Public arts festival ITC to make a strong return to Cape Town

Life Esidimeni - The Journey

The ITC public arts festival is the longest-running public arts festival in South Africa. Over the last 12 years, ITC has transformed Cape Town’s communal spaces into spectacular outdoor entertainment venues showcasing an array of energising and inspiring art forms.

TheDanceoftheRubberTree: Artist-Mushaandja from Namibia. Photo Credit:Ana Córcoles Siegersbusch

"An emerging theme from this year’s proposals is work based in classical African tradition. Works that explore how classical African performance and rituals work inside of the urban space. This is also to create atmospheres of cleansing and interiority within these commercially driven, materialistic spaces," says Jay Pather.

Joining Pather as a curatorial fellow for the festival is internationally acclaimed dancer and choreographer of African Indigenous and cross-cultural dance, Elvis Sibeko, who brings extensive experience with traditional African productions. Sibeko will be curating two programmes – one traversing the city centre, the other with the Castle of Good Hope as a backdrop – that brings together contemporary and classical African performance of various kinds.

Artist: Qondiswa James - Work: Jailbed. Photo credit: Xolani Tulumani

Igniting debate of challenges through art

Infecting the City will be tackling issues such as women empowerment with productions that are not only performed by women but also curated and directed by women. "Women traverse a thin line of security in our public spaces. South Africa ranks as one of the highest perpetrators of violence against women in the world. Foregrounding these issues in a public space is essential. And no amount of bringing this to the centre and in public will be enough," says Pather.

Pather explains that as our environment becomes more trying, riddled with complexities and debates around land, poverty, race, safety and security and the environment, there is growing insularity. Public art creates the circumstances for emotions to be stirred, and for discussions to take place publicly.

Interrogating ownership of city spaces

He goes on to say that public art combines the intimacy of art with the public encounter. Infecting the City creates a space for issues to be raised and debated, which is needed in the country now more than ever. More than 20 years into democracy, South Africa is still one of the most unequal countries in the world and spaces where we can feel and think together are becoming increasingly important.

The festival will comprise four routes winding their way through the cityscape – two-daytime routes, from 12.30om to 4.30pm, and two evening routes, from 6.00pm to 9.00pm.

For information about artists and works represented at this year’s event, visit Infect the City.

The full festival programme will be released in early October.