Creative Streets Festival: 2006-2007
This Urban project was initiated in partnership with the Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism and the Nyanga Arts Development Centre, the objective was to contribute to arts and entertainment through Enterprise development as a fundamental reconfiguration of the built environment in the Nyanga community and surrounding areas.
The focal point of Creative Streets Festival in Nyanga was in the business precinct, where public arts and craft is displayed, a street Carnival and parades to attract visitors and local to the music, dance and theatre performances. The role of the NADC was to use the arts as a catalyst to create a vibrant 24/7 events and draw different sectors of the community as active players in development with both social and economic benefits for the Nyanga community.
Batsha-Jeugd Programme: 2007-2010
NADC was selected by the National Department of Arts and Culture and the National Youth Commission, predecessor to the National Youth Development Agency, NYDA and the Belgium/Flemish Government with a view to capacitate the youth. The NADC was one of the four Community Art Centre’s chosen to participate in this national project.
The three other Centre’s were the Ipelegeng Art Centre in Gauteng, Mmabana Cultural Centre in the Free State, and the BAT Art Centre in Kwazulu-Natal. Each of the four Community Art Centre’s were funded for R3 Million per centre over three years over three years.
To enable these centre’s in concrete and sustainable way to respond to the needs and challenges of young people, in their communities, focusing on various cultural aspects, arts and culture, heritage and youth work, also a Batsha-Jeugd Exchange programme was initiated with Flanders Artists, for South African Youth to visit Belgium for Capacity Building workshops.
Norwegian exchange project: 2011-2015
The NADC established a working relationship with a Norwegian Theatre company, Varde Teatre through fredskorpset a Norwegian International Relations agency, which facilitated the North –South cooperation, the Memorandum of Agreement was between the NADC and Varde Teatre, but included two other partners Pollsmoor Correctional Service Centre and Artscape Theatre Complex, as secondary partners.
Between the NADC and Varde Teatre, an exchange of artists started with three pioneers, from Norway coming to work in Pollsmoor Correctional Service Centre with Offenders, and three from Nyanga working in Oslo, Norway in their Correctional Centre’s and with Schools, in a project titled “Help I am Free” .
In 2016 a new exchange was organized between As Music and Arts School and As International Arts Centre in cooperation with Varde Teatre. The artists from Cape Town worked with children and young people in workshops and performances in addition with festivals
Artist in School project: 2012- 2019
Currently the Nyanga Arts Development Centre (NADC), continues to successfully present the Artists in Schools Project in its venture of audience development and advocate an important role as an Arts and Culture Centre, to engage various public schools, in different districts on the importance of Arts & Culture in the Western Cape.
The Department of Arts & Culture (DAC) has also continued to entrust the Nyanga Arts Development Centre with a commitment to the Western Cape Chapter of the Artists in Schools Project, operating in its premises located in Nyanga. The capacity we have has enabled the NADC to reach an enormous task that cover an allocation of 40 art practitioners in 40 schools respectively.
The role and purpose of the Artists in Schools, has vitally expressed impact in assisting creative arts educators at schools, and has opened a demand from schools, who desperately requests the assistance of our Art Practitioners with expertise on the overall teaching and training of the Arts & Culture subject in schools.
The AiS has also continued to emphasize its impact on developing and improving the art practitioners teaching capabilities, personal development and leadership skills, to cooperate with the requirements of Department of Based Education (DBE) on their Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) at schools and also to better collaborate with arts & culture educators in schools, with a more focused communication and interaction with learners.
The AiS has profoundly improved the importance and quality of teaching arts, culture and heritage education, and training in public schools, furthermore it has immensely contributed in creating sustainable employment opportunities for our art practitioners in the formal educational sector.
The activities of the project have given our art practitioners placed at various schools, opportunities of intensive capacity building workshops based on teaching methods & report writing, the project has also grown the interest to capacitate art practitioners on various other personal development subjects, such as finance, legalities, career guides & history of South African Arts.