Does the act of observing change the behaviour of the observed? This key question is in the background as work being done on South Africa’s first ever Cultural Observatory gains momentum and the foundations for the Observatory of the future are laid.
The first national South African Cultural Observatory workshop took place on Friday, 19 February at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Johannesburg. Industry players gathered to hear the vision and motivation for this initiative, ask questions, and voice concerns.
Looking back at 2015, a lot of groundwork and headway was made toward the establishment of the Department of Arts and Culture’s first ever Cultural Observatory. In 2016, we look forward to formalising what we hope will be South Africa’s seminal research institute for statistical analysis and mapping of the socio-economic impact of the cultural and creative industries in South Africa.
DIRECT FROM THE MINISTER'S DESK: “The only hope is in the creation of alternative values, alternative realities. The only hope is in daring to redream one's place in the world - a beautiful act of imagination, and a sustained act of self becoming. Which is to say that in some way or another we breach and confound the accepted frontiers of things.”
CHINA: Hangzhou’s cultural and creative industries generated 223.21 billion yuan (US$34.88 billion) in 2015, up 20.4 percent from the prior year, according to a recent white paper from the municipal government.
On behalf of the Department of Arts and Culture (DAC), the Cultural Observatory hosted two workshops in November with South African Cultural Observatory, DAC and SInCA (Cultural Information System of Argentina) and Cultural and Creative Industries Federation of South Africa (CCIFSA).
A new study published by EY in collaboration with the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC), titled, “Cultural Times – The First Global Map of Cultural and Creative Industries” analysed 11 Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) sectors: advertising, architecture, books, gaming, movies, music; has for the first time quantified the global economic and social contribution of this important sector.
THE home of the Department of Arts and Culture’s (DAC) newly established South African Cultural Observatory is strategically located in Port Elizabeth’s thriving creative hub in Central.
South Africans are bracing themselves for a week-long festival of dance at the 2016 Dance Umbrella. The event, held at multiple sites across Johannesburg is an astounding collection of the country’s best dance talent. It showcases ground-breaking new genres, and top notch global collaborations in the dance sector, opening on February 25 at the UJ Arts Centre Theatre and running until March 6, 2016.
A WORKSHOP to introduce the Department of Arts & Culture’s new national public research entity, the South African Cultural Observatory, will take place on February 19, 2016, in Johannesburg. The first annual national workshop will highlight the Cultural Observatory’s role in valuing and developing South Africa's Creative Economy.
There is growing international interest in the potential of the cultural and creative industries to drive sustainable development and create inclusive job opportunities. An indication of this is a recent set of UNESCO guidelines on how to measure and compile statistics about the economic contribution of the cultural industries.
