The inaugural Artfluence Human Rights Festival presented by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of Kwazulu-Natal will showcase and highlight the extraordinary work of human rights defenders in South Africa and on the continent – past and present – and the role of the arts and artists in promoting human rights today. Supported by the Embassy of the Netherlands, the inaugural festival will run for four days from Wednesday 5 May to Saturday 8 May 2021.
In celebrating the theme of the festival, “Voices of Hope, Courage & Resilience”, the Thursday night 6 May at 7 pm, turns to spotlight three incredible dance makers who are also human rights activists in the sphere of inclusive disability dance practice.
The current Human Rights paradigm of understanding disability requires nation-states to not only provide disability-related services but also to adopt measures to change attitudes and behaviours that stigmatise persons with disabilities, eliminating the physical and social barriers that inhibit persons with disabilities from participating fully in society. In this inaugural Artfluence Human Rights Festival, the 6 May dance platform seeks to engage the confluence of disability, dance and the discussion around Human Rights.
Curated by the CCA’s JOMBA! Artistic Director Lliane Loots, this platform will highlight three significant local and international dance makers who are working in a professional contemporary dance environment to mainstream the arguably decentred dancer and choreographer living and working with disability, and who are also – in their creative and visionary dance making – adopting measures to change attitudes and behaviours that marginalise persons with disabilities within the arts.
Choreographers featured are South Africa’s Nadine McKenzie from UNMUTE DANCE COMPANY in Cape Town, Ondiege Matthew from DANCE INTO SPACE working in Nairobi, Kenya and Adriaan Luteijn from INTRODANS based in Arnhem in The Netherlands. These three dance makers exemplify – through a long history of dance making – the theme of this year’s Artfluence Human Rights Festival “Voices of Hope, Courage & Resilience” in how their integrated dance practices celebrate – and often provoke – dignity and respect for all people equally.
A dance work by each of these choreographers is screened, and a robust discussion panel lead by Loots will follow. Dance works screening are “ACCESS DENIED” with concept and direction by Nadine Mckenzie and filmed by Themba Mbuli, “AGWATA” choreographed by Ondiege Matthew, and Adriaan Luteijn’s “CIRCULAR”. This is the first time these three ground-breaking new (short) works are screened in South Africa.
The inaugural Artfluence Human Rights Arts Festival focusing on arts, constitution, and democracy will be presented by the Centre for Creative Arts in partnership with the Embassy of the Netherlands. Voices of Hope, Courage and Resilience will be the theme for the inaugural festival. It will mark the 25th anniversary of the Centre for Creative Arts as a vibrantly creative enabler and advocate for social justice and democracy and the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the South African Constitution. The inaugural festival will run for four days, from Wednesday 5 May to Saturday 8 May 2021. The Freedom of Expression panel will be screening on Wednesday, 5 May at 5 pm. The festival is freely accessible and can be watched via www.facebook.com/artfluencefest and www.youtube.com/centreforcreativearts.