We create programming using the arts and literacy as a tool for positive social change:
- Junior Arts Programme (Ages 9 – 14) 25 children engage in an after-school multi-disciplinary arts programme facilitated by professional artist facilitators. At present, they have classes in singing, drumming and marimba, acting, dance, art and food gardening. The primary school group also has opportunities to collaborate with arts professionals which leads to local and international performances. The marimba group performed at the King’s Birthday Celebration at the British High Commission in 2025.
- Windybrow Teens (Ages 14 – 20), a select group of 25 high school learners from inner-city high schools focus on theatre making in all its forms. In 2024 the teenage group translated Aimé Césaire’s seminal anti-colonial long poem to create Notebook of a Long Day’s Journey into a Hillbrow Night in partnership with Creative Writing, University of the Witwatersrand. The work performed at The Centre for The Less Good Idea, Drama for Life Conference and Festival, Performing the World Festival and The PSi #29 – Assemble! Conference hosted by The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in collaboration with LIFT (London International Theatre Festival), in partnership with the University of London’s Birkbeck, Royal Holloway, and School of Advanced Studies. In 2025, the group created a new long poem responding to Altazor by Vicente Huidobro, supported by the Anglo American Foundation and the Wits Anglo American Digital Dome.
- Kwasha! Theatre Company is a collaborative internship/entrepreneurship project of the Windybrow Arts Centre for youth aged 21 to 35. The project aims to support the careers of five recent performing arts graduates. Each year a small company of exciting young talents are identified. The company is supported with a framework and resources to create an exciting programme of new and dynamic theatre pieces over the course of a year.
- The Homework Support Programme was established in May 2022 and is at present engaging over 120 pre-school, primary and high school learners. As part of our After School Programme the Pan-African Reading Rooms allows the Centre to engage its young learners in literature and storytelling in all South African languages and ranging from educational content about the history of South Africa to fiction. Book launches and readings by authors for young people are organised throughout the year.