Rector Dr Tshepo Moloi tells former students, teachers and artists that Funda Community College is ready to reclaim its glory days, and that the whole community is invited to help rebuild it.
A New Chapter for Funda Community College in Soweto
On Saturday, the 10th of October. I walked into the hall, expecting a ceremony. What I found felt more like a family reunion. Funda Community College has officially relaunched, and the people who filled the room (former students, retired teachers, veteran artists and community leaders) were not shy about showing how much it meant to them. After years of silence, the doors of Funda Community College are open again, and the people behind it say they are here to stay.
“It is Funda Community College, not Funda Centre”
Before anything else, Rector Dr Tshepo Moloi cleared up a point of confusion. Most of Soweto knows this place as “Funda Centre,” and the name has stuck for decades. But the rector was firm. The name is Funda Community College, and the aim is to make it the community college its founders always intended it to be.
It sounds like a small correction, but it carries a big message. A centre is a building. A college is a living institution with courses, teachers, students and a purpose. That is exactly what the leadership wants to restore.
A Short History of Funda Community College
According to Dr Moloi, Funda Community College was established in 1984. The building was funded by the Urban Foundation, an organisation linked to the Oppenheimer family, and the land it stands on was provided through the same foundation.
The college was the brainchild of the late Professor Es’kia Mphahlele, the celebrated writer and scholar, who also served as the first chairperson of its board. Professor Mphahlele had a bold vision: to build a decolonised education system for the people of Soweto, one that valued African creativity and gave ordinary residents a place to learn, make art and grow.
In its early years, Funda was not just a venue. It was a fully functioning college offering alternative education in art, sport and more. It had its own courses, its own terms, its own teachers and its own students. Over the years, Funda Community College helped produce many prominent names in the worlds of art, poetry and music.
The Goal: Reclaim, Rebuild, Reopen
Dr Moloi was honest about the hard years. For a long time the college has been dysfunctional. He told the audience that Funda had been “hijacked” by people with other agendas, and that the new committee’s first mission is to bring the whole building back under the control of the Funda Community College committee.
Once that happens, the rector’s plan is ambitious and clear. The leadership wants to:
- Revive the arts and return Funda to its place as a home for art, dance and theatre.
- Reopen the library and make it accessible to the whole community.
- Launch an art residency programme.
- Partner with schools in Soweto, making them strategic partners of the college.
- Work with local organisations to widen the college’s reach.
- Create real jobs instead of relying on volunteers, and run the college professionally.
- Carry Professor Mphahlele’s vision forward by offering alternative education to the people of Soweto.
“The community is at the centre of Funda Community College,” Dr Moloi told the audience, “and our aim is to serve it.”
He then turned to the crowd with an invitation. Artists must come forward. Community members with programmes must come forward. Funda Community College belongs to the people, and the people are needed to help reclaim it.
Inside the Relaunch: Art, Music, Poetry and Pride
The relaunch, part of the Phinda Phemba (Re-launch) Exhibition curated by Tumelo Mokopakgosi, was as colourful as the murals that greet visitors at the campus. The programme was led by MC Nickey Mothiba. It included a welcome note from board chairperson Magoshi Kgole, a short history of Funda by veteran artist Lindumuzi Mngoma, and the rector’s keynote address. Poetry and a music performance followed.
When the speeches ended, guests were invited on a campus tour and walkabout. We moved through halls hung with works from the Funda art collection, which spans more than 40 years. Outside, stalls made the grounds feel like a small market, and bold murals of Soweto’s faces watched over the courtyard. Many of the former leaders and teachers who built Funda Community College were honoured and recognised, and the applause for them was long and warm.
What struck me most was the mood. This was not nostalgia alone. People spoke about the glory days, but they spoke even more about what comes next.
How You Can Be Part of Funda Community College
The message from the relaunch is simple: Funda Community College is back, and the community is invited. Whether you are an artist, a teacher, a poet, a school principal, a former student or a local organisation with a programme to offer, the college wants to hear from you.
The Phinda Phemba exhibition runs until 13 October 2026 at Funda Community College, 8642 Immink Drive, Diepkloof Zone 6, Soweto. It is a good chance to see the campus, view the art collection and meet the people driving the revival.
To find out more or to partner with Funda Community College, contact 072 542 3450 (WhatsApp), or email info@fundacommunitycollege.org.za.
The relaunch carried a motto that sums up the day: Together we rebuild. Together we create. After spending the afternoon at Funda Community College, I believe it.
Loxion Express will keep you updated about the upcoming activities at Funda Community College.
