For the first time ever, the World Summit on Arts and Culture will be held in Africa, in Johannesburg from 22 to 25 September. This fourth edition of the Summit is a project of the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA) and is themed: Meeting of Cultures: Creating Meaning through the Arts.
Music, theatre, dance, literature, film and the visual arts are seen by some policy makers and politicians as possible bridges between cultures, as safe, non-threatening points of entry into understanding “other’ and as facilitators of “intercultural dialogue’.
Hosted by the National Arts Council of South Africa, the Summit will provide a unique opportunity for policy makers, funding agencies, development organisations, artists’ networks, think tanks and multilateral cultural bodies to reflect on the state of the world and its implications for the arts over the ensuing few years. Key debates will be initiated, visionary ideas launched and networks consolidated. The Summit is envisaged as a catalyst that will leave a lasting legacy for the global arts fraternity, and in this instance, for the African arts sector in particular.
Mike van Graan, Programme Director for the Summit and Head of the Arterial Network’s Secretariat, will write a weekly column in the build up to the Summit, raising some of the themes and provocative issues that will be debated at the event.
For further information about the World Summit, see www.artsummit.org.
