By Gerrit Bester

The Faculty of Arts and Design, Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), is all set for its sixth TUT Arts Festival, which will take place on the Arts Campus from 2 to 4 September 2024. Building on the theme of ARTIVISM, the Festival will focus on how a creative consciousness will manufacture joy in a society that is seized with a myriad of challenges. This has implications for creatively addressing social challenges and cultivating responsible citizenship and social awareness. 

This year, the Faculty is excited to announce a pioneering partnership with the Riky Rick Foundation for the Promotion of Artivism, Community Arts Network (CAN) and the Global Commons Alliance (GCA) for the highly anticipated inaugural Global Artivism Conference 2024, scheduled to take place from 5 to 8 September 2024. This collaboration underscores a shared commitment in leveraging the arts for social and environmental change, fostering a platform for dialogue, innovation, advocacy and action.

The conference, themed Artivism: Embracing Cultural Activism for a Safe and Just World, aims to explore the dynamic intersection of the arts and activism, highlighting the pivotal role of creative expression in advocating for societal and environmental issues. The TUT Arts Festival was deliberately moved to headline the conference to showcase the best work from the Hello Community Arts Festival and other community engagement projects. The conference will be concluded on the last day with community engagement visits as part of a holistic approach to the Festival and conference.

The Faculty is in the process of developing an exciting virtual platform with its partners to enable artivists from around the world to present their work as part of the Festival and conference. This initiative will bring a new dynamic to the Festival. The Faculty is also delighted to welcome two new partnerships; one with Tshwane FM as a media partner and the other with the City of Tshwane (CoT). Both these partnerships will be actively engaged for the Festival and conference, thereby recognising the value of such interventions in their ongoing attempts to address social challenges. The Faculty is pleased to welcome back the Department of Marketing, Supply Chain and Sport Management, Faculty of Management Sciences, following their successful collaboration last year with activities they incorporated into the Festival programme.

The TUT Arts Festival is part of the Faculty of Arts and Design's dynamic, cutting-edge teaching and learning curricula. It creates an ideal platform for students to put their knowledge into practice through this experiential learning opportunity, shaping future-ready graduates. By pooling resources and engaging with industry stakeholders, the Faculty celebrates and showcases the remarkable talent of its students, staff, alumni and community. Visitors will gain an insight into how the Faculty makes knowledge work and the difference that community engagement can make. 

The Festival will encompass all facets of the arts, from the design and fine art disciplines to all the performing arts. Exhibitions, demonstrations, performances, master classes and open classes will form part of the exciting line-up. This is the ideal opportunity for prospective students interested in the creative industries to come and experience what is on offer and get first-hand information to assist them with their future career choices.

Come and support new, up-and-coming young creatives, invest in original artwork, scout new talent, or just take a break and enjoy, network and get inspired. Visit www.tut.ac.za and www.tutfadshowcase.ac.za for updates, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information or to make your school booking.

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