In early June the SA Cultural Observatory was co-host of the Creative Intermediaries Forum that was hosted in District Six, Cape Town. The objective of the one-day workshop was to bring together a range of stakeholders and intermediaries who are working towards supporting the development of creative and cultural industries (CCIs) in Cape Town and South Africa. Creative intermediaries include profit and not-for-profit organisations facilitating a range of opportunities for creative individuals and companies such as: training and skills, space and business planning, access to finance and financial advice, access to markets, internationalisation and other opportunities. The other workshop hosts were King’s College London, University of Southampton and the Arts and Humanities Council.
The SA Cultural Observatory participated and shared information at the Umtiza Arts Festival in East London in May/June. Titled, ‘Towards the creative smart city: A transdisciplinary dialogue, the workshop was aimed at getting together some of the most dynamic thinkers in the country to put think about how a creative economy future for the city of East London and the Eastern Cape Province. The workshop also sought to kick-start a dialogue around the creation of cultural and creative clusters, while using the session to showcase multisectoral representation that should be part of cultural engagements
The second quarter of the year has felt like a whirlwind at the SA Cultural Observatory. The team has been crisscrossing the country, going from one province to another running workshops designed to benefit cultural practitioners and stakeholders.
The Observatory organizes capacity building and dissemination workshops across the country, both in rural areas and urban centres. The last three months has seen us conduct workshops in Mahikeng, North West; Kuruman, Northern Cape, Qwaqwa, Free State and Johannesburg, Gauteng. Two of these were capacity building workshops focused on Intellectual property, ably led by Dr Tapiwa Shumba, from the University of Fort Hare, one of our partner institutions. Conducted in Mahikeng and Johannesburg the two workshops alone attracted over 70 practitioners and stakeholders, who had diverse and very strong views about the recently passed Copy Rights Bill.
While the dissemination workshops were not as robust in engagement as the capacity building, they demonstrated the need for us to share our information with more stakeholders, especially cultural practitioners. This is particularly relevant in rural areas where the industry information is not easily available.
Follow us on social media and be on the look-out on our website, https://www.southafricanculturalobservatory.org.za if interested in attending one close to you.
The National Arts Festival, running for over four decades, is regarded as an important event on the South African cultural calendar, and the biggest annual celebration of the arts on the African continent.
This year, the 45th Festival is said to have attracted over 200 000 visitors, 2000 performers and showcased over 600 events both in the fringe and main programmes.
The Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) will be celebrating its 40th anniversary. Over the years, the festival has displayed films from different African filmmakers. The Festival offers a platform for local talent to showcase their craft in film and cinematography.
Sporting events are more than moments of competition, national pride, and entertainment. They are economic activities that can stimulate tourism, create employment, support local businesses, and generate revenue across multiple sectors of the economy.
Umntwana womgquba a term traditionally used in the Nguni language that means “born out of wedlock,” but nowadays it is used to emphasise that one is born kwisintu. As lontwana, I look back on my own adventures: sometimes I pat myself on the back, and sometimes I wish I could redo them.
Each September, South Africa turns its attention to the rich cultural tapestry that defines our nation. Heritage Month is a time to honour the traditions, languages, histories, knowledge systems, customs and creative expressions that have been passed from generation to generation, while recognising that our heritage is not confined to the past.
My first encounter with heritage at the Mandela Bay Development Agency was, appropriately, somewhat uncomfortable. It began with cleaning. The Gale Monument, the Horse Memorial and the Queen Victoria statue became my first practical introduction to the business of preserving history.
