Art News South Africa

Colloquium on interdisciplinary and performance art

UCT's Gordon Institute for Performing and Creative Arts (GIPCA) will host Pre-Post-Per-Form, a colloquium to explore interdisciplinary and performance art, from 20 to 22 February at the University's Hiddingh Campus in central Cape Town.
Mexican-American performance artist Guillermo Gómez-Peña
Mexican-American performance artist Guillermo Gómez-Peña

Pre-Post-Per-Form will bring together leading artists, academics, festival directors and curators, journalists and writers. Convened by GIPCA's Creative Arts Awardee Jay Pather, the participants include international luminaries such as the iconic Mexican-American performance artist Guillermo Gómez-Peña; Trevor Davies, director of the Metropolis Biennale; writer and artist Sue Williamson; curator Melissa Mboweni; award-winning architect/visual artist Doung-Anwar Jahangeer; renowned scholar and writer Sarah Nuttal; veteran journalist Adrienne Sichel and performance diva Mwenya Kabwe.

A platform for further exploration

GIPCA was launched at UCT in December 2008 to enhance the arts within the university and broader community, whilst facilitating a broad range of collaborative and interdisciplinary projects. Pre-Post-Per-Form provides a platform for further exploration with contributions from world-renowned artists.

“Interdisciplinary collaboration and performance art have long and chequered histories,” said convenor Jay Pather. “Globally, these developments have been anarchic as well as institutional, embracing a paradox inherent in any attempt to formalise a process of breaking boundaries of discipline and transgressing the exclusive rules contained in hermetically sealed forms of expression.”

Topics

Topics to be addressed include cities and interdisciplinary performance, visual arts and architecture, literature and visual arts, interdisciplinary arts and the curriculum, creating interdisciplinary and performance art and capturing it on page and film.

Panels, lectures, discussions, viewings, exhibition walkabouts and performances are scheduled throughout the three days. These include the innovative solo performance of Strange Democracy by Guillermo Gómez-Peña, GIPCA Fellow Robert Jeffery's Songs in Dead Languages, Athi-Patra Ruga's work and Ingcwaba lendoda lise cankwe ndlela, a moving piece of physical theatre directed by GIPCA awardee Mandla Mbothwe. The exhibitions include those by artists Svea Josephy (Third Worlds: Model Cities); Fritha Langerman (Subtle Thresholds); Jonah Sack (A proposal for a new city, the same as the old) and Roger van Wyk (Dada South).

To book

The registration fee is R500 for the three-day colloquium (including tickets for all performances), or R200 for students. Bookings through Computicket www.computicket.co.za.

For further information on Pre-Post-Per-Form, go to www.gipcca.uct.ac.za, call project co-ordinator Dominique Jossie on +27 (0)84 208 8606 or email .

Let's do Biz