COMMUNITY ARTS BEYOND THE VENUE
Your Voice Still Matters
By Thami akaMbongo Manzana
The Creative Passport – Community Arts Engagement Series
As the Community Arts Indaba approaches, conversations are intensifying.
Panels are being curated, programmes refined, and delegates confirmed.
Yet one truth remains unavoidable: not everyone who matters will be able to sit inside the venue.
Distance, funding constraints, work commitments, accessibility challenges, and everyday survival realities mean that many community arts practitioners will not be physically present at the Indaba.
But absence from the room must not translate into absence from the conversation.
At The Creative Passport, we firmly believe that community arts does not live in conference halls — it lives in townships, villages, community centres, schools, churches, street corners, and informal spaces. It lives where people create without guarantees, often without recognition, and frequently without support.
This article is therefore an open invitation — and a deliberate intervention.
Source: ATCA
We Want to Hear From You
If you cannot attend the Community Arts Indaba in person, your voice is still critical.
We are calling on:
Community-based artists
Arts administrators and facilitators
Cultural workers
Youth and women-led initiatives
Rural and township arts organisations
Independent practitioners operating outside formal systems
to share your lived experiences, perspectives, and aspirations.
Image: DSAC Logo
Source: www.gov.za
Let’s Start With the Hard Questions
What is working in your community?
Which programmes, spaces, or initiatives are making a real difference?
What support models (government, NGO, private, community-driven) have worked — and why?
Where have you seen genuine skills transfer, sustainability, or growth?
What is not working?
Where are the gaps in funding, policy, infrastructure, or leadership?
How do bureaucratic processes exclude community-based organisations?
What promises have been repeated without tangible outcomes?
At a provincial level:
Is there coordination between municipalities, provinces, and national structures?
Do provincial departments understand the realities of community arts practice?
Are decisions informed by practitioners or imposed from above?
At a national level:
Does national policy reflect what is happening on the ground?
Are community arts practitioners visible in national planning and budgeting?
Who speaks for community arts — and who is left out?
Source: ATCA
Your Wishlist for the Community Arts Indaba — and Beyond
We also want to hear your wishlist, not just your frustrations.
What must the Community Arts Indaba prioritise?
What conversations can no longer be postponed?
What commitments must come out of the Indaba — not in statements, but in action?
What would meaningful support for community arts look like in 1 year, 3 years, and 5 years?
And beyond the Indaba:
How do we ensure continuity and accountability?
How do we stop community arts from being reduced to events, once-off funding, or symbolic gestures?
What structures must be built — or dismantled — for community arts to thrive?
Image: Provincial Engagements
Source: ATCA
This Is Not a Talk Shop
We are intentional about this moment. This is not about collecting soundbites, nor is it about creating the illusion of participation.
Your contributions will:
Inform our ongoing Community Arts Engagement Series
Be published (with consent) on The Creative Passport
Be synthesised into questions, reflections, and critiques that speak directly to decision-makers
Contribute to a growing public record of community arts realities across South Africa
How to Participate
You can share your thoughts by:
Sending written responses
Voice notes (for those more comfortable speaking)
Short reflections or longer submissions
Please include:
Your name (or anonymous if preferred)
Your community / location
Your role in the community arts ecosystem
Submissions can be sent to:
📧 akambongo@gmail.com
Community Arts Is Not a Footnote
Community arts is not a stepping stone to “real” arts. It is the foundation.
It is where audiences are built, talent is nurtured, stories are preserved, and social cohesion is practiced daily.
Any national conversation that excludes these voices is incomplete — and ultimately dishonest.
If you cannot be in the room, let the room hear you anyway.
The Creative Passport remains committed to amplifying voices that are too often unheard — not as a favour, but as a responsibility.
Your voice matters.
Your experience matters.
Your community matters.
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