GOETHE-INSTITUT HOSTS CULTURE & CLIMATE

The Goethe-Institut contributes to COP17 with Culture and Climate – a diverse cultural programme in Durban and Johannesburg.

The COP17 UN Climate Conference will take place in Durban this year. While the conference’s outcome lies in the responsibility of delegates and politicians, culture and art should also be part of the platform, when delegates in Durban try to negotiate a follow-up to the Kyoto protocol.

The Goethe-Institut South Africa contributes to COP17 with Culture and Climate – a diverse programme of exhibitions, workshops, performances and concerts taking place at various locations in Durban and Johannesburg.

The work of renowned artists from all over the African continent dealing with the topic of climate change and global warming is brought under one roof by curator Gabi Ngcobo in Don’t/Panic, an exhibition, commissioned by the Goethe-Institut and the Heinrich Böll Foundation at the Durban Art Gallery on the occasion of COP 17.

Three dancers travel with their performance Can Do It! all the way from Soweto to Durban, trying to spread a positive artistic message as they stop at gas stations along the way to perform. In Durban, their performance continues in various public spaces where delegates, protesters and people from Durban meet.

However, Culture & Climate can not only be watched, but also listened to – in a concert and workshop performances by German-Nigerian musician Ade Bantu and his band. They will perform on the stage of the Green Hub – where the municipality creates a space to celebrate during COP17.

What do natural disasters sound like if they are orchestrated by artists and children? Find out in the performance Building After Catastrophes, an audio-visual workshop which creates a soundscape. This will be staged at artSPACE Durban and might create the best soundtrack to the summit.

In the project space GoetheonMain in Johannesburg, the South African artist and filmmaker, Jyoti Mistry, shows her video-installation about the view onto the earth from space.

These are only some of the highlights Culture and Climate has to offer. Check out www.goethe.de/southafrica/climate for detailed information on the unique programme taking place in Durban and Johannesburg before, during and after the UN-Climate Conference “COP 17”.