VAN RENSBURG

CV Rap 083 274 3297 cell

086 614 8732 fax

nikodemisvanrensburg@gmail.com

Find Nikodemis on art & green websites, YouTube, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Facebook & SoundCloud

“My name is Nikodemis

a.k.a. Niek Boer.

I tune this like a genius

coz I create me as I say this:

I write when I feel wrong,

I sing to make me strong.

I paint to make me glad

and I sculpt when I am mad.

Use the raw materials of our circumstance to create the life and world that we envisage Shaka Senghor, American former convicted murderer, college lecturer, author, director’s fellow of MIT Media Lab

“My teaching’s rather rad –

it makes a sad heart glad.

Kids dig the presentation

my method’s a sensation.

From junk I make them books,

from songs I fashion hooks -

like fish my pupils always smile

as magic with waste I do beguile.

Thus learning equals fun,

brain expansion is a song:

making right what’s been so wrong

In our country’s education for so

long.

“I love junk and hate junk –

it makes art

and breaks my heart

As it tears Earth apart.

Yet from all the dash-it things that be,

best is when tech & nature hits a perfect middle C:

Like machines for waste form energy

and my DIY that creates a synergy

for facilities’ management

or a trowel and some cement:

when I get smart

junk renovations see the light

which dance delightfully bright.

Living in a tent for most of a year

I fashioned a junk cathedral home

from the colorful empties of bottles of beer

birthing rainbows of light

for anyone’s delight. “ © Nikodemis van Rensburg

• Copywriter / Creative Writer, journalist, editor, sub editing and

promotions & events management/coordinator

• Teacher / Trainer and learning facilitator of skills development

from hands on, science, maths to languages and art / art therapy ages 2yrs - adult

• Interior & Ext. Art Work (painting, sculpture and installation) and Paint finishes

• Community Development projects (especially using waste as art /

craft material to inspire small businesses)

• Manager for construction and refurbishment projects including low cost

sustainable and creative re-building

• Waste management / waste diversion / waste to energy

• Maintenance management, facilities manager and DIY work

The jobs I am qualified for and experienced in, are:

Jobs I am experienced but not qualified in, are:

1985: Matriculate Hoër Seunskool Helpmekaar, Johannesburg

1986: Wits Technikon: One year Fine Arts foundation course

1987-90: Wits University: BA with English and Afrikaans-Nederlands as majors

1991: Wits University: Higher Diploma for Education with major teaching subjects Afrikaans &

Nederlands and English

1996-97: Rand Afrikaans University: Honours in Creative Writing, Language teaching and the

Teaching of Literature

2001: Diploma in Desktop Music Publishing from Cape Varsity

2002: Diploma in Internet Communication, Communications Dept, Univ of Stellenbosch

2003: Diploma for Arts and Cultural Journalism specialising in Jazz music from Institute for

Advanced Journalism as part of run up to North Sea Jazz Festival in Cape Town

Published short stories, poetry, art reviews and children’s books with publishers like Taurus’s Stet

Little Magazine, Wits student magazine called In Search Of Cyprus, The Mail and Guardian,

erstwhile Afrikaans weekly newspaper Die Vrye Weekblad, Dept of Arts and Culture’s magazine

Cultura, Media24’s Die Burger Newspaper and Joernaal Arts Weekly, Die Huisgenoot, You and TV-

Plus, on Contentlot.com, IOL, Nasou Via Afrika and on www.litnet.co.za

Copywriting for Die Burger newspaper’s Promotions department, Project Shift Community

Development Project & Cultural Bridging Tours, Dept of Arts and Culture, Arts Alive Festival,

Mweb’s Learning Online / e-centre, and freelance copywriting and translation work for various

corporates over the last 20 years.

Online blogging and poetry on art & culture & sustainability websites.

ACADEMIC CAREER:

PUBLISHING CAREER AS CREATIVE WRITER, AUTHOR AND COPYWRITER:

1989-1991: Part of editorial collective at Stet little magazine (Taurus publishers)

1988-1991: Educator & materials developer at Magri’s Language Institute, Braamfontein

1991-1992: English language bridging tutor, Engineering Faculty, Wits University, Jhb

1989-1991: Assistant project coordinator & teacher, Education Information Centre, Jhb

1992-96: Project Shift Community Development, Mpumalanga: Developing functional low cost dwellings and

artefacts with recycled waste materials used as prime building material and facilitating workshops with community

arts and cultural groups and individuals with emphasis on low-cost and found materials in aim of self-sustainability

1992-1993: Teacher in community school Xanthia Senior Sec School, Mphumalanga

1992-1993: Art Project Manager, ANC Dept. of Arts & Culture, Bushbuckrdge

1993-1995: Cultural Officer, Regional Council for Cultural Affairs, Dept of Ed & Culture, Jhb

1996-1997: Projects Coordinator with Arts Alive International Festival in Jhb

1998- 2001: Full-time journalist, Die Burger newspaper, Cape Town

1999-2001: Part time Assistant Arts Editor, Independent Online, Cape Town

2001-02: Webmaster and IT-trainer at Learning Online, MWEB, Cape Town

2003: Voluntary art workshops with Cotlands Orphanage children in Jhb

2003-05: Freelance arts and entertainment journalist for Die Burger, Media 24/Naspers

2006-ongoing: Translation, copywriting and educational materials writer for various institutions and private

individuals on a freelance basis

2003-2006: Love and Colour art workshops for adults & children in artist’s studio

2003-7: Part-time trainer/educator & evaluator at AFDA International Stage & Motion Picture Medium School, Jhb

2004-6: Part-time Art and Design teacher, grade 3-6 at Aurora Private School, Jhb

2007-09: Project managing Snugbugs Playschool & Art From The Heart Studio, Jhb

2008-09: Marketing, manufacture, design & install diary machines, Milk-Pro Interntnl

2008: Free-lance copywriter and journalist Trinitas Consulting, Jhb

2008-09: Project Manager and freelance artist for Move Interior Architecture

2009-10: Art and Skills Educator at Walter Sisulu Child and Youth Care School, Soweto

2009-10: Part-time Tutor at Education Department, Wits University Jhb

2010-15: Franchise co-owner and administrator plus teacher/sensei, Semas Abacus Maths (Soroban Education

Mental Arithmetic System) and Abacus Maths, Jhb

2015-ongoing: part time owner of Green Living For Freedom And Sustainability PTY Ltd.

WORK EXPERIENCE:

• Participated in various solo and group art shows all over South Africa since 1986 as visual artist,

performance artist as well as curator and related workshop facilitator. See more on YouTube and

soundcloud about the artist as well as at www.southafricanartists.com/home/nikodemis

https://www.etsy.com/shop/NikodemisArt?ref=hdr_shop_menu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDyoPo_5A00

• Look out for his latest performance art project with his band Die Bruise Broers as lead vocalist

and lyric writer performing original “Afro Jazz Vastrap”. See YouTube and soundcloud for lists of

his and the band’s tracks, and live performances with a 6 track recorded album is on the cards f

2002-2009: The Human Touch / The Point network 2009-11: Ancestral work via Sangoma Ritual Process Work 2010-11: Boys To Men network 2010-11: The Mankind Project Yoga, Mountain Hiking, Mountain Biking, Horse Riding, Dog Training, Colour Therapy and Colour Meditation, Dancing, Music, Nature Conservation, Health and Well-being, Music Appreciation, Reading (mostly Sci-Fi and Environmental Literature), Healthy and Natural food, Gardening (food gardens the organic way), Living Truly, Integrity, Family Time

VISUAL AND PERFORMANCE ART CAREER:

SPIRITUAL & PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT:

PERSONAL INTERESTS AND HOBBIES:

MS Office; Pastel; Excel, Photoshop; basic HTML and web design; Powerpoint, Social Media networking, SEO and Google Adwords / Keywords, Desktop Music Publishing

English and Afrikaans – excellent spoken and written Tsonga – basic verbal communication Xhosa – basic listening comprehension improving gradually Zulu – basic listening comprehension and learning Dutch and German – basic listening and reading comprehension

FOR MORE INFORMATION SEE SOCIAL NETWORK PROFILES, VIDEOS AND BLOGGING ON YOUTUBE, LINKEDIN, GOOGLE+, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND

WWW.GREENLIVINGFORFREEDOM.COM

COMPUTER LITERACY:

LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: