Outside the headquarters of the Johannesburg World Summit Company (Jowsco), in Sandton, there is a brutal-looking sculpture of an eagle catching a fish. The fish is writhing in gushing water, its skin pierced by the gigantic talons of the bird.
The hub of a world event on sustainability is perhaps not the best place for such a poignant reminder that in the food chain, invariably, some poor creature gets fried. Certainly, in their structuring of the official cultural programme the organisers have endeavoured to showcase the type of cultural industry that benefits the small fry, not the predator. Even if the small fry are seen through the lense of officialdom — in this instance the Department of Arts and Culture, which has launched its second National Craft Imbizo to coincide with the summit.
The Imbizo, which opened on August 19 at the Wanderers Country Club (now renamed Ubuntu Village) is a summary of small-scale South African craft production on an unprecedented large scale. This, thanks to the department’s partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry, the Tourism Enterprise Programme and Proudly South African. What appears to be the nation’s entire store of wooden dolls, wire vases and beaded ornaments are for sale in a single marquee — the work of 630 organisations or projects, collated over a period of eight months.
An adjoining marquee houses the exhibition Beautiful Things: Handmade in South Africa showcasing a selection of the finest objects in each craft genre, set against the various textures of the land.
This geometric display took the efforts of 120 interior design students from Johannesburg’s Design Centre College, under the guidance of principals Des Laubscher, Johan van Zyl and consultant Nicholas de Klerk. It cost the arts and culture department R1,5-million. As a gesture of goodwill the department also donated a sum of R50 000 to the college, for bursaries for disadvantaged students.
The craft Imbizo, like other aspects of the cultural programme happening around the summit, would have taken place anyway since it is an annual event. It is an indication of the way the major items on the summit cultural bill have been structured, as partnerships with ongoing government initiatives and discipline-specific NGOs.
The 11th programme of the Arts Alive International Arts festival that kicked off this week has benefited from its sudden partnership with Jowsco. This year Arts Alive has an increased budget of R8-million that will go towards its expanded programme (including, believe it or not, a Rio-style street carnival). Run by the Gauteng government, the festival will keep more than 500 artists and craft workers in employment until mid-September.
The coming week’s programme of Arts Alive includes a World in Trance event in Newtown’s Turbine Hall on August 23 and 24. This potentially exciting world music event features Pedxulu, a collaboration between musicians from South Africa, Madagascar and Europe. Local veteran Philip Thabane, popularly known as Dr Malombo, will make a special appearance with his cousin Mabi Thobejane and son Thabang, as will British avant-garde jazz trumpeter Byron Wallen. Wallen’s latest album Earth Roots (Melt 2000) is perfect World Summit fare, sampling many indigenous voices and preaching against, “human diversity vanishing before our eyes”.
Johannesburg will, no doubt, turn out for the free concert to take place at the Johannesburg Stadium tonight when African stars like Salif Keita and Femi Kuti are joined on stage by reggae superstar Lucky Dube and kwaito star Mandoza.
August 24 sees a free “Kwaito at the Square” concert in Newtown and a hip-hop, poetry and comedy evening at Mega Music. Music continues in the precinct throughout the week culminating in the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz Jo’Burg International Festival that takes place at the Newtown Cultural Precinct from August 29 to 31. The festival features Oleta Adams, Courtney Pine, Kirk Whalum, various Cuban ensembles and local stars Sibongile Khumalo and Judith Sephuma.
Back to Jowsco in Sandton where cultural programme manager Rogéne Hoosen has, up to the opening of the summit, stage-managed a dialogue between cultural gatekeepers that has given rise to the abundance of events on the summit calendar.
The Ubuntu Village will no doubt be the focus of public attention in the coming weeks. There the centre of activity is what Hoosen describes as the largest tent in the world housing best-practice projects for sustainability from participating countries. But this is not entirely cultural. On the cultural menu there are two stages showing performances by community groups and schools and an endless array of buskers.
Buskers will also be found at Johannesburg International Airport to welcome delegates. On the opening days at the Ubuntu Village buskers were very evident — gumboot dancers and tribal folk including the broad smiles of bare-breasted maidens. These were being photographed by an elderly Indian delegate in a colourful sari, and some rather embarrassed Americans.
The local film industry also comes into focus with the Jozi Summit Film Festival that runs until September 4. This is a partnership between almost every role player in the industry including Nu Metro, Ster Kinekor, Ecomove and the Business Council for Sustainable Development, the National Film and Video Foundation and the Film Resource Unit.
There is a township and a city focus in the venues selected. The movies include a line-up of noteworthy South African features: A Reasonable Man, Fools, Mapantsula, Sarafina, Sexy Girls, Hijack Stories and Jump the Gun.
“My overarching motivation for pulling in all these various cultural programmes that would be happening anyway, is that I think that there is a dominant perception that this is a summit in the north of the city,” Hoosen remarks. “What I wanted to do with the cultural programme is involve all the residents of Johannesburg. This also forms part of the city’s rejuvenation project.”
Two side events that have brought about meaningful participation without the help of the Jowsco cultural office are, firstly the production Drumstruck that will try to fill the opera house of the Spoornet State Theatre from August 27 to September 7. Each member of the 1 000-strong audience will be given a drum and the venue will resound with the united banging as a plea for world sustainability.
Secondly, there is a surprisingly fresh production brought to the Liberty Theatre on the Square of British director John Martin’s look at the complexities of the fishing industry in Nicholas Ellenbogen’s production of Guardians of the Deep. This play, produced by Theatre for Africa, showcases performers from Egypt, Brazil, Kenya, South Africa, India, the United States, England and Zimbabwe.
Guardians of the Deep interrogates the moment when humanity will devour its very last fish. It looks at the complex relations between industry, village fishermen, corporates and governments. Its message is that, although we feed off the offerings of the planet we don’t often think about the fact that what is placed before us at meal times may very well be the last thing we eat.
The details
” Details about The World Summit for Sustainable Development and the cultural programme at Ubuntu Village: www.joburgsummit2002. com. Tel: 083 141
” For the National Craft Imbizo Tel: (012) 337 8000
” For Arts Alive International Arts Festival see www.artsalive.org.za or Tel: (011) 834 4458
” For the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz Jo’Burg International Festival see www.joyofjazz.co.za or Tel: (011) 465 9655
” For the Jozi Summit Film Festival see www.jozi.co.za or Tel: (011) 838 4280
” For Drumstruck see www. statetheatre. co.za or Tel: (012) 322 1665
” For Guardians of the Deep call the Liberty Theatre on the Square Tel: (011) 883 8606