Cameron Cupido attended St. Cyprian’s High School and matriculated in 2007.
Today, she is a DTP Artistic Director having studied BA Visual Communication Design, BA Visual Studies, and her Master’s in Visual Studies.
“The KMF changed my life; it impacted my life in the most profound way I could have ever imagined. Since I first began the program in 2002, my scholarly years at St Cyprian’s school were marked with various challenges and learning curves.”
Growing up in Manenberg in the Western Cape, a neighborhood marked by its gangsterism and teenage pregnancies, she says she gradually began to realise that there were more opportunities beside that limited to her area.
“With the motivation of my parents, family, and the foundation, I was able to embark on an intellectual journey throughout high school despite my different cultural upbringing. In doing so, my scholarly experiences taught me valuable lessons in both academics as well as life. In essence, the most valuable lesson I have learnt was that one truly has to work hard to get where one wants to be – a motto I continue to live by. This, however, was just the beginning of my journey.”
Life after school: the journey continues…
In 2007, it was time to bid farewell to the beautiful green surroundings nestled at the foot of Table Mountain, that became her home for five years, and move to bigger things.
Cameron Cupido explains.
“After my years at St Cyprian’s high, I was awarded a merit bursary at Stellenbosch University to pursue my ultimate passion in the arts, specifically that of drawing, painting, and illustration.
“While University posed its own challenges, I persevered in completing my BA in Visual Communication Design. Although I did not originally plan to continue studying after my first degree, my research evoked a certain curiosity about my identity within a post-apartheid context and urged me to continue exploring the polemics of the coloured identity of various less well known South African artists during Apartheid.
“While this is my last couple of months before I finish my master’s in visual studies at the University of Stellenbosch, I realise that my long journey towards my dreams is slowly becoming a reality and would not have been possible without the KMF and my sponsors.
“I truly am grateful to have undertaken such a profoundly challenging journey and I hope that I can afford someone who has come from a similar disadvantaged background, a chance to become extraordinary.”
Exploring her heritage
Cameron’s aim is to contribute to South African visual history that in part, was neglected during the apartheid rule. Furthermore, she says that this research opened new doors and even piqued the interest of the Rupert family. “Completing this hurdle proved no easy task,” she tells us.
“Various other children’s book opportunities arose due to my research, and inspired a publication called ‘Lucy’s Dream’ which not just delicately focused on forced removals, but taught children the importance of never giving up on their dreams despite their circumstances.
“Soon thereafter, another unexpected children’s book opportunity arose, which I am currently busy with.”
Cameron says she is interested in being a mentor for current students at the Kay Mason Foundation and maintains that KMF went “above and beyond,” for her.
“I feel that KMF do and did the best that they could to assist us to achieve the best possible results and to be the best that we could be for ourselves and society.”
We wish Cameron Cupido only the best for her bright future ahead.
Visit our Support Programs page for more on the Kay Mason Foundation model of Selection, Accountability and Support.
