Respected international authority on “the future of cities and the creative use of culture in urban revitalization”, Charles Landry, has authored several acclaimed books, one of the best known being The Creative City: A Toolkit for Urban Innovators, where he puts forward the idea of culture as a hidden or missing dimension in urban or city planning. In this presentation titled Psychology and the City: The Hidden Dimension, which he shared at the 2022 Shukuma Mzansi! SA-EU Dialogue: Democracy in the Context of Culture organized by Sibikwa Arts Centre, he goes to great lengths to make a case for why culture is and remains the hidden and elusive dimension in the making of places and cities.

This toolkit forms part of the capacity-building and information-sharing elements of the Sustaining Theatre and Dance (STAND) Foundation – an independent, non-profit and public benefit entity, created by individuals within the sector to nurture, promote and celebrate contemporary South African dance and theatre. This toolkit – the first of a series of 6 toolkits for Community Arts Centres
and Arts organisations developed with the input and expertise of the community arts centres and organisations themselves, as well as with engagement from a range of longstanding experts within the field – focuses on Definitions, Environment and Roles. The toolkits are housed online along with other digital resources, on the STAND Foundation’s website and on the website of ASSITEJ South Africa’s Theatre4Youth programme, which provides resources for artists and which coordinated the production of the toolkits as commissioned by STAND.

Born from the research of Community Art Centre ecosystems in 4 South African provinces, this document provides a set of recommendations for the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture to improve the delivery of its Provincial Community Art Centres Strategy.

Intended to facilitate creative and cultural place making at a municipal level, this Charter offers a people-centred and integrated approach to addressing local challenges whilst building liveable cities, towns and villages across South Africa.

A policy driven document that supports the findings of several global research studies and policy processes showing that an overemphasis on the economic dividends of culture has overshadowed its important potential for developing democracy. This report offers a more balanced approach to cultural policy for the furtherance of democracy in local contexts.

An infographic report highlighting the sectors issues of skills capacity, public engagement and participation, and vulnerability to collapse; and providing recommended solutions towards building a sectoral infrastructure that is sufficiently supported in achieving both National and Global goals.

Highlighting government’s commitment to enabling South Africa’s access to culture, this document provides the who and how necessary for an effective provincial organisational ecosystem that advances access to culture for local communities.

This is a policy document of the Department of Arts and Culture that establishes an enabling framework for the promotion and development of the contribution of local arts and culture centres and programmes to South African culture, society and economy.

Published in 2017, the Revised White Paper (RWP) was developed to better situate Arts, Culture and Heritage and Cultural and Creative Industries in the advancement of South Africa’s social economy. While many of the principles of the 1996 White Paper remain, this RWP has a particular focus on the sector’s economic growth.

A product of the 4th Shukuma Mzansi! SA-EU Dialogue, exploring the possibilities for multi-stakeholder policy engagement, cross-sector collaboration and the establishment of a Local Cultural Governance Change Agenda, these virtual study tours from South Africa, Flanders, Ireland and Italy, illustrate the work being done to promote cultural inclusion, enhance participatory governance, and build social infrastructure that allow for safe, democratic and creative connections.

The Thohoyandou Arts and Culture Centre is a government established (RDP) centre in the heart of Thohoyandou Town in Vhembe District, Limpopo Province. The Centre is suitably situated along the Punda Maria Road (Kruger National Park), inside a cultural precinct with separate buildings such as the Indoor sports centre, Information Centre, Thulamela Main Library and a 200-seater auditorium. The Arts and Culture Centre maintained by Thulamela Local Municipality, serves as hub of artistic and cultural activities, in the disciplines of visual art, indigenous craft, film and photography, and has a curio shop.

Atamelang Art and Heritage Centre was established in 2014 to be the home for the community in all arts disciplines. Since its establishment, the Centre has managed to form partnerships with a number of stakeholders across the arts and culture sectors.

Established in 1988, Sibikwa is a multi-disciplinary Centre of Excellence, which has received multiple awards for its contribution to the creative and cultural industries, education and social transformation, through the arts. Specializing in music, dance, spoken word and drama, Sibikwa is committed to providing high-quality arts education and training, presenting world-class productions, and harnessing local and global partnerships. Sibikwa’s vision is for arts and culture to provide access, opportunities and advancement for the young, marginalised and disabled.

Established in 1996 Tallaght Community Arts creates opportunities for artists and the people of South Dublin County to explore together the transformative and celebratory power of the arts for the wellbeing of all. Operating in South Dublin with the highest concentration of new diverse communities, sitting alongside pockets of historically socially and economically deprived indigenous neighbourhoods, Tallagaht is conscious of serving both and where possible fostering social cohesion through participatory arts work. Creating work with communities of locality and communities of interest with specifically targeted groups, Tallaght facilitates high quality processes and thoughtful outcomes for diverse audiences, with a focus on cultural diversity, disability and inclusion and fostering local emerging and young artists.

Inniò (Friulian: nowhere, everywhere) is an association founded with the aim of promoting cultural diversity in all its forms, through research and the realization of projects in the field of culture, art and communication, with a particular focus on minority rights, languages and arts. Among its immediate and manyfold goals, INNIÒ aims at giving a new impetus and life to such an important and burgeoning festival as Suns Europe – where some of the most important cinematographic, musical, literary and artistic European productions are presented – as well as many other programmes and events, such as Radio Onde Furlane, a radio station in Friulian language which has been one of the liveliest cultural hotbeds in the region for the past 40 years.

Rataplan receives funding from the MEC’s office and has a close (working) relationship with the municipality and focus on socio-cultural and art projects that strive towards social inclusion. Rataplan is a place that excludes no one, that is open to experimentation and that brings people together and gives them a voice. It is founded on the principle of co-ownership: in programming, developing projects, day-to-day operations and governance. In this way, artists, participants and the public representing society and a broad, metropolitan community, feel at home. Rataplan works explicitly intergenerationally, stimulating both young and old based on a belief in the connecting power of the imagination.