to watch... Thank you all!