THE inner city is a vibrant district with a unique character that can easily claim to be the Culture Capital of the country. It has a wide-range of cultural venues, and serves as the base for many creative and cultural industries.

It features a number of theatres, including the Civic Theatre, the Market Theatre, the Wits' theatres and the Alexander Theatre.

The inner city is very often the venue of choice for many of the city's cultural events; the prime one being the annual Arts Alive Festival , which sees many activities taking place in Newtown and surrounds. Another major annual event is the Dance Umbrella.

Many of the creative and cultural training institutions are also based in the inner city: The University of Witwatersrand's School of the Arts, the National Arts School, the South African Ballet Theatre, Moving into Dance Mophatong, the Dance Factory, the Market Theatre workshop, the photographic laboratory, Creative Industries Collective, the Bag Factory to name but a few.

It is also the home of several major art galleries, including the province's premier institution, the Johannesburg Art Gallery, as well as the Standard Bank and Absa galleries.

Historically, the inner city is where the city was born. It was here that the first gold-rush shanty town was established. To this day there are reminders dotted around the inner city pointing to historical events or social developments. Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown refers to the strikes of the 1920s, while the Fort at Constitution Hill, which once housed many of the freedom fighters over the years, is now home to the Constitutional Court.

The regeneration initiatives of the City have identified several areas that will expand this sector:

• Arts and culture sector connections and networking
• Profiling the Inner City as a cultural capital
• Improving the programme of arts and culture offerings
• Supporting arts and culture production
• Heritage

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