The Shukuma Mzansi! International Community Arts Centres Conference will take place at the Sibikwa Arts Centre in Benoni from 22 to 24 March 2017. The National Department of Arts and Culture has partnered with the Sibikwa Arts Centre to realise this sectoral dialogue between Irish, Flemish, French and South African Community Arts Centres with the purpose of increasing institutional capacity, policy implementation and best practice; it is above all a starting point for new perspectives, new challenges and new objectives.
The Shukuma Mzansi! project consists of three segments: a pre-conference study tour by SA delegates to Ireland, Flanders and France which took place in January; a pre-conference study-tour by EU delegates to South Africa which took place in February and the International Conference on Community Arts Centres comprising presentations by Irish, Flemish, French and South African experts focused on policy implementation, capacity building, imaginative programming and innovative ways of financing activities, practical case-studies, visits to Community Arts Centres and informal evaluation and showcases.
The main objective of this interactive conference is to assemble all Community Arts Centres stakeholders -practitioners, policy-makers, donors, officials, academics- to interact and engage with the critical challenges and innovative solutions that are part of the process of growing the outputs and efficacy of the community arts centres across the country.
The exchange element presents the opportunity to share experiences and expand dialogue between cultural workers in Ireland, Flanders, France and South Africa in the interest of promoting mutual understanding, positive change, cooperation and respect.
The key-topics of the conference include: the role of government, policy implementation, access to the arts, programmation and audience development and the creation of a national cooperative CAC platform.
Besides plenary sessions, the Shukuma Mzansi! Conference will comprise substantive break-away sessions, providing delegates the opportunity to focus on specific areas from their own perspective and national experiences.
This initiative is funded by the SA-EU Strategic Partnership – the Dialogue Facility which contributes to the strengthening of relations between the European Union and South Africa and encourages cooperation between equal partners in a number of areas in the economic, social and cultural fields.
Please contact projects@sibikwa.co.za for more information.