October 31, 2019: More than 200 renowned artists and arts leaders from South Africa and around the world will gather at Cape Town’s Baxter Theatre Centre on February 8 and 9 to attend the Rolex Arts Weekend. The Arts Weekend, a series of public events – talks, readings, exhibitions and performances, including two world premieres – will feature the work of the 2018−2019 protégés of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative with their mentors.
The two-day celebration is the culmination of the current cycle of the programme, which pairs master artists with emerging artists in several disciplines for a period of creative exchange in a one-to-one mentoring relationship.
Through the various events, the protégés will demonstrate the insights they learned from their mentors over the course of the mentoring period. This interchange between generations is integral to Rolex’s dedication to passing on knowledge, in this case, perpetuating excellence in the arts.
The Rolex Arts Weekend is being curated this year by Fruzsina Szép, the Hungarian born Festival and Artistic Director of Lollapalooza Berlin who also served as an Arts Initiative nominator, helping to identify suitable potential protégés for the programme in 2018−2019.
The mentor and protegee pairings include protégée Khoudia Touré, a pioneer in urban street dance, under the mentorship of Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite. Architecture protégée Mariam Kamara, originally from Niger, will be accompanied by mentor Ghanaian-born British architect Sir David Adjaye. Under literature, mentor Colm Tóibín helped fellow Irishman and protégé Colin Barrett completed his first novel, The English Brothers. Music protégé Marcus Gilmore, an innovative young drummer from the United States, has been mentored by Indian musician Zakir Hussain.
Along with the vivid performances and discussions in these four disciplines, attendees will also have the opportunity to hear international artists debating the role of culture in society and the interdisciplinary nature of their work in two separate panel discussions led by Prof. Homi Bhabha of Harvard University.
