The Confidence Game with Yonela Makoba, part 1

Like many young, black South Africans Yonela was nudged by her parents to pursue the sciences for the promise of a comfortable salary. Taking just as easily to science as she did to fashion, Yonela went ahead and studied Geology in university. While she was there, she met creative young people who were studying the arts. “It was unbelievable to me that people would go to school to study writing.” At the thick of the ‘Rhode Must Fall’ movement, as her political consciousness was being raised, her creative ambitions were piqued. She learned about activism through the arts and she was forever changed. After a trying journey to graduation, Yonela put her science degree away and pursued fashion styling, “fashion was the one thing I was always sure of. Even in science I was fashion,” she says, referring to the elaborate outfits she wore to chemistry class, where she stuck out like a sore thumb. Not long after, Yonela explored the visual and performance arts. Before she knew it, she was a solo-exhibiting artist. She talks about how her journey to the fine arts was a confidence game; the power that came with picking up the camera; and how she’s bet on herself and taken leaps of faith every step of the way.

Music By

Thesis ZA– Iintloni – 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naCNvleJA0M
Facebook – 
https://www.facebook.com/thesisza
Soundcloud – 
https://soundcloud.com/thesis_za/iintloni