Friday, June 18, 2010

Artists for Human Rights Trust sponsors YAP

The Centre for Fine Art Animation and Design thanks the Artists for Human Rights Trust for the part sponsorship of the 2010 Young Artist Programme. Their kind gesture has enabled 10 youngsters who were unable to afford the costs to participate in this unique art programme. The programme began on the 12th of June and will conclude on the 24th June. The public exhibition will be opened on the 3rd July.
 

Artists for Human Rights Trust History


The first seed for what was to become the Artists for Human Rights Trust germinated in an innovative collaborative project involving artists and human rights activists in KwaZulu/Natal. The prime movers behind the project were Coral Vinsen then a member of the Black Sash and the Durban Detainees Support Committee, and Lorna Ferguson, also of the Black Sash and then curator of the Tatham Art Gallery in Pietermaritzburg. Their aim was to mark the 40th anniversary (on the 10th December 1988) of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly. To this end, a meeting was held early in 1988 to plan an art project to celebrate this special anniversary. As a result, the "Artists for Human Rights" committee was formed, and two events planned to take place on the 10th December 1988 (International Human Rights Day) at the Durban Exhibition Centre. The first of the two events was an interactive art and human rights workshop for 400 teenagers of all race groups held on the morning of the 10th December. Read more...

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Artists, can you help?

The South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA) is working with south Durban churches to arrange a youth programme for the holidays.

They would like support from an artist/s to run a session teaching youth to paint banners/placards etc in preparation for a community march on the 10th of July against human trafficking.

If you can help, or can suggest someone who can, please can you contact Des D'Sa on 

083 982 6939  or e-mail sdcea3@mail.ngo.za

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Free Durban Arts & Heritage Bus

World Cup Season: 12 June – 9 July

The Arts Bus: every Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday

The Heritage Bus: every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Especially for the World Cup season, the popular Arts Bus - and a new
addition, the Heritage Bus - will alternate daily offering two different cultural experiences with a free hop-on, hop-off city bus which allows arts lovers to visit eight of the city’s premier galleries and some of the city’s top heritage attractions in a day.

The World Cup season will see the bus travel daily (except Sunday) from Sat 12 June until 9 July – offering 24 trips in total. The Arts Bus will run every Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday over the season, and the Heritage Bus will run every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

The idea is for residents to explore their city with comfort and ease; and for visitors to discover some of the arts and heritage treasures which the city has to offer. Packaging day trips makes visits easier with no transport, navigation or parking issues.


A major benefit is that the bus has an onboard guide to explain the attractions en route and to provide a narrative context to all the places to be visited. The bus for both routes will depart daily at 8.30am in front of the old Pavillion site on the beachfront which is used as the World Cup Info Site, ideally for holiday-makers and World Cup visitors to be able to embark. The second stop will be at 9am at the KZNSA Gallery in Glenwood primarily for those wanting to park their cars in the KNZSA car park. Guests can join the bus either at the beachfront Tourist
Info Site (old Pavillion site) at 8.30am or the KZNSA Gallery at 9am.

The Arts Bus takes visitors to some of the premier galleries in the city – with special focus on those galleries who have a World Cup or soccer themed exhibition. It is anticipated that the route will include The KZNSA Gallery; The Durban Art Gallery; The BAT Centre; Artisan Gallery; African Art Centre; Durban University of Technology Gallery, ArtSPACE Durban and the 2010 International and African Fine Art Collection at Suncoast Casino.

The Heritage Route includes: Mazisi Kunene Museum; the KwaMuhle Museum; the Old Court House Museum; Durban Botanic Gardens, the Juma Masjid Mosque and Emmanuel Cathedral. An in depth guided tour through the precious artifacts of the Phansi Museum has also been organized for bus commuters (for a cost of R35 per person). En route passengers will be shown various civic attractions: the John Ross statue; Vasco Da Gama clock; Dick King statue; Fernando Pessoa statue; Port Natal Maritime Museum, the Victoria St Indian Market and City Hall / Post Office precinct.

This will be the third year that the Arts Bus has been running. It has previously been an integral part of the Celebrate Durban September season, but due to its enduring success, the city officials from Ethekwini Municipality have created a platform to run the Arts Bus and its new sister – the Heritage Bus – daily over the World Cup season as an attraction for visitors and residents alike.

Bus entry is free and all are welcome. The only charge will be for the guided tour at the Phansi Museum on the Heritage Bus route. There will be lunch stops factored into the itinerary for passengers to purchase a light meal. Seats are limited so booking is advisable

Enquiries and bookings: Domy Cortes 031 208 9430 / 073 719 0444 /
domcortes@gmail.com.

Detailed info / online booking on www.pubmat.co.za

ROUTES AND ATTRACTIONS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE!

Saturday, June 05, 2010

3rd TALENT CAMPUS DURBAN 23 - 27 July 2010

The Durban International Film Festival has announced that the selection for this year's edition of Talent Campus Durban has been finalised. Over 40 young filmmakers representing nearly 20 African countries, including Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Lesotho, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and of course South Africa, will participate in an intensive five-day programme of workshops and masterclasses. The Talents, who were selected through a rigorous application process, will also have the opportunity to attend screenings and events at the 31st Durban International Film Festival.

The 3rd Talent Campus Durban, themed Focusing on Africa: Unleashing Talent in 2010, will centre activities on the development and strengthening of partnerships between African filmmakers. Talent Campus Durban is held in cooperation with the Berlinale Talent Campus, the eighth edition of which formed part of the 60th Berlin International Film Festival in February this year. Talent Campus is a global partnership and apart from the main event in Berlin, Talent Campus partnerships take place at selected festivals in Buenos Aires, Guadalajara and Sarajevo. It is a considerable privilege and sign of success of the first two editions that DIFF has again been invited to host a Talent Campus.

Monica Rorvik, Assistant manager of the DIFF, comments: "This year's influx of Talent brings an exciting skillset to Campus, with their range of expertise covering acting, editing, directing, producing, and script writing. The Campus will facilitate opportunities to bring Africa's stories to life through the creative vision of these filmmaking talents. While we welcome the new talents with pride we also received the sad news that one of Talent Campus Durban 2009 alumni, El Hadji Samba Sarr (Senegal), died from malaria this month. Samba had also been selected for the Berlinale Talent Campus 2010 and had a project entered into the inaugural Durban FilmMart. The Durban FilmMart, which specifically targets African projects, launches at the festival and runs parallel to Talent Campus."

Another positive sign is that Durban Talent Campus alumni films appear in all sections of this year's festival, including the feature film category. Ugandan Talent Caroline Kamya will attend DIFF to present her debut feature, Imani, which also appeared at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year. The festival will present two first feature length documentaries by previous participants in Talent Campus. Koundi and the National Thursday by Cameroonian Ingrid Atodji is a gorgeous and heartfelt look at life inside a communal society that is negotiating the demands of globalization and the search for uniquely African solutions. South African Carlos Franciso's American Foulbrood looks at the global environmental crisis through the crippling effects of a deadly disease on African honey bees and its possible impact on food production. Short fiction films and documentaries are also in the festival from a number of other Durban and Berlinale Film Festival Talents.

The 3rd Talent Campus Durban is a partnership project between the Durban International Film Festival in cooperation with the Berlinale Talent Campus, Berlin International Film Festival, and is supported by the German Embassy in South Africa, the Goethe-Institut, and the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, KwaZulu-Natal. 

The Durban International Film Festival is organised by the Centre for Creative Arts (UKZN) with principle funding and support from the National Film & Video Foundation, HIVOS and the City of Durban.

31st Durban International Film Festival  22 July to 1 August 2010
3rd Talent Campus 23 to 27 July 2010
Durban FilmMart 23 to 26 July 2010
Centre for Creative Arts
University of KwaZulu-Natal 
Durban 4041 South Africa
Tel +27 (0) 31 260 2506 fax +27 (0) 31 260 3074 
website: www.cca.ukzn.ac.za
twitter: www.twitter.com/DIFFest

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Opportunities: Visual Arts Network of South Africa

The Visual Arts Network of South Africa has recently updated their website with the latest industry opportunities...

TWO THOUSAND AND TEN EXTRAORDINARY IDEAS
National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund: Two Thousand and Ten Extraordinary Ideas Workshop Invitation. The Visual Arts Network of South Africa (VANSA) will be convening a series of two-day workshops on proposal-writing for artists around the country with support from the NLDTF. – Two Thousand and Ten Reasons to Live in a Small Town. For more info go to:
www.vansa.co.za/two-thousand-and-ten-extraordinary-ideas/view

VANSA INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME 2010
The Visual Arts Network of South Africa (VANSA) is looking for two energetic, creative, innovative people for internships at our office in Johannesburg. The positions will afford access to a wide network in the visual arts sector and provide an excellent opportunity for on-the-job training and development for people interested in arts management, administration and networking. The VANSA internship programme is made possible with the support of Africalia, and includes eight other interns located in visual arts organisations across the country.For more info go to:
www.vansa.co.za/vansa-internship-programme-2010/view

CALL FOR SUCH INITIATIVE ASSISTANT
SUCH INITIATIVE is looking for a full time assistant for a period of 8-10 weeks, between June and August 2010.
For more info go to:
www.vansa.co.za/such-initiative/view

SASOL NEW SIGNATURES ART COMPETITION
We invite all emerging artists to take up the challenge of entering this respected competition in 2010, the 21st year that Sasol has been its sponsor. The competition is held annually and is open to all South African artists who are 18 years and older, who have not held a solo exhibition except for academic purposes.
For more info go to:
www.vansa.co.za/sasol-new-signatures-art-competition-2010/view

SAVAH FINAL CALL FOR PAPERS
SAVAH South African Visual Arts Historians. Over views: Art History in (South) Africa and the Global South. A colloquium organised by SAVAH under the Comite International d'Histoire De I'Art (CIHA). University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 12-15 January 2011. Abstracts will be accepted until 31 July 2010.
For more info go to:
www.vansa.co.za/savah-final-call-for-papers/view

OPPORTUNITY BY AFRIKA SPEAKS
Afrika Speaks is presenting a life time opportunity to all proud, passionate, dedicated and committed emerging Artists in South Africa, SADC and the entire continent to exhibit the genius of raw Art and by telling the true african story using the power of paint and brush.
For more uinfo go to:
www.vansa.co.za/oppertunity-by-afrika-speaks/view



REAL STORIES GALLERY
Real Stories Gallery is a not-for-profit visual arts and storytelling HIV prevention initiative, in partnership with Art For Humanity and Urban Thought Arts Ensemble to support the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation. They are looking for work inspired by a life or community affected by HIV/AIDS for an online exhibition.
http://www.vansawesterncape.org.za/news/real-stories-gallery

ROOM TO READ WORKSHOPS
Room to Read will be running a series of writers and illustrators workshops across four provinces, Gauteng, Limpopo, Northern Cape and Western Cape.
http://www.vansawesterncape.org.za/news/room-to-read-workshops