COMMUNITY ARTS TAKES CENTRE STAGE
ZOOMING IN ON COMMUNITY ARTS: REDRESS, RETHINKING AND REPOSITIONING FROM THE GROUND UP
In the spirit of the National Dialogue, it is time to zoom in — not on policy statements alone, but on the lived realities of Community Arts across South Africa.
In this country, every five years, we make sure that all wards are counted during national and local elections. Ballot boxes reach deep rural villages, townships and informal settlements. Voters are registered, stations are opened, and the language of inclusion becomes non-negotiable.
Yet when it comes to service delivery, infrastructure, sustained funding and cultural development, many of these same wards are quietly forgotten.
We cannot speak about the arts in South Africa without speaking honestly about arts in our communities. Community Arts is not an “entry level” or “developmental” phase of the sector — it is the foundation. It is where creativity is first discovered, skills are formed, stories are shaped, and social cohesion is practised daily.
Image: DSAC Logo (Source: www.gov.za)
WHY COMMUNITY ARTS MATTERS NOW
Community Arts is where:
- young people encounter arts outside formal institutions,
- culture responds directly to social realities,
- heritage is practised, not archived,
- and creativity becomes a tool for survival, healing and expression.
Yet despite its centrality, Community Arts remains unevenly supported, poorly documented, and inconsistently resourced.
In some areas, community arts centres are vibrant and active. In others, buildings stand abandoned, programmes are underfunded, and practitioners work without security, recognition or protection.
To build a meaningful future for the arts, we must first understand where we are now.
What is the current state of Community Arts in South Africa?
Who is working where, with what resources, and under what conditions?
Who is visible, and who is invisible?
TOWARDS A NATIONAL COMMUNITY ARTS INDABA
This critical reflection comes at an important moment — as preparations begin for a National Community Arts Indaba involving all nine provinces.
The Indaba is brought to you by Alex Theatre Company & Academy (ATCA), with funding support from the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC).
The Creative Passport, in partnership with ATCA, will facilitate these engagements — bringing conversations from the ground directly to practitioners, policymakers, researchers and the broader public.
This is not about speaking about communities. It is about listening to communities.
REDRESS. RETHINKING. REPOSITIONING.
It is time to:
- Redress historical imbalances in access, funding and infrastructure,
- Rethink how Community Arts is defined, valued and supported,
- Reposition Community Arts as a strategic pillar of cultural policy, not a peripheral concern.
For these engagements to be meaningful, they must include multiple voices, including:
- Practitioners
- Researchers
- Academics
- Government (local, provincial and national)
- Public entities and agencies
- Arts organisations
- Activists and community leaders
Each voice carries a different truth. Together, they tell the full story.
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WHAT TO EXPECT: 12 – 19 JANUARY 2026
From 12 to 19 January 2026, The Creative Passport will publish:
- Opinion pieces,
- Interviews,
- Practitioner profiles,
- Reflections from communities across provinces.
We invite our readers to engage, respond, question and contribute.
Share your experiences. Tell us what works — and what does not.
Silence will only preserve the status quo.
Your voices matter.
As the African proverb reminds us:
“It takes a whole community to raise a child.”
The same is true for raising a sustainable, inclusive and just arts sector.
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QUESTIONS WE MUST CONFRONT — TOGETHER
As we enter these engagements, we leave stakeholders with difficult but necessary questions:
TO GOVERNMENT:
How does Community Arts feature in long-term planning beyond pilot projects and once-off grants? Where is the accountability for neglected facilities and inconsistent support?
TO PUBLIC ENTITIES AND AGENCIES:
How accessible are your funding instruments to community-based practitioners outside major cities? Who falls through the cracks — and why?
TO INSTITUTIONS AND ORGANISATIONS:
How do you partner with communities without extracting value or reproducing inequality?
TO RESEARCHERS AND ACADEMICS:
How much of your work reaches the communities you study? Who owns the knowledge produced?
TO PRACTITIONERS:
How do we organise, document and assert our collective realities beyond survival mode?
TO ALL OF US:
What does justice for Community Arts actually look like — and who must act to make it real?
The conversation is open.
The moment is now.
Community Arts can no longer remain at the margins of a national cultural future.
Join us. Engage. Question. Contribute.
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