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Monday 09:00 - 17:00 Tuesday 09:00 - 17:00 Wednesday 09:00 - 17:00 Thursday 09:00 - 17:00 Friday 09:00 - 17:00

Institute for Creative Arts - ICA

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Institute for Creative Arts - ICA

The Institute for Creative Arts (ICA) is an interdisciplinary institute in the University of Cape Town's Humanities Faculty. Mellon Foundation.

ICA Online Archive:
https://www.icaonline.net The Institute for Creative Arts (ICA) is an interdisciplinary institute in the University of Cape Town's Humanities Faculty – formerly the Gordon Institute for Performing and Creative Arts (GIPCA).
• ICA seeks to facilitate interdisciplinary research projects in the creative and performing arts that disrupt boundaries, while underscoring creative educ

ation and practice across discipline and faculty.
• Interdisciplinarity, Live Art and Public Spheres are key themes of the Institute, and projects are imbued with innovation, collaboration and a dialogue with urbanism and community.
• ICA was launched on 5 April 2016 as a result of a grant from the Andrew W.

28/04/2026

Don’t forget to apply for the Live Arts Festival — the deadline is 30 April!

08/04/2026

A look back at "Convergence" panel discussion with Spier Light Art.

Thanks to the panelists, Dr Nkosenathi Koela, Wezile Harmans, Theytjie, Florian Bach, Noah Hall and Mmakhotso Petousis; and to Siphokazi Jonas for holding the conversation with such care.

And a warm thank you to everyone who joined us. Your energy and engagement made Convergence a truly special evening.

Images by Lerato Maduna

24/03/2026

OPEN CALL: ICA Live Art Festival 2026
Submit proposals for the 2026 Festival in Cape Town, 14–17 Oct.
We welcome performance, installation, digital/hybrid works, public-space interventions, participatory and durational pieces, and new experimental formats.

Deadline: 30 April 2026

Apply via the form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScVdC7HqbVJ8VkRl-M419XyBLtEPq6txnq6655oFB2RsEVu2g/viewform
Enquiries: [email protected]

Image: Wezile Harmans, And when they turn, home was no more, 2019

20/03/2026

The call for ICA Live Art Festival 2026 is coming soon. Stay tuned and get ready to bring your ideas to life.

Be on the lookout!

16/03/2026

Convergence_ A panel discussion

Join us as Dr. Nkosenathi Koela, Wezile Harmans, Theytjie, Florian Bach, Noah Hall, and Mmakhotso Petousis come together to expand the conversation around light art, exploring its cultural, political, and perceptual dimensions. Facilitated by the incredible Siphokazi Jonas, this panel brings together a dynamic group of creative practitioners.

How does light shape what we see, reveal what is hidden, and help us navigate uncertain civic spaces? Like rays converging at a single point, this discussion creates a space for gathering, reflection, and connection.

With support from Pro Helvetia Johannesburg, the Swiss Arts Council.

03/03/2026

The ICA, in collaboration with the Spier Light Art Festival, presents Convergence, a panel discussion on Light.

An evening of reflection, artist dialogue, and creative exchange exploring light as a force that connects sound, visual art, narrative, and space.

Book via Quicket: https://qkt.io/KVrFKg

With support from Pro Helvetia Johannesburg, the Swiss Arts Council.

03/02/2026

The Great Texts / Big Questions talks kick off the year with:
“Undesirability, Excess, and Black Women’s Visual Representation.”

In this talk, Tiffany E. Barber will explore Kara Walker’s turn to public sculpture, from “A Subtlety” to “Fons Americanus” and examines how these anti-monuments confront the memory of slavery across the US and the UK. The discussion engages questions of Black women’s visual representation and creative labour.

The lecture will be followed by a conversation with Portia Malatjie as discussant.

📍 Hiddingh Hall, University of Cape Town
📅 Thursday, 12 March
⏰ 17:30

01/12/2025

The Founders’ Pillars, a site-responsive Augmented Reality (AR) installation by 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐚 (), 𝐃𝐫 𝐌𝐞𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐚 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐡 () and 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐖𝐨𝐨𝐝 () , arrives at the University of Cape Town.

The AR installation reimagines the neoclassical pillars of Sarah Baartman Hall as a dynamic monument that challenges the colonial legacies embedded in one of the university’s most iconic structures.

It integrates textiles-led research (including textiles from the Wits Art Museum collection) with a reparative creative AR project. The installation disrupts the architecture’s colonial symbolism with African futurist storytelling rooted in textile traditions from across the continent. Each pillar is digitally wrapped in an animated textile whose patterns carry oral histories, myths, and folklore associated with the fabric’s origin.

From𝟒 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓, the work will be on view on the Sarah Baartman Hall pillars at UCT.

The artists will be present 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝟏𝟓:𝟎𝟎 𝐭𝐨 𝟏𝟔:𝟎𝟎 𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟒𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟓𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 to guide audiences through the AR experience.

To book a walkabout, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐑𝐒𝐕𝐏 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥: 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐡.𝐦𝐞𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐚@𝐠𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥.𝐜𝐨𝐦

To view the augmented reality work, please download the 𝐇𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐩𝐩, available for Apple and Android devices.

03/11/2025

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐬’ 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞.𝐧𝐞𝐭 🖥️📱🌐

The Archive comprises the ICA’s extensive range of interdisciplinary projects and scholarship. Outgoing Director of the ICA, Professor Jay Pather (), has conceived a portal online through which one may access and ‘touch’ parts of this vast archive online. This includes ICA festivals such as 𝘐𝘊𝘈 𝘓𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘈𝘳𝘵 and 𝘐𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘺; publications such as 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯: 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘓𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘈𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢(2019) and the recently published 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘐𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴: 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘈𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘺 (2025) as well as Fellowship programmes including the 𝘋𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘍𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴 to name a few.

To open the ICA Archive, the first theme is 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤, 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. Over time, more will follow such as:

• 𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 | 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦
• 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴 –
• 𝘱𝘳𝘦-𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵-𝘱𝘦𝘳- 𝘍𝘖𝘙𝘔

17/10/2025

💌 𝐘𝐎𝐔’𝐑𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐕𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐃 ‼️

Join the Institute for Creative Arts (ICA) 𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝟐𝟑 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 at 𝟏𝟕.𝟑𝟎 at 𝐔𝐂𝐓’𝐬 𝐇𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐡 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐥 for the 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐂𝐀 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐯𝐞!

The launch is premised on the ICA’s – since its founding in 2008 as the Gordon Institute for Performing and Creative Arts – documented range of interdisciplinary projects and scholarship.

The public celebration includes an opening performance by multi-award winning Jazz vocalist, composer and educator, 𝐍𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐨 𝐗𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐯𝐚-𝐃𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐲𝐢𝐬 ().

Meanwhile, a panel discussion featuring 𝐉𝐚𝐲 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 () as well as leading practitioners and scholars within the arts and humanities, reflect on the preservation of Live Art in Africa.

Writer 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐍𝐱𝐚𝐝𝐢 () offers a tributary poem, bidding farewell to Pather’s innovative stewardship of the ICA. She is followed by DJ duo — 𝐐’𝐕𝐚𝐧𝐚 () — who conclude the ICA Archive Launch into a discursive disco, redefining the rhythm of the night!

The ICA Archive Launch is also part of programming giving tribute to Pather as he prepares for his retirement. On 𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝟐𝟐 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 from 𝟏𝟑.𝟎𝟎, UCT Works of Art Collection Committee will host a performance celebration titled Exuberance: A Homage to Jay Pather at 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐔𝐂𝐓’𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐬.

https://www.icaonline.net

Address

2nd Floor Hiddingh Hall, The University Of Cape Town's Hiddingh Campus, Orange Street
Cape Town
8001

Opening Hours

Monday	09:00 - 17:00
Tuesday	09:00 - 17:00
Wednesday	09:00 - 17:00
Thursday	09:00 - 17:00
Friday	09:00 - 17:00

Telephone

+27216507156

Website

http://www.ica.uct.ac.za/

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