This month Live SA and the British Council Connect ZA will bring their successful #CreativeHustles event series for young people to Cape Town in partnership the 2014 Live Art Festival. Presented by Gordon Institute for Performing and Creative Arts (GIPCA), the Live Art Festival brings together a range of South African and international artists from the fields of visual arts, dance, theatre, music, architecture and literature.
Live SA’s Sid Sidwaba says “we and the British Council Connect ZA are excited to partner with GIPCA for our next Creative Hustle on Saturday 30 August at City Hall in Cape Town. “This hustle will focus on performance art, giving attendees the opportunity to hear from creative innovators in the field in a special pre-performance discussion before seeing live performances exploring diverse notions of femininity,” says Sid.
Curator, director and choreographer Jay Pather, Grahamstown-based dancer Nomcebisi Moyikwa, human rights activist and performer Siphumeze Kunday, poet, writer and the Mail and Guardian 200 Young South Africans (2013) recipientGenna Gardini, and co-founder and artistic director of the Mothertongue Project Sara Matchett will sit down with attendees before the performances to give their insight on performance art as well as framing the performances featured on stage that evening.
After the discussion, a series of international artists will explore femininity through dance, scripted narration, graphic design, photography, video and song. Grahamstown- based Nomcebisi Moyikwa, and fellow performers Maipelo Gabang andNtombizandile Nonyathi , push the boundaries of contemporary dance through their act ,Caught, which follows two women caught in a half room with a single bulb as their only source of light. Following its run at the 2013 SPILL Festival (UK) reviewer Dora Mortimer described UK artist Season Butler’s “Woman who walks on knives” as “creating a cobweb-fine balance of danger and seduction and raises interesting questions about the nature of sacrifice in art.”
Nigerian-American artist Wura-Natasha Ogunji will collaborate with South African women for a stirring site-specific endurance performance called “Can’t I just decide to fly?” Artistic trio from the Mothertongue Project, Sara Matchett,Genna Gardini and Siphumeze Kundayi, will present The Walk: South Africa which was inspired by India’s Maya Krishna Rao.
Closing out the evening will be the Ancentral Omega: The Medora presented by Weaam Williams Exploring the feminine narrative of the Cape Malay people, this piece will be accompanied by a malay choir who will sing a traditional Kaapse Nederlands wedding song, guided by a Malay opera singer.
Creative Hustle: Live Art Festival takes place at City Hall in Cape Town on Saturday 30 August from 5pm to 10pm. The pre-performance discussion will take place at 5.30pm, followed by refreshments. Performances will commence from 7pm. It is free to attend for 18 to 35 year-olds, however you must reserve your place to attend at http://bit.ly/1pChoHx. Presented by Live SA and British Council Connect ZA, #CreativeHustles are an event series for 18-to-35-year-olds, offering a platform for up-and-coming creatives to connect and build relationships with established industry professionals.
