CRIME AT THE KZNSA?

Artists, writers and academics on Crime and Punishment

On October 20, from 10h00 to 16h00, the KZNSA Gallery in Bulwer Road will host a day-long presentation titled Artists, writers and academics on Crime and Punishment.

Guest speakers include Eric Pelser; Jodi Bieber; Barbara McLean; Jessica Ford and Dr Vanitha Chetty followed by a plenary discussion led by Peter Machen.

Eric Pelser - is the founder and executive director of the Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention, Cape Town. He has worked in the field of safety and security and crime prevention since 1996 and has extensive research, policy analysis, project management and project evaluation experience. He holds a masters’ degree in public and development management, and has published widely on policing, criminal justice issues and crime prevention. His seminar will focus on his assertion that crime in South Africa is a function of the development and replication, over the past 30 years, of a culture of violence and a normalisation of crime and violence amongst a large number of negatively socialised and socially excluded youth (a group that constitutes a significant proportion of South Africa’s population). The children of yesterday’s “lost generation” have not, as yet, been found – rather, they are now learning to be lost. This can be attributed in part to a strategic misconception of the nature of crime in the country and, related to this, poor contemporary management strategies.

Jodi Bieber - is a South African photographer who works for, amongst others, the New York Times, Geo and Stern magazine, along with special projects for non- profit organizations including Amnesty International (Holland/UK), Medecin sans Frontieres (Holland/Germany), Christian Aid (UK), Positive Lives (UK) and Save the Children (UK). Over a ten-year period (1994 – 2004) her own projects focused on the country of her birth, photographing youth living on the fringes of South African society. Bieber has won eight World Press awards. She is represented by the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg and Fifty-One Fine Art Photography in Belgium. She will be showing and talking about photographs from a range of projects that have relationships to the people living on the fringes of societies dealing with crime. These include gangsterism in Westbury, sexual violence by soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, survivors of domestic violence and drug use in Valencia, Spain. Further information on www.jodibieber.com

Barabara McLean and Paulette Barker - In 2006 LifeLine received a request to help inmates of the Westville Correctional Services. Led by project manager Barbara McLean, the resulting training incorporates an emotional wellness journey. Inmates are equipped with life skills to help them cope with incarceration and prepare them for release. As part of this programme, art teacher Paulette Dubayle-Barker implemented a series of art workshops, the outcome of which is currently on exhibition at the KZNSA. McLean and Dubayle-Barker will talk about their experiences with this programme aimed at implementing methodologies of restorative justice, followed by an in-depth look at the artwork produced by the prisoners.

Jess Foord - On March 2, 2008, Jess Foord was gang-raped by four men on a smallholding in Shongweni. In her talk, Jess will talk about her experiences and her mechanisms for dealing with the trauma. By focusing on the personal journey from victim to survivor, Jess talks about her chosen way forward of establishing a series of centres where survivors of rape, in the crucial first 24 to 72 hours, may access all the necessary post-rape procedures under one roof. More information may be seen on www.powar.co.za

Dr Vanitha Chetty is a senior lecturer in the Department of Criminology, UKZN, where she has also held various positions including Head of Department and Academic Co-ordinator. She will talk about her research findings into restorative, as an alternative to traditional, justice.

Peter Machen is a freelance journalist with a special focus on arts and culture. He holds a Diploma in Art Direction from AAA and an Honours degree in Economics from UKZN and currently writes for, amongst others, the Weekend Witness, Art South Africa, SA Art Times and www.artthrob.co.za

The KZNSA Gallery is situated at 166 Bulwer Road, Glenwood, Durban. Contact 031 277 1703, fax 031 201 8051, email: curator@kznsagallery.co.za or visit www.kznsagallery.co.za