'Hopefully he will look at all arts': Rasta hopes to get the attention of Gayton McKenzie

Lebani “Rasta” Sirenje has painted a portrait of Gayton McKenzie to welcome him as sport, arts and culture minister.

The controversial Zimbabwean-born artist has been travelling from Pretoria to Durban, parading his painting in the hope of getting McKenzie's attention and expressing his grievances about the arts industry. 

“It is my way of showing my art when I'm in the public space exhibition. I made it a point to do a portrait of the newly appointed minister to give him a warm welcome,” Rasta told TshisaLIVE.

Rasta first rose to stardom after the Covid-19 pandemic when he painted portraits of the deceased at memorials and funerals online. Now he uses trending topics to attract potential clients.

While he often gets flak from trolls on social media, with many calling him a fraud and calling him out on his “botched” painting jobs, he received praise for his McKenzie portrait. 

“He's happy to be in that portrait as he usually is when he appears in public.”

Rasta said he was confident McKenzie would bring change in the industry as he had seen him do a lot since being in office. 

“He's energetic as far as he is vocal. Hopefully, he will look at all arts and sports the same and lift us all.

“The painting is waiting for the minister to show up and get it. In that process, I will be able to have a chat about what is killing us as artists. We need to have studios, workshops, galleries and art materials shops, as this can lower the level of unemployment in our communities.”