UJ Arts & Culture, a division of the
Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture (FADA) at the University of
Johannesburg, has announced a partnership with Business and Arts South Africa
NPC (BASA), for a provocative new project, UNFESTIVAL SA. A week of un-theatre,
un-dance, non-exhibitions, non-workshops and a smorgasbord of nothing that may
or may not take place during May (depending on how you look at it).
According to Pieter Jacobs, Head of UJ Arts
& Culture, "We all know that festivals, arts centres, theatres,
galleries and other cultural institutions have been forced into cancelling
events and shutting their doors amid the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic.
UNFESTIVAL SA is a conceptual event inspired by the Czech Festival of Nothing,
and was conceived as a means to help independent creatives and the most
vulnerable in the arts sector. UJ has been a BASA member for several years now,
and we saw the opportunity to partner around this symbolic concept for the
benefit of students in the Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture and,
through our partnership with BASA and its artist relief efforts, for the sector
as a whole."
(Pieter
Jacobs, Head of UJ Arts & Culture)
Jacobs announced that arts lovers,
supporters and stakeholders across a spectrum of creative disciplines will be
able buy tickets to non-events at UJ: "Fifty per cent of UNFESTIVAL SA’s
proceeds will be distributed to needy students via the UJ FADA Dean’s Bursary
Fund, which provides support for academically deserving students, and presents
an opportunity for the public to give hope to the academic journey of the
youth. The balance of 50% will be distributed via BASA’s Supporting Grants
programme, which now offers artists and creative practitioners once-off,
short-term financial aid for COVID-19-related medical care or to offset the
loss of income due to the cancellation of confirmed engagements (resulting from
the nationwide lockdown or other emergency measures)."
The full UNFESTIVAL SA programme will be
revealed at an exclusive Gala Opening on May 15, 2020, to which no-one will go,
or indeed, will be invited. Jacobs added that many people will have had access
to free entertainment, to the point where few artists can say they have not
been asked to perform for the exposure, and said that UNFESTIVAL SA is an
opportunity to reciprocate and pay it forward. Visit www.arts.uj.ac.za or
www.basa.co.za for full programme details on May 4, 2020, and show your support
by buying a ticket -- but please don't come.
UJ Arts & Culture, a division of the
Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture (FADA) produces and presents
world-class student and professional arts programmes aligned to the UJ vision
of an international university of choice, anchored in Africa, dynamically
shaping the future. A robust range of arts platforms are offered on all four UJ
campuses for students, staff, alumni and the general public to experience and
engage with emerging and established Pan-African and international artists
drawn from the full spectrum of the arts. In addition to UJ Arts & Culture,
FADA offers programmes in eight creative disciplines in art, design and
architecture, as well as being home to the NRF SARChI Chair in South African
Art and Visual Culture, and the Visual Identities in Art & Design Research
Centre. For more information, please visit www.uj.ac.za/arts.
To link directly to the BASA website, click
on the BASA logo to the right of this article or visit www.basa.co.za
To become a BASA member, click on the ‘JOIN
US’ tab at the top of the home page.
Posts
