The Faculty of Arts and Design at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) proudly announces the 2nd Annual Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Symposium which will be hosted on the TUT Arts Campus from 27 – 28 March 2025.
This two-day event will be hosted in partnership with the City of Tshwane and will focus on “Multi-vocality, Interdisciplinarity and Creative Expressions” in addressing GBV within higher education and society.
Recognising the urgency and critical importance of addressing GBV within the higher education context, we invite scholars, artivists, researchers and practitioners to contribute to this dynamic gathering, exploring innovative, arts-based approaches to activism, healing and advocacy.
Engaging artivism as a driving force, Symposium 2025 seeks to foreground the unique role that the creative arts – including, but not limited to fine arts, performance, music, literature, design and digital media – can play in eradicating GBV. The symposium will examine how these mediums can help shift the dial on entrenched gender inequalities, challenge harmful social norms and offer transformative strategies for prevention, intervention and healing.
The symposium will provide a platform for multi-vocal perspectives on GBV, recognising the diversity of experiences and approaches necessary to confront this complex issue. We aim to create a space for rich interdisciplinary dialogue where academic research, creative practice and lived experiences intersect to generate actionable strategies for change.
We encourage submissions from a wide range of disciplines, including but not limited to visual and performing arts, design, gender studies, sociology, psychology and education. We are particularly interested in contributions that reflect collaborative and community-engaged approaches.
We invite proposals for academic papers, panel discussions, performances, workshops, exhibitions and multimedia presentations that engage with the following or related themes:
- Creativity to Foster Healing: Examining creative expressions supporting survivors’ healing journeys.
- Interdisciplinary Collaborations: Showcasing partnerships between artists, social scientists, health professionals and educators to develop multifaceted responses to GBV.
- Reimagining Gender Relations: Investigating how creative works challenge traditional gender and power conceptions.
- Higher Education and GBV: Addressing challenges within educational institutions through creative, educational and policy interventions.
- Art as a Reflection of Social Norms: Exploring how arts illuminate and challenge cultural structures sustaining GBV.
More about the hosts:
The Faculty of Arts & Design boasts five departments, namely Fine & Studio Arts, Interior Design, Design Studies, Performing Arts and Visual Communication which offer the following twelve programmes: Fine & Applied Arts; Jewellery Design and Manufacture; Interior Design; Fashion Design & Technology; Higher Certificate in Music; Dance; Music (Jazz & Opera); Theatre Arts & Design with a Technical Theatre & Design or Theatre Arts & Performance elective; Commercial Photography; Integrated Communication Design and Motion Picture Production. Our programme qualification mix is locally relevant and internationally competitive.
All programmes have career-focused progression possibilities – from Higher Certificate and Diplomas at entry-level, to Advanced Diplomas, Postgraduate Diplomas, Master’s and Doctoral degrees. The Higher Certificate offers basic practical skills and knowledge in a particular discipline, while our Diploma programmes lay solid foundations for you to enter the world of work confidently and competently. The Advanced Diplomas give you a deeper understanding of a specific area of specialisation in your discipline. The Postgraduate Diplomas prepare you for the professional world, academia and provide entry to a Master’s degree and later Doctoral studies.
Entrepreneurship, Decolonisation and the Africanisation of education in the creative industries are key and central aims of our programmes. Localised and context-specific knowledge systems are embedded in every programme and provide this purposeful focus on visual art, design, dance, film, music, photography, theatre and performance. It is worth noting that TUT programmes aim to keep abreast with international trends and global influences, thereby ensuring success.
The City of Tshwane 2022–2026 Integrated Development Plan (IDP) states that the city is a caring city that supports the vulnerable and provides social relief with a specific focus on combating Gender-Based Violence.
It is critical for the city to ensure that women and children are safe in communities within the boundaries of Tshwane. A special focus will be on prioritising the provision of community security to prevent Gender-Based Violence and the abuse of women and children. It’s concluded that the IDP must reflect on issues of Gender Mainstreaming, Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF).
Please visit www.tutfadshowcase.ac.za for more information or email
Deadline for submissions has been extended to 31 January 2025.