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Art as a mirror, robots and small-screen delights — the many sides of actor-director Quanita Adams

Art as a mirror, robots and small-screen delights — the many sides of actor-director Quanita Adams
Quanita's first feature
Mick Raubenheimer
By Mick Raubenheimer
22 Jun 2024
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With a new production company, three years of funding and feature films in the works, the powerhouse artist is at the top of her game.

We chatted to writer and director Quanita Adams, whose new film is coming out later this year.

When did you first identify as a creative artist?


My parents first called it. I was drawing, singing, performing pretty much from the very beginning. I was two when I first drew a greeting card for my neighbour’s 21st. I was the kid putting on the singing concerts, forcing my family to watch me sing Whitney Houston, Billy Joel, dancing to the Hair soundtrack. My first conscious ideas around performance, I think, go back to preschool, and through primary school, recognising that silly voices, accents and mimicking teachers garnered me the respect, admiration and also extra tuckshop money from my peers. I don’t think there’s been a time when I wasn’t a storyteller.

Outside of your medium, what branch of art most stimulates you?


Visual art. For two years after high school, I was at Michaelis doing art. It was not the right fit for me – for Michaelis either. I had believed I was going to be a visual artist, but after two years I switched to drama, and here we are. I love visual art. I miss it.

Which artist/s in that discipline have significantly inspired you, and why?


When I was a kid, between the ages of five and 13, I attended an art school, Battswood Arts Centre. I had many incredible teachers there, and one of the teachers I first met there who later had an indelible effect on me was Jane Alexander. Her sculptures, especially The Butcher Boys, had the most profound effect on me as a young child and then teenager, walking around them, exploring them in all their horror – in many ways, shaping my political consciousness. They awakened my understanding of the urgency of storytelling through art. Berni Searle is amazing. Her work around the body and history is exceptional and powerfully moving.

Recently, Thania Petersen and her work on Cape Town and the global resonances it has had is also powerful. Rizqua Barnes and her photography within the Muslim community in Cape Town is great. It’s hard to narrow down a list. We are very lucky to come from such a rich tapestry of artists.

What, to you, is art’s most important function?


Art holds a mirror up to society.

Local creatives (in any medium) who currently excite you?


There are so many people in the film and television industry who excite me.

Honestly, anybody who is out there keeping the lights on, doing their art, I salute you. Musically, Thandiswa Mazwai – King Tha – and her new release Sankofa. She never misses!

Comedians are out here doing the most, being funny and politically astute, including Yaaseen Barnes and Celine Tshika. In film and television, I would be mad not to mention Amy Jephta, who keeps knocking it out the park. Koleka Putuma, in the poetry and literary world, never ceases to move me. I also love Qarnita Loxton and her novels (new one coming soon) for always putting a smile on my dial. In theatre, Iman Isaacs is one to watch. Again, it’s hard to name your favourite child.

Quanita Adams's first feature.


What specific work – in literature, music or visual art – do you return to again and again, and why?


Look, I can’t lie. It’s TV. It’s the only thing I always return to. It’s my happy place. Judge me, I don’t care. TV is delightful.

What are your thoughts regarding the current AI revolution?


*Gets the robot to answer the question.* Okay, wait, I should be serious. I don’t know. There’s a large part of me that doesn’t care. Or maybe doesn’t know enough to care? I should probably be more worried. I feel like there’s a move towards legitimate concern in my industry about what the robots are going to be doing to take away our jobs. There’s a part of me that feels like live performance will be fine. I don’t know. Progress has been putting people out of business since time began. And then it makes way for new businesses.

I enjoy an algorithm. It’s nice when I don’t have to search the internet for things. I’m like, ja, sure, please read my mind so I don’t have to. It’s a mess in there, robot. Sort it out.


Any current project you’re unveiling/wrapping up?


My second feature film Hier Na is premiering late August. It’s a reflection on my father’s passing, a reflection on grief. I have recently started a production company, Blended Films, with a long-time collaborator, co-conspirator and friend, Dominique Jossie, and we have many exciting projects on the go, including executive producing new films from young up-and-coming filmmakers.

We’re also the recipients of the National Film and Video Foundation three-year development grant, so we are excited to be in the position to continue making local films for the next three years. DM

Read more in Daily Maverick: Artistic Arsenal — rapper S’bo Gyre on football and scoring creative goals

Read more in Daily Maverick: Koos Kombuis — ‘I had no idea that there were people who didn’t love art’

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.

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