Infecting The City has been running since 2008. Visit the online archives from previous Festivals for additional information on programmes, artworks and artists, as well as Festival documentation.
Infecting The City 2016
In 2016 Infecting the City was reconceptualised as a series of 3 public art sessions consisting of 5 events over 29th and 30th March, 12th and 13th April and 9th August respectively. In its ninth iteration, ITC showcased 31 performances of 22 artworks.
Infecting The City 2016 website
Infecting The City 2015
The eighth iteration of Infecting The City took place over a period of six days, from the 9th to 14th March. The Cape Town CBD was reimagined by a group of four curators who worked with 290 artists to present 81 performances of 53 different artworks, to an audience of over 38,000 people.
Infecting The City 2015 website
Infecting The City 2014
From 10 – 15 March , Infecting The City showcased a total of 54 local and international artistic works, with 102 performances over 6 days. Featured works included a selection of new works created specifically for ITC ; re-staged productions from participating arts organisations; and collaborative pieces conceived under the guidance of the Festival Director.
Infecting The City 2014 – Mbombela
Infecting The City spread its wings in early 2014 when it staged a new public art intervention in Mbombela from 16-17 January. This 2-day Festival featured the work of 17 local and national artists.
Infecting The City 2013
Infecting The City grew from its inception in 2008 with just over 10 artworks to 60 artworks and performances in 2013. There was a 300% increase in submissions to participate between 2012 and 2013, and the audience has diversified and grown – all testimony to an assured public interest in a Festival of this nature.
Infecting The City 2012
The focus of Infecting The City was on “making public space public”, where each artwork was commissioned to engage fully with Cape Town and to draw, involve or reflect the city’s public in their collectively-owned spaces. The 2012 Festival introduced South Africans to a multi-disciplinary range of 32 public artworks from highly considered international and local artists.
Infecting The City 2011
The 2011 Festival celebrated the theme of Treasure, chosen to encapsulate the vibrant and cosmopolitan diversity of Cape Town. Inviting artists and audience members alike to appreciate, take ownership of and celebrate the cultural riches that are often overlooked, neglected or discarded.
Infecting The City 2010
Infecting The City 2010 was loosely themed around the concept of Human Rite, inviting artists to create public artworks that investigated and explored the role of rites and rituals as tools for transformation and healing. The artworks questioned “How do the arts use ritual to effect social change and cohesion?”, “What are the wounds in our society and our city that need attention?” and “Can we make art works that are themselves rituals to heal these wounds?”
Infecting The City 2009
The broad theme that underlined the 2009 Festival was Home Affairs, which investigated issues of immigrant vs. citizen, insider vs. outsider, inclusion and exclusion. Unavoidable reference was made to the xenophobic tensions that simmer in southern Africa. As in 2008, an innovative component of Infecting The City 2009 was the creation of collaborative works by teams of artists from Europe, South Africa, a number of SADC countries and Australia.
Infecting The City 2008
The Spier Performance Art Festival began its new journey as the Infecting The City Public Art Festival in 2008, curated by Brett Bailey and Jay Pather. We’ve been pushing the boundaries of public space ever since – in the process facilitating understandings of performance art and growing discerning local audiences.