08/06/2026
Strategizing for a long time! We thank you Mr Lekgutsa Mbele ✨️🎭🎊🤝
Being a Strategist: Building Re Phethile Art Production and Sustainable Futures
Being a strategist is not an easy thing. It demands foresight, discipline, and the willingness to carry the weight of an organization’s future on your shoulders. A strategist does not wait for opportunity to arrive; they create it by aligning mindset, resources, and people toward a clear purpose. In the context of arts and community development, strategy becomes the bridge between a creative vision and a living, sustainable reality.
I am proud to have brought Re Phethile Art Production to life as the Strategist during the days of establishment. In those early days, the work was about more than organizing rehearsals or securing a stage. It was about defining identity, setting direction, and ensuring that every decision served the long-term health of the production and the community it represents. A strategist uses mindset and everything at their disposal—networks, knowledge, time, and conviction—to assist the organization in standing on its own feet and speaking with a voice that cannot be ignored.
Central to that journey was the role of Lekgutsa Mbele, one of the key individuals who played a part in shaping the foundation of Re Phethile Art Production. Through deliberate effort, Lekgutsa Mbele contributed to building sustainable livelihoods and supporting a black child in spaces where such support is often absent. This is the heart of cultural work: it is not only about performance, but about creating pathways for young people to see themselves, to develop skills, and to earn dignity through their talent.
When an organization like Re Phethile Art Production represents the Free State Province at the national level, it reflects the outcome of strategic choices made long before the spotlight turns on. It reflects planning, sacrifice, mentorship, and the belief that local community productions deserve the same standards and recognition as any national institution. Strategy ensures that moment is not accidental, but earned.
The work of a strategist continues beyond the first success. It means institutionalizing processes, mentoring the next generation, and keeping the mission rooted in community upliftment. Building sustainable livelihoods through the arts changes the economic reality of families. Supporting a black child through structured cultural programs changes the trajectory of a life.
Strategy is difficult because it requires you to see what is not yet there and to act as if it is inevitable. That is the responsibility I embraced with Re Phethile Art Production. The foundation is laid. The work now is to strengthen it, expand its reach, and ensure that the organization remains a vehicle for identity, opportunity, and pride for years to come.
