Even though 'celebrity funeral artist' Lebani Sirenje aka Rasta has received massive criticism for his paintings, he wants to share his skills with up-and-coming artists through an arts academy.
The man who caused Twitter meltdowns at pretty much every memorial he has been to because of his art, told TshisaLIVE he was finally ready to push forward on his dream of launching an arts academy.
Rasta said that he had tried several years ago but was left stranded when "the Chinese" had pulled their sponsorship.
"I decided that now is the time to do this academy. You have to talk about it and take a chance. I have been meeting with people and I am still looking for sponsorships."
The academy will be based in Hillbrow, where Rasta says the community is in need of an academy.
He is hoping to open as early as next month and is toying with the idea of calling it after himself.
Rasta has had a lot of criticism over his drawings and said he was anticipating a backlash to the idea of an academy.
"There will always be critics. But there needs to be a teacher. You can't criticise the teacher but you aren't a teacher yourself. There are many people who are criticising me and trying to pull me down, but this is my dream."
In the meantime, Rasta is hard at work trying to get his art into exhibitions, including an upcoming showcase set for the anniversary of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's death in April.
"I have five drawings of Ma Winnie and I hope they will allow me to exhibit them. It would be a great honour," he added.
Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package. 