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The World Summit on Arts and Culture is
expected to "have a catalytic impact on the arts and culture sector in South Africa
and across the African continent".
THE fourth triennial World Summit on Arts
and Culture (WSoAC) will explore various ways in which the arts can foster
intercultural dialogue and social cohesion between multicultural communities.
Looking at cultural identity
According to Mike van Graan, the summit
programme director, the WSoAC will initiate debate and consolidate networks that
will leave a lasting legacy for the global arts fraternity and the African arts
sector.
Themed "Meeting of cultures: creating
meaning through the arts", the summit runs from 22 to 25 September at Museum
Africa, in the Newtown cultural precinct, coinciding with national Heritage Day
on 24 September and other Joburg Arts Alive
Festival events.
Van Graan says the theme resonates across a
world that is increasingly divided by values, beliefs, religion, traditions, history
and culture. "The theme [is based on the fact that] the world is divided by
cultural rather than political ideology where threats of dominance by the other
are largely based on ignorance about the other."
Annabell Lebethe, chief executive of the
National Arts Council (NAC), says the theme "presents a rich backdrop for
in-depth analysis and sharing of best practices".
Issues like cultural diversity, art as an
instrument for public good, and arts and culture in post-apartheid South Africa
will be discussed.
Van Graan says the summit is designed to
provide insight, stimulate debate, alter thinking patterns, challenge current
dogmas and practices in the arts and culture policy arena, and ultimately provide
opportunities to build relationships and potential partnerships.
"The event provides a unique opportunity
for policy makers, funding agencies, development organisations, artists'
networks, think tanks and multilateral cultural bodies to reflect on the state
of the world and its implications for the arts over the ensuing few years."
Symposiums, panel discussions, workshops,
and roundtable discussions will be held.
Speakers
Professor Njabulo Ndebele, an academic and
author; Dr Stojan Pelko, a film publicist; Lebo Mashile, a poet, writer and
social commentator; Lee Suan Hiang, the senior adviser to the NAC; the Canadian
minister of arts and culture, Lindsay Blackett; and the Pakistani theatre
activist, Madeeha Gauhar, are some of the confirmed speakers.
Meeting of cultures: creating meaning through the arts
"The diversity of voices, implicit in the
summit theme, will hopefully stimulate debate and arrive at perhaps new meaning
through this meeting of cultures," says Van Graan.
The calibre of speakers, the spread of
topics and the networking opportunities will present an invaluable resource for
attendees, says Lebethe. "The NAC's primary objective is to create a platform
that engages a diversity of players."
More than 300 delegates from over 50
countries have already registered to participate, among them members and
affiliates of the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies
(Ifacca); representatives of international, national and regional artists'
networks; ministries of arts and culture; cultural policy makers; researchers;
arts educators and administrators; artists; and supporters of the arts.
"We anticipate the nexus of discussion to
have a catalytic impact on the arts and culture sector in South Africa
and across the African continent," Lebethe says.
Registration for the fourth triennial WSoAC
begins at R7 500 for Ifacca national and affiliate members from the European
Union; the European Free Trade Association countries of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway
and Switzerland; the United States; Canada; Japan;
China; Australia; New Zealand; Singapore; and South Korea. This fee covers
catering for two-and-a-half days of the summit, the official dinner and all
other materials.
Professional artists, arts administrators
and members of the public from other countries pay R3 300 and students pay R1 500. To register, click here.
The summit is hosted under the auspices of
Ifacca and the NAC; it is sanctioned by the City of Johannesburg's directorate of arts, culture and
heritage.
For more information about the WSoAC, visit
the arts summit website,
send an email to
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, telephone
Rosie Katz, the summit co-ordinator, on 011 838 1383, or email
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.
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