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INVITATION

Stellenbosch University Museum, in cooperation with the Woordfees (Word Fest) and the Michigan State University Alliance for African Partnership, invites you to a lunchtime conversation entitled Festivals in South Africa and the United States.

Date:   8 March 2018

Time:   12:50–14:00

Venue: Stellenbosch University Museum, 52 Ryneveld Street, Stellenbosch Central

RSVP:   Ms Natasha Coltman at ncoltman@sun.ac.za

Admission to the event is free.

Refreshments and wine will be served after the discussions.

SPEAKERS

Prof Kurt Dewhurst, Michigan State University, United States

PROF C KURT DEWHURST serves as Director of Arts and Cultural Initiatives and as Senior Fellow of University Outreach and Engagement at Michigan State University. He is Director Emeritus of the Michigan State University Museum, Curator of Folklife and Cultural Heritage and Professor of English. Prof Dewhurst directs and coordinates a variety of arts and cultural programmes for Michigan State University. Author and co-author of numerous books, articles and exhibition catalogues, he has also curated over 60 exhibitions and festival programmes. He is one of the founders of the Great Lakes Folk Festival and teaches courses in folklife, material folk culture and museum studies. He is advisor to the Nelson Mandela Museum, the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation and the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation. He has also served as advisor to National Heritage and Cultural Studies at the University of Fort Hare. In the past decade, he coordinated a major cultural heritage training programme in South Africa, co-curated the exhibitions Dear Mr Mandela, Dear Mrs Parks: Children's Letters, Global Lessons (in South Africa and the US) and Ahmed “Kathy" Kathrada: A South African activist for non-racialism and democracy in the US. He was awarded a Fulbright grant at the University of the Witwatersrand, where he assisted in the redevelopment of the Museum of Anthropology.

Mr Ismail Mahomed, Market Theatre Foundation, South Africa

MR ISMAIL MAHOMED is Chief Executive Officer of the Market Theatre Foundation (www.markettheatre.co.za) and was formerly Artistic Director of the National Arts Festival (www.nationalartsfestival.c.za ). Mr Mahomed is a multi-award winning arts administrator with more than 30 years of working in the South African arts sector as a published writer, theatre director and cultural leader. He serves on the boards of several arts organisations in South Africa with a specific interest in advancing and broadening access to the arts. He has travelled to more than 30 countries to participate in seminars and forums about the South African arts sector.

Prof Marsha Macdowell, Michigan State University, United States

PROF MARSHA MACDOWELL is Curator at the Michigan State University Museum and Professor in the Department of Art, Art History and Design at Michigan State University. A Folklore Fellow of the American Folklore Society, she conducts work that has, by design and philosophy, been developed and implemented with community-based and academic partners to address contemporary issues. While much of her work is based in the US, Prof Macdowell has also worked closely with cultural heritage colleagues in South Africa on a variety of projects.