Call for proposals: 2021 (Un)Infecting the City festival in SA

The call is open to emerging and established artists from or based in South Africa to present their work at the event. Short, succinct works are encouraged, however, those staged for a live audience will not be considered.

This year’s festival will focus on the psychological and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The event, which is traditionally known as Infecting the City, was renamed (Un)Infecting the City for the 2021 edition. The festival will give creatives an opportunity to bring music, art, dance and performance out of theatres and galleries and into the streets of Cape Town.

Still observing the festival’s city-based concerns of urbanity and spatial politics, proposals must consider how these concerns have been further exacerbated by the pandemic. Artworks may include themes ranging from, but not limited to:

• Grieving, mourning rites and memorialisation.
• Mental health.
• COVID-19 health and safety precautions such as the proper use of a mask, the meaning(s) of social distance, risks of moving in crowded places.
• Care while infected with COVID-19.
• Stigmas around illness.
• Nutrition.
• Vaccination.
• Form.

Suggested forms are:

• Site-specific performance filmed for online viewing.
• Video to be projected in a public space, e.g. the side of a building.
• Visual artwork, e.g. an installation.
• Graffiti or mural.
• Poster campaign.
• Billboard.
• Social media project.
• TV broadcast.
• Radio broadcast, for example poetry.
• A newly imagined form, inspired by working within a pandemic.

How to apply?

• Interested creatives can apply here.
• Artists are required to submit their personal details, a short description of their proposed artwork, a CV, links to relevant works and a budget that clearly indicates which part of their project would need monetary support from the ICA.
• Successful applications will receive some technical support based on safety protocols, marketing, curatorial and administrative support.
• In addition, projects will be offered monetary support towards their budgets. In the interest of supporting as many artists as possible, it is unlikely that a project will be financially supported beyond R20 000.

The submission deadline is 22 February.

“The festival reimagines transport and shopping hubs, squares, gardens, and public walkways as transformative stages, showcasing an array of multi-disciplinary art forms, and creating a platform for artworks that engage with historical and contemporary narratives relevant to the city and its people,” ICA said.

“The festival seeks forms that challenge audiences, transgress aesthetic and disciplinary boundaries, shift perspectives and help make sense of the public spaces we occupy. However, taking into account the limitations on movement and in-person gatherings during this time, there will be no live works performed for a public gathering. Artists are encouraged to work with formats that adhere to the health and safety protocols outlined by South Africa’s Covid-19 regulations and guidelines.”

For more information, send an email to ica@uct.ac.za.

View the original call here.