On the 9th and 10th of December, the Steve Biko Centre, an initiative of the Steve Biko Foundation, will present a conference entitled, “Black Women in Performing Arts: Identity and Representation”, in partnership with The British Council of South Africa and the Eastern Cape Provincial Arts and Culture Council.

This two-day interactive conference will provide a platform for authentic reflections on the roles of black women in performing arts, and the challenges they encounter, while developing strategies to advance their participation in the sector. Focusing on testimonies and autobiographies of three dynamic, self motivated and successful performing arts practitioners, the conference will feature: playwright and poet Fatima Dike; choreographer and dancer Mamela Nyamza; and actress Warona Seane.

Led by Siphokazi Petshwa and Nomalungisa Mjo, the conference will include over 35 community-based practitioners from performing arts organizations in the Eastern Cape. All participants seek to motivate up and coming artists to explore their own understandings of what it means to be a black woman in the industry and what contribution they can make.

For more information on the Steve Biko Foundation and the Steve Biko Centre, please visit www.sbf.org.za.

ENDS

For further information please contact the Steve Biko Foundation on 043-642 1177 or via email at jongi@sbf.org.za