Provocation
“Power Talks’ essence is unpacking the often skewed dynamics of power“

Joining this conversation opens up the region to the necessary but long overlooked potential of diverse funding opportunities; moreover, it allows the province to form its own voice in the process of partaking in the wider discussions around such forms of power.

Power Talks’ essence is unpacking the often skewed dynamics of power in the processes and nature of funding opportunities from European Cultural Institutions. Perhaps as a result of the extended focus on major centres, the Eastern Cape has generally remained out of contention in past iterations, both in terms of accessibility to funding opportunities and the Power Talks discussions themselves. 

Joining this conversation opens up the region to the necessary but long overlooked potential of diverse funding opportunities; moreover, it allows the province to form its own voice in the process of partaking in the wider discussions around such forms of power. As the broader collective of Eastern Cape cultural individuals and organisations, where do we draw our strength when setting the scene for conducive engagements? Are we compelled to be introspective amongst ourselves first, before we join the nation-wide discussion? 

The Eastern Cape creative sector’s capacity to develop ground-breaking programmes and projects is an inspiring signifier when one starts to unpack such questions. The collective knowledge within the province also tells us that we are prepared to dissect the subtle or extreme differences this relatively new terrain of engagements introduces. The introductory tone set by Power Talks should present a very transparent showcase of the intentions of all parties going forward: one that highlights the urgencies confronting every party. Introductions, therefore, constitute a crucial role in setting the tone, parameters and extent of the engagement to follow.

One of the prompts during the early conceptualisation of Power Talks provoked interrogation into where (and why) discussions on power get stuck. This is especially important when one looks at the differing cultural subtleties between participants, not forgetting the differing objectives from one Institution to the next. Collectively the primary concerns in the region are development and access, with a strong inclination to work or projects that are socially engaged. This is not to say that different isolated practices or modes of work are not preferred where/when necessary. These early postulations were critical in the curatorial processes when examining how to drive healthy and fruitful discussions…, as I am myself a single hair on the body that is the region’s creative sector.

Visitors to the Eastern Cape often struggle with “pace” within the space, both in conversation and in the intrinsic daily rhythm of urban and rural. How do institutions best adapt to the flow and pace of this space which has been in the “peripheral”? Power Talks EC’s role is to present fertile ground for mutually updated, location-aware relationships between organisations/artists and European Institutions by placing the power of the region’s creative sector first.

Built in the early 1980s by Ciskeian Prime Minister LL Sebe, Bhisho is unique because unlike most South African capitals that acquire the title on the basis of  their geographic or economic size, its sole inception was to be a capital. The dissolved boundaries of the old homeland caused Bhisho’s economic position to shift and suffer under the more solid infrastructure of its neighbour, King William’s Town. Modern-day Bhisho is a shell of its former self: being host to many provincial government headquarters, its CBD bustles with activity during work hours then recedes to an eerie ghost town every late afternoon and weekend since the town centre offers no residential space. The creative economy in and around Bhisho has found strength in adopting an untangled approach, whose goals centre on self-sustenance and nurturing its limited market. This is not to to say that Gqeberha is much different, with its rising and fluctuating rhythm in the creative sector intensifying the exit of talent in the region, its relative proximity to Cape Town at times cementing its place as a half-way town out of the stagnancy the Eastern Cape often finds itself experiencing.

Often, difficult environmental circumstances compel Eastern Cape networks  to function in silos, their movement stifled by a  lack of agency and being located in South Africa's second-largest province. Stronger networks occur regionally, or per district, as a result of this movement of bodies and ideas. In most cases, the scarcity of opportunity leads to substantial talent exiting these micro-functioning networks and collectives, to move onto the next city or major urban centre. This in turn re-inscribes the common South African theme of movement from rural to peri-urban, to urban. This constant migration of  artistic communities from their place of birth to that of opportunity, and vice versa, presents a wealth of intel and experience from which to draw inspiration and links when looking contextually at the Eastern Cape. 

The collaborators that form part of Power Talks EC offer a chapter in this consistent movement, and the experience in itself looks at modes of sharing this gained knowledge to improve the local economy. Individuals and collectives who have championed the different trajectories and smaller catalytic initiatives within the different sub-genres take centre stage in this introduction of potentials. Attention is also given to connecting the existing network of agencies, government departments and independent institutions to the conversation. Often artists straddle administrative roles while still producing independent work separate to their employment, to have collectives with this experience in conversation with representatives and officials also lessens the load of how far parties have to go to reach common ground.

I imagine Power Talks EC as a catalyst for conversations and a cross pollination between artists and industry administrators. An experience that can, in its movement between the street and the formal, invoke valuable discussions on the different critical issues. Connecting the vast provinces’ aforementioned siloed networks was critical in the curatorial process. 

I foresee Power Talks’ prompts and themes as those which ask us to re-imagine the possibilities each cultural role player (Institutions, Organisations and Artists) has to offer within the Eastern Cape context. The province already lacks credible ‘dialogue’ between artists, organisations, government departments and private galleries; Power Talks presents a fresh iteration of engagements for new and existing networks.  

A recurring theme of the Eastern Cape Power Talks programme centres on the curation of  environments that are simultaneously disruptive and conducive, as well as the convening of diverse individuals to make possible  interesting and meaningful discourse.  Naturally, this begs the question: what does ‘meaningful discourse’ mean and look like to Power Talks participants and artists working in an Eastern Cape Context? 

To a large degree, this means avoiding the conversation disintegrating into the typical lambasting of government departments for poor service delivery,  and instead steering it into a more generative direction, by curating  a broad range of individuals for each of the  site experiences, which  will be spread out over the Eastern Cape’s two largest metro’s, Buffalo City and Nelson Mandela Bay.