'New Imaginaries' is a trilogy of projects, hosted by the Goethe Institut, that engages with public space in Johannesburg through artistic means. The African Centre for Cities and Goethe are collaborating on an academic component to accompany this project, which manifests for the duration of 2012 and part of 2013.
The first project, Shoe Shop, was a month-long series of interventions that ended on June 1st. It was broadly engaged with movement, migration and journeys through the idea and practice of walking. Various modules included art in public space, a film festival, city walks, talks in a collaborative project space, and an anthology on the topic. The second project, A MAZE Interact, is an experimental media arts festival that will be held Aug 29-Sep 2. The third and final project is called Spines. It has two parallel elements -- one explores broadly the idea of transport lines and the other imagined futures or utopias.
The research process will coalesce into a public workshop at year-end to which interested parties will be invited to discuss findings and analysis, leading in turn to a publication to capture the research for wider dissemination. The effort is part of a broader project to address lacunae in African urbanism as it relates to theoretical work around cities. It is also an experiment in artistic research. Kim Gurney, a Research Associate with ACC, is lead researcher on this project.
