In a context where increasingly artists gravitate towards live art practice and public performance outside of formal training avenues, the Institute for Creative Arts (ICA) in collaboration with Pro Helvetia Johannesburg, hosted an interdisciplinary Live Art Workshop, under the direction of Jay Pather, in March and April 2019.

The workshop brought local participants interested in developing their work in this field together with master practitioners in specialised areas of practice, as well as programmers of experimental work in the public sphere drawn from Pro Helvetia’s global network.

(c) Carla Eagles and Xolani Tulumani, courtesy of Institute for Creative Arts

Intended for cultural practitioners across a broad range of fields – including sociology, political science, anthropology, psychology, urbanism, literature, digital technology– the participants were selected through an open application process managed by the ICA. The final group consisted of South African participants, as well as three artists from the Southern African region – Antananarivo, Harare and Dar es Salaam. This was made possible through our network of Regional Partners.

The Workshop was facilitated by a group of  artists, cultural producers and educators from South Africa, Mozambique, India, Switzerland, China, Brazil and Egypt. The intended outcome was for participants to present a concept for a new live art work developed potentially in collaboration/relationship with peers during the course of the workshop, Twenty six pieces were presented in a one-day programme open to the public and reviewed by a range of curatorial and programming guests from Pro Helvetia’s global network. This offered the opportunity for relevant new work to be circulated through this emergent network of platforms focusing on the incubation and presentation of challenging work in public spaces.

(c) Xolani Tulumani, courtesy of Institute for Creative Arts