The dialogue will be held at the Wits Theatre on 16 September as part of 20 years of democracy celebrations.
The South African arts sector and its artists have always been at the forefront of South Africa’s struggle for freedom and democracy. Issues such as human rights, censorship and access to the arts will be raised at the dialogue. A high-level panel consisting of icons advocate George Bizos, Adrienne Sichel and Phyllis Klotz will engage with a diverse audience on the role the visual and performing arts have played in furthering South Africa’s constitutional democracy and the role it must now play in taking South Africa forward.
The panel will also reflect on whether the post-democratic arts order has continued to effectively exercise its role as agitator and interrogator of the social status quo. Wits Theatre director Gita Pather will facilitate the discussion.
Bizos is a world-renowned human rights lawyer who was Nelson Mandela’s lawyer, confidant and close friend. Klotz is the artistic director and co-founder of the Sibikwa Arts Centre, and has a lengthy track record in development theatre in education. Sichel is a freelance theatre journalist, as well as a dance history researcher and consultant at The Ar(t)chive at Wits.
The dialogues are a project of the 21 Icons project, which, through photography, film and other initiatives, has been profiling the achievements of 21 South African icons who have played pivotal roles in shaping and defining our young democracy.
This year, the 21 Icons team, alongside partners such as Brand South Africa will hold a series of dialogues on university campuses across South Africa in a bid to stimulate debate between young people, and those very icons that have helped craft and shape our world-renowned constitution.
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