Video Country Focus: South Africa

Last June, the #cocreateIDENTITY Experience took place in Cape Town, organised by the Dutch Embassy and Consulate General in South Africa, together with South African partners. It was the final event of the #cocreateIDENTITY Programme (2020-2022) in South Africa with cultural activities and open dialogues around questions of identity and transformation in the context of the cultural heritage that connects South Africa and the Netherlands. Among the activities were the performances of Krotoa (Eva van de Kaap) at Artscape Theatre and Ons Perspektief at the Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town.

For our online Country Focus: South Africa, we invited some of the participating artists of the #cocreateIDENTITY Programme, to talk about their experiences and dive deeper into Dutch-South African artistic co-creation.

Joining us are:

• Sylvia Vollenhoven (SA), play writer of the musical theatre performance Krotoa
• Jef Hofmeister (NL), musician and composer of the musical theatre performance Krotoa
• Mathijs van Til (NL), performing artist (BrotherTill) participating in the project Ons Perspektief
• Lindsey Appolis (SA), photographer participating in the project Ons Perspektief
• Sebastiaan Messerschmidt (NL), Consul General of the Netherlands in Cape Town

Moderation: Josine Backus, advisor Focal Countries at DutchCulture

About the #cocreateIDENTITY Programme (2020-2022)
Identity challenges are universal, but those in South Africa are unique, also involving Dutch historic ties through trade and slavery. The #cocreateIDENTITY Programme (2020-2022) was created by the Dutch Embassy and Consulate General in South Africa in partnership with DutchCulture. It ventured into the space of identity issues, the complex issue of who are we today and how that relates to the past.

The #cocreateIDENTITY Programme featured South African partners and Dutch/South African collaborations exploring these questions in a meaningful way. All with the aim to contribute to the co-creation of a better future.