Night Shcool NO.57 | Is it still Protest? Reclaiming Space and self in South African Performance and Public Art

The School of Performing Arts has traditionally been regarded as a countercultural and often seen as a rebellious form of ‘protest art’ in contrast to the institutionalised domain of Fine Arts. In South Africa, public and performing arts have historically played a critical role in resisting Apartheid (not just for ‘the artist’), serving as a medium for political expression. This has still continued into society, such as the 2015 Fees Must Fallmovement, symbolised by the removal of the Cecil John Rhodes statue from the University of Cape Town. Such events reflect ongoing interrogations of public space, institutions, and accessibility, often articulated through performance interventions aimed at reclaiming and reimagining identity, space, and power.At the sharing session, curator and artist Megan Mace will take South African performance art on public issues as a case study, to examines the evolution of South African performance art, particularly its transition from a male-dominated sphere to one that increasingly centers on identity politics, embodiment, postcolonial narratives, and the deconstruction of exoticism. This discussion explores how collectives, institutions, festivals and individual artists have blurred the boundaries between performance, fine arts, and scenography, resulting in a hybridised and somewhat South African aesthetic. We will consider the shifting perspectives of funding bodies, which have begun to start to recognise and support the performing arts as a legitimate and vital component of the nations Arts Culture, to probe into the question of ‘Is it still Protest?’.

Megan Mace

Megan Mace is a South African curator and artist who graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art. She also holds an iPGCE from the University of Derby. Mace previously worked at, and served on the board of directors for, ROOM, a non-profit gallery based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

She is the founder of Sir Where Is This Place, a dynamic curatorial project series. Notable initiatives include Series 02, which showcased the work of 34 Southern African artists and fashion designers in Chengdu (2024); Art Afrik, a group exhibition featuring 14 lens-based artists from 10 African countries for Beijing Africa Week (2019); and a booth at Beijing Fashion Week presenting the work of Gugu Peteni and Thabo Makhetha.

Works