Battered creative industry to be redefined

The City of Johannesburg hopes to chart a new course for the creative industry that has been battered by the outbreak of the Covid-19 global pandemic.

At the launch of the 29th edition of the annual Arts Alive International Festival, which will run until December 12, the City said it would endeavour to re-awaken the arts from the slumber forced upon it by the unrelenting effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“As we launch this edition of the festival, we have deliberately taken on a new road for the industry that seeks to redefine the artistic and creative future for the industry if it is going to survive under the harsh conditions and protocols of the pandemic,” said MMC for Community Development, Margaret Arnolds.

Arnolds was standing in for Executive Mayor Jolidee Matongo who had another important engagement to attend to. “We seriously need to redefine the way we do things in this industry if we are to take it out of the sorry situation it finds itself in.

“There is no denying that the industry was hardest hit of the sectors of our economy by the pandemic and something urgently needs to be done to ensure it is brought back to life, and the vibrancy it used to enjoy before the outbreak of Covid-19,” she said at the launch held at Joburg Theatre.

She said the festival would be a great artistic fusion featuring artists from various sectors of the creative industry in a range of creative offerings planned to scintillate Joburg and global audiences with a uniquely Joburg artistic flair and talent.

One of the great attractions and flagship programmes of the festival was Jazz on the Lake, which for the first time would be curated as a hybrid-only virtual event that would be streamed live. It will be titled Jazz @ Arts Alive and will be streamed live on September 19.