Conference: URBAN PLACES – PUBLIC SPACES

Who has access to culture and public space in South Africa, the Netherlands and Germany? Where and how is civic engagement and citizens’ protest being shaped globally? And does the just city have to remain a utopia? “Urban Places – Public Spaces” invites experts from cities around the world to discuss these and other issues via a series of live video conferences. For the Johannesburg leg of “Urban Places – Public Spaces”, the Goethe-Institut welcomes Lesley Lokko and Jay Pather for a live discussion between Munich, Rotterdam and Johannesburg. Moderated by Rike Sitas, the event will include screenings of video footage from all three cities, such as a documentation of the public intervention “Chandelier” by Steven Cohen. URBAN PLACES – PUBLIC SPACES A global debate on life in the city via live video conference between Johannesburg, Rotterdam and Munich Sunday 26 April, 11H00 Goethe-Institut, 119 Jan Smuts Avenue Parkwood, Johannesburg Admission: Free About the panelists: Lesley Lokko is an architect, academic and the author of nine best-selling novels. She is currently Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of Johannesburg where she is Postgraduate Programme Convener. She studied at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, before going on to gain her PhD in Architecture from the University of London in 2007. Over the past decade, Prof. Lokko has been an on-going contributor to discourses around identity, race, African urbanism and the speculative nature of African architectural space and practice. Jay Pather is Associate Professor at the University of Cape Town, Director of the Gordon Institute for Performing and Creative Arts (GIPCA) and Artistic Director of Siwela Sonke Dance Theatre. Recent publications include articles in Changing Metropolis ll and Performing Cities. Recent art works include: Blind Spot for the Metropolis Biennale, Qaphela Caesar at an old Stock Exchange in downtown Johannesburg and rite, a re-imagining of Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps. Jay is also curator for the Infecting the City Public Art Festivals and The GIPCA Live Art Festivals. Rike Sitas spends most of her time exploring and experimenting in the intersection of urban studies and creative action. She is particularly interested in the relationship between art, technology, and democratic spaces. Rike is the co-founder and co-director of the NPO dala, an interdisciplinary network of creative practitioners that believe in the transformative role of public creativity (www.dala.org.za). dala's studio-of-the-street taps into everyday experiences of people who live, work and play in our cities which are still fraught with inequality. While living in Durban, she wrote for and edited the regional content for Artthrob. In addition to her academic writing (most recently "Third Text", 2013) she continues to write critical pieces for art publications and catalogues (most recently "Uncontained: Opening the Community Arts Project archive"). More information on the project and speakers: www.urbanplaces.info Click here to see our full event schedule for April and May. www.goethe.de/johannesburg