Africa Cluster's contents tagged with "un/chronological timeline"

Johannesburg Working Group organises two further Iterations of the Un/chronological Timeline in April and May 2019

Fri, 14 Aug 2020 14:11:31 +0000

Two further iterations of the Un/chronological Timeline have taken place in Johannesburg - one at theSymposium ‘Rorke’s Drift, Histories and Pedagogies’ at the Bag Factory and the other at Wits University Braamfontein Campus during Africa Month.

5-6 April 2019
Rorke’s Drift, Histories and Pedagogies: A symposium

The Bag Factory Artists’ Studios, The Swedish Embassy in Pretoria, the Wits School of Arts, and the Department of Visual Arts and Sloyd Education at Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design (Stockholm, Sweden) held a two-day symposium. Following the Rorke’s Drift and Konstfack – Stories told and yet not told seminar held at Konstfack on 18 April 2018, the symposium took as its starting point the shared history Sweden and South Africa have in relation to the specific connection to the Evangelical Lutheran Church’s (ELC) Arts and Craft Centre at Rorke’s Drift.

Today, over 56 years since its inception, some of this history is known, but few people know about the impact ELC Arts and Craft Centre has had on the South African art scene. Equally, few know that it was a young Swedish art teacher trained at Konstfack, Peder Gowenius and his wife Ulla Gowenius, a textile
artist also from Konstfack, who played a key role in establishing the Centre in 1963.

What can we learn from histories about (the fight for) democracy, culture, education and the arts? South African photographer and filmmaker Cedric Nunn’s documentary film Rorke’s Drift Revisited, was screened along with a film made by Konstfack lecturer Viktoria Kindstrand. In the latter film, Kindstrand
interviews Peder Gowenius who tells his story about both struggle and success with the ELC Arts and Craft Centre. These screenings, in conjunction with a panel discussion and presentations, framed a wider discussion about bilateral collaboration, the need for ongoing research, existing projects and artistic and
pedagogical exchange.

Visit the Bag Factory website for further information.

- - -

A further iteration took place in collaboration with schoolchildren at the Braamfontein Campus of Wits University as part of the celebrations for Africa Month:

ARAC Will Convene for its 3rd Colloquium in Maseru (7-13 January 2017)

Tue, 28 Nov 2017 13:00:51 +0000

Africa Cluster Colloquium 2 (April 2017) Public Programme

Wed, 26 Jul 2017 14:14:40 +0000

The Another Roadmap Africa Cluster held their Second Colloquium from 3-7 April, 2017. We reserved the Thursday and part of the Friday for public events hosted at the Wits University School of Arts and School of Education.

Highlights

Thursday 6 April, 8-11am, Public timeline making event at Wits School of Education

ARAC members were invited to create a timeline that was juxtaposed with the history of visual arts in South Africa and the world at large. In this exercise, people added dates that held significance to them personally or in their work in order to demonstrate how history intertwines and mark one's place as part of history.

Lunch:13.15 – 4pm, Wits School of Arts (The Point Of Order)

Members introduced themselves and shared their research and experiences with the public. The timeline created earlier in the day was rolled out on the floor as part of the conversation and a symbolic representation of what brought the different working groups together. The gathering included an interactive writing exercise as well as music session to help bring working groups and audience members closer together.

Friday 7 April

1.15 – 4pm, Semi-Public: The Point of Order
Wits School of Arts Fine Arts ‘Drawing & Contemporary Practice’ III: 3rd year student made presentations on Medu Art Ensemble Newsletters in groups. The activity was followed by casual discussions between working groups and students about archiving, recovering and disseminating knowledge.

Evening: 6pm onwards, public
The cluster hosted a reception and dance party to wrap up the weeklong discussion, presentations and deliberations. Every member was invited to play a DJ set as part of the mutual exchange and connectivity of the group. The event offered everyone the chance to recap on an intense yet fruitful week while brainstorming ideas for the way forward.