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Festival programme

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Festival programme

The arts coming together at the UFS

04 October 2022 | Story Gerda-Marié van Rooyen | Photo Sonia Small

UFS Drama — With the short holiday break for students, the University of the Free State Bloemfontein Campus turns into a gathering place for artists, intellectuals, and those interested in culture. The UFS is once again hosting the annual Vrystaat Arts Festival.

It is holiday break for students and during this short recess period, the University of the Free State (UFS) Bloemfontein Campus has been transformed into a flourishing destination for the arts. The UFS is once again hosting the annual Vrystaat Arts Festival.

The festival started on Sunday 2 October 2022 with a magical First Nations opening at Mooimeisiesfontein. This ceremony was in recognition of the Khoisan as traditional inhabitants of our land. Following the motto: ‘One festival, many stories’, Mark Anthony Dobson, festival organiser, says this festival is open for all. “I can’t imagine having this arts festival anywhere else. Having the UFS host the festival is wonderful,” says Dobson.

Confirming the festival’s appreciation for inclusion, 130 students from different faculties and departments are being employed on an ad hoc basis this week. “This even allows for a medical student to work backstage. They only had to be willing, able, and their schedules had to allow it,” explains Dobson about the criteria used.

Attendees can look forward to a wide variety of productions to be seen on the much-acclaimed, high-quality stages on campus. Several drama students will show their talent in the production Die kat is uit die sak (The cat is out of the bag) under the direction of UFS Drama and Theatre Arts Lecturer, Thys Heydenrych.

Staying true to the nature of a university as a space for intellectual exchange, there will be various discussions between academics, influencers, businesspeople, and journalists. One such discussion is ‘A look into the future of South Africa’, which is part of the Thought-Leader Series. Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, will facilitate this discussion in the Albert Wessels Auditorium on 6 October at 10:00. Guests include Moeletsi Mbeki, Deputy Chairperson of the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA); Pieter du Toit, Assistant Editor: In-depth news at News24; and Dr Mareve Biljohn, Head of the Department of Public Administration and Management at the

UFS.

For those looking to buy some vibrant art or enjoy the feeling of the festival, bring some money or remember your bank card to enjoy the craft market that is set to open on Tuesday 4 October 2022. Some stalls and art exhibitions will be held in residences and various buildings on campus. Those who love visual arts will be rejoiced to hear that entry for some exhibitions are free, such as the Beeldspraak exhibition hosted in the Centenary Building. Bookworms can look forward to various book discussions and launches during the week of festivities, while diverse musicians will steal the limelight at the Blêrkas.

A day pass is R20 per person, and children under five get free admission. An average of 3000 visitors is expected daily. Visitors can enjoy the arts with the reassuring thought that the UFS Protection Services, together with members of the SAPS and a private security company, will keep an eye on everyone’s safety.

The full festival programme is available here

News Archive

International speakers unite to discuss diversity

2014-01-20

The Institute of Reconciliation and Social Justice is hosting a two-day colloquium on 30–31 January 2014. A broad range of keynotes will discuss the topic: ‘Diversity and the politics of engaged scholarship: A comparative study in higher education’.

Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector, and Prof Dr Halleh Ghorashi from the Netherlands will lead as keynote speakers on the first day.

Prof Dr Ghorashi is a Professor of Diversity and Integration in the Department of Sociology at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. She is the author of ‘Ways to Survive, Battles to Win: Iranian Women Exiles in the Netherlands and the United States’. She has also published extensively on topics such as identity, diasporic positioning, cultural diversity and emancipation.

During the second day, Dr Charles Alexander from Los Angeles and Prof Shirley Tate from Leeds will lead as keynote speakers.

Dr Alexander is Associate Vice-Provost for Student Diversity at the University of California. He has run several programmes for students who have been underserved by higher education, including students from immigrant families and underrepresented populations. In 2011, Dr Alexander received a Champions of Health Professions Diversity Award from The California Wellness Foundation in recognition of his commitment to increasing California’s health care workforce and its diversity.

Prof Shirley Tate’s work focuses, among others, on theorising ‘race’ performativity and the intersection between 'race' and gender. She has written on mixed ‘race’ identities, affect, beauty, embodiment, pain and women in prison, transracial intimacies, gendered prison identities, racial affective economies in organisations, as well as on domestic work and food.

The sessions led by these keynote speakers are open to the public and the Institution welcomes everyone to join in this topical discussion.

Date: Thursday 30 January 2014 and Friday 31 January 2014
Time: 09:00–11:00
Place: Centenary Hall
RSVP: vannestel@ufs.ac.za

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