Funding priorities
Imaginative opportunities
Crossing Boundaries through the Performing and Creative Arts
The Gordon Institute for the Performing and Creative Arts
A nation's sense of identity and integrity has always been celebrated through the genius of artistic expression. The richly diverse landscape of Southern Africa's people, the journey of struggle to triumph, and the buoyant personality of our social fabric inspires artists, scientists, investors and leaders the world over. Since its launch in December 2008, the Gordon Institute for Performing and Creative Arts (GIPCA) has worked to fuel our artistic energy in the region. Regarded as one of the most exciting new initiatives at UCT, the Institute supports original theatre, dance and music productions. It hosts fine arts exhibitions, awards creative arts fellowships, and has established an arts colloquium along with a UCT-wide arts festival. Its premier programme, Great Texts, attracts hundreds of interested listeners for a weekly, free-to-the-public lecture on subjects including sports science, poetry, philosophy, opera, neurophysiology and the graphic novel. GIPCA is located on the Hiddingh campus alongside museums, galleries, libraries and other heritage landmarks in Cape Town's original Company Gardens, and close to the buzz of the city centre.
To date over 100 scholars and arts practitioners based at UCT, or in collaboration with UCT staff, have found funding through this unique Institute. Composed of seven centres for arts excellence at UCT, GIPCA looks both inwards and outwards, seeking to enhance interdisciplinary arts at the university and to foster creative industry in the African community. Your devoted support and patronage will ensure that the Institute will continue to plan fresh programmes, develop new and renovated buildings, and strengthen international partnerships.
The Little Theatre
Since 1931 the enchanting Little Theatre has maintained its reputation as one of the most well-loved and recognised cultural destinations in Cape Town. The 'Little' has captured the hearts and minds of audiences from all walks of life: schoolchildren attending Shakespeare plays to fulfil "setwork" requirements, students studying the rigorous drama programme, and adult audiences eager to watch fresh plays from established and emerging playwrights.
Situated on UCT's Hiddingh Campus, adjacent to the historic Company's Gardens in Cape Town, the Little stands at the centre of the city's 'cultural precinct'. The Theatre is an integral part of the University of Cape Town, serving mainly the Drama Department, but has also been an important part of the life of Cape Town and continues to be used by community groups, amateur and professional theatre companies.
It is testimony to the outstanding work achieved by the UCT Drama Department and to the quality of productions staged at the Little Theatre. It also testifies to its associated theatre spaces where many of the Department's students have gone on to excel in the entertainment world: both nationally and internationally, on stage and behind the scenes, in television and film industries both in front of and behind the camera.
Now in its 80th year, the Little is being primed for much needed renewal and upgrading. A key goal of the 'revamp' is for a more flexible and social space. It will be able to transform from an end on arena stage to a theatre in the round configuration, to a promenade stage with audiences on two sides and action up the passage in the centre. At the same time a temporary proscenium will need to be erected and removed when required. This will require adaptable, easily erectable seating structures and a flexible lighting grid to cover different performance areas, with catwalks above for ease of access. Other improvements include providing dressing rooms and shower facilities, and creating a much-needed social space for students and patrons, as well as an increased storage capacity for sets and costumes. The redesign will also result in the building becoming much more energy efficient than before. Ultimately, our plans for revamping this historic building will breathe a new spirit into UCT's already proud heritage of performing and creative arts.