Most United Knowledgeable Artists (MUKA) Project

The MUKA Project draws upon interactive drama, workshops, craft making, and performances in an effort to involve children and youth in fostering the development of the South African community. In the words of organisers, "The aim of the projects is to entertain while educating the communities, make Arts an avenue to escape from all the abuses that one may think of and to keep our future leaders away from crime, drugs and prostitution which have became a common eye in our societies."

Since MUKA began in 1995, it has developed four original plays in addition to introducing theatre to community members as a means of promoting dialogue around the important social issues they face daily. The project has conducted community theatre workshops and discussions on violence, drug abuse, prostitution, rape, HIV/AIDS, and homelessness with various community organisations in South Africa and abroad.

In 2000 MUKA initiated a children's theatre. The theatre was made up of children from the communities of the inner city of Johannesburg. The children grew physically, mentally, and artistically after their first international tour to Germany, so in 2002 the project organisers decided to start a youth project with the older participants.

Consisting of in- and out-of-school young people, MUKA Youth has been tasked to bring back all the productions that the MUKA project seniors have participated in and to perform them locally and internationally. The youth project has conducted different types of workshops - focused performing arts, crafts, non-violent conflict resolution, motivational speaking, and drumming and music - in different parts of the country.

The children's theatre project has continued even as the youth are engaged in their own spin-off programme. As of July 2004, the children's project involved 15 children (13 girls and 2 boys) coming in regularly for workshops 3 times per week for 2 hours each. The children are from the ages of 3 to 16 years, come from broken families, and live the rough and ghetto life of Hillbrow. They perform traditional dance, music, poetry, and a theatre production called "Angels, Dreams and Volcano" that deals with their everyday problems in school, on the streets, and at home. The strategy here involves using entertainment - focused on real-life issues - to keep the children off the streets and to give them an opportunity to discover themselves at an early stage.

Youth, Children.

In 2001, the South African President's Office invited MUKA to perform their music and dance production "Under the Africa Sky" at the Johannesburg Civic Centre. Among the dignitaries in attendance were the President of South Africa H.E. President Thabo Mbeki and the Mayor of Johannesburg Clr. Amos Masondo. In 2002, the Prime Minister of Ireland invited Muka to perform their HIV/AIDS theatre production "Wild Fire" at the Dublin Castle. The show was attended by the Prime Minister H.E. Tishc Beti Ahen and the cabinet Ministers of Ireland. Highlights from 2003-2006 included performances of the production "Harvest of Thorns", in England, Wales, Switzerland, and Germany. In 2007, MUFA performed "Wild Fire" at the National Arts Festival, Grahamstown, and planned to tour Germany and Zimbabwe later that same year with the same production. Plans for 2008 include performing this play in Denmark, Germany, France, and Switzerland.