Story by Thabiso Thakali, images by Simone Gregor

"This place [Afrikan Freedom Station] is important for artists like me because it's where you can just have the authority to do ...many things. ...Without restrictions, you just deliver what you are gifted with - whether it's painting, writing, film-making or music...It's a home for artists where they can express themselves. For me this place evokes a sense of pride because of its rich heritage." After hesitatingly opening up about his journey from Daveyton in the East Rand, to Westdene, west of Joburg, in pursuit of a music dream, musician Malcolm Jiyane explains why he sees Afrikan Freedom Station as his spiritual home for healing and artistic expression.

Jiyane is among a legion of artists, craftsmen, poets, writers and filmmakers creating an alternative in a decrepit suburb that is still recovering from a burden of apartheid era removals. “For me it’s a place where real hope of bridging the gap between modern suburbs and township living exists but it feels like we are merely putting a few drops of water into a bucket. For us as artists, it’s hurtful enough not to have had enough spaces where you can just sit and listen to music” he says.

It was no coincidence that owner of Afrikan Freedom Station, Steve Kwena Mokwena chose Sophiatown - formally known as the Western Native Township - as a place he would use to explore the relationship between people and their city - in particular, black folks. "I am interested in the history of the pursuit of freedom and its relationship to the city. Sophiatown was my father's playground and my grandmother lived here. I bought a house in Westdene in 1995. My sisters subsequently bought in the same street so there is sub-clan of us who came to live here. … The fact that [Afrikan Freedom Station] is close to Sophiatown … brings all these memories, these artistic ghosts, with it, [which] made it absolutely perfect. It's a spiritual place, art and culture is spiritual in a sense that it is about meaning and our place in the world. In a sense, the Afrikan Freedom Station might also serve to re-establish Sophiatown as a cultural capital”, says Mokwena.

After moving to the area Mokwena, who is a passionate filmmaker, artist and cultural activist, wanted to start exhibiting his art work. He came across the space that now houses the Station, on a trip to his dentist, who also happens to be the landlord. Jazz is in Mokwena’s blood - his grandfather, Jacob Madumo was an alto saxophonist with the Jazz Maniacs, and this also inspires some of his art.

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