Artists showcasing their art at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival

Rus Judda  showcasing shoes he makes by hand

By Wendy Ngcobo

photo by Wendy Ngcobo

The Grahamstown National Arts Festival has attracted many artists to come and showcase their arts including Rus Judda who is a designer specialising in shoe making.

Rus has been coming to the flea market at the Festival since 2005 to sell his shoes. His normal day starts off early in the morning as he has to set up his stall and be ready for business.

He grew up making shoes and has used this as a way to make money and support his family. Coming from Port Elizabeth, the Festival has received him well as his merchandise sell like hot cakes amongst the locals. ”I have to pay a fee to set up my stall but its nothing compared to what I make”, he said.

He started out repairing shoes and now he designs and makes them.Rus's  shoes are made from scratch by hand with leather he purchases from PE Leather. This is a talent that he has had for many years now and it gets better as he grows older.

His only complaint is the many of the stalls that don’t sell anything that has to do with art.”They take up a lot of space and it’s supposed to be an art festival”, he said. But for now he is just happy to be at the festival.

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FJP At the National Arts Festival 2008

The Future Journalists Programme is at the 2008 National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa.

See our festival coverage and latest stories on our other blog:
http://fjp08.wordpress.com.

Why are people so nasty?

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