The 28th edition of Time of the Writer
festival announces curatorial team.
An all-women curatorial team will head up the 28th annual Time of the Writer festival presented by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The festival will take place between March 18 and 23, 2025, under the broad theme of Imagination, Freedom & Accountability.
Headlining the team is renowned South African author, Shafinaaz Hassim supported by four young graduates appointed under the Centre’s Emerging Arts Manager’s programme. Shafinaaz Hassim is a multi-award-winning author and sociologist based in Johannesburg. Her more than 15 titles have received international and local acclaim.
The Centre’s Emerging Arts Managers Nomthandazo Shandu and Andisa Mpisi who participated in an exchange programme at the Bergen International Literature Festival in Norway will be part of the curatorial team working with Shafinaaz Hassim. Nomthandazo will curate the festival’s outreach programmes. Andisa will head up the festival’s hospitality programming for invited authors to the festival.
Emerging Arts Managers Thalente Nlovu will co-curate the festival’s isiZulu programme together with UKZN Press Director, Dr Phindile Ndlovu. Owethu Dlamini will headline the festival’s communications strategy.
“The festival is a site for celebrating how books become testimonies that live beyond their times; and about how writers stimulate our imaginations, inspire our quests for freedom and hold society accountable. We also want the festival to be a site for opportunity, training and leadership”, Ismail Mahomed, Director of the Centre for Creative Arts.
The festival will present between 50 – 70 writers across its live and online programmes. The 28th edition of the Time of the Writer festival is funded by the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the National Arts Council and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Sport, Arts & Culture.
The Centre for Creative Arts is located in the School of the Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The Centre is renowned for its long-standing festivals --- Time of the Writer (27 years), Poetry Africa (28 years), JOMBA! Contemporary Dance festival (25 years), Durban International Film Festival (44 years) and Artfluence Human Rights festival (4 years). The Centre is committed to grow cultural leadership, promote artistic excellence and position the arts to be a dynamic advocate for social justice.
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