Africa in Motion Film Festival Twenty Years of Democracy: Art and Activism in South Africa

This one-day symposium on art and activism in South Africa is co-hosted by the Africa in Motion (AiM) Film Festival and the University of Glasgow. This year South Africa celebrates 20 years since its first democratic elections in 1994. The arts – including music, film, theatre, literature and visual arts – have played a pivotal role in the anti-apartheid struggle and the important role of creative expression in South Africa’s young democracy continues today. Led by Albie Sachs – famous anti-apartheid activist, art lover, and a former judge on the Constitutional Court of South Africa – as keynote speaker, the symposium will include talks and discussions by a number of high profile South African scholars and cultural practitioners. Talks will cover the role of visual arts, theatre, music, film and literature in the struggle against apartheid, the role of the arts in historical memory and legacy, and the importance of the arts in expressing post-apartheid identities in contemporary South Africa. The City of Glasgow is the perfect location for this symposium, given the strong historical connection that exists between Glasgow and the anti-apartheid struggle. Nelson Mandela also had a strong connection with Glasgow, and visited the city in 1993 to thank its citizens for their support in the fight against apartheid, with Glasgow being the first city in the world to offer him the Freedom of the City in 1981.

Programme:
9.30am-10am: Registration & coffee/tea
10am-10.15am: Welcome
10.15am-11.30am: Albie Sachs: The Bauhaus Dream on Constitution Hill in Johannesburg (plus screening of Constitution Hill Art Tour DVD)
11.30am-12.30pm: Annie Menter: ‘Music Proves who I am’
12.30pm-1.30pm: Lunch
1.30pm-2.30pm: Mandla Mbothwe: The reclaiming of the stolen memory and healing of our societies
2.30pm-3.30pm: Jacqueline Maingard: Anti-apartheid and Post-apartheid Film in South Africa: politics, memory, identity
3.30pm-4pm: Coffee/tea
4pm-5pm: Panel discussion