ICA Live Art Festival, Cape Town, South Africa

Artistic Director: Nomusa Makhubu

The ICA Live Art Festival is a biannual festival dedicated to live and performance art in Cape Town, South Africa. Curated and organised by the Institute for Creative Arts (ICA) at the University of Cape Town, the festival has, since its inception in 2012, provided audiences with a platform to experience and engage with contemporary live art that challenges conventional artistic forms, questions aesthetic norms, and explores complex and often controversial themes within a non-commercial context.

The festival programme brings together performances, discussions, lectures, and professional networking events featuring artists from across Africa and around the world. It promotes artistic experimentation, critical dialogue, and international collaboration while serving as an important platform for the development of contemporary live art on the African continent.

Held at the UCT Hiddingh Campus in Gardens, Cape Town, the festival has become a significant meeting place for performance artists, curators, and scholars throughout Southern Africa. The Institute for Creative Arts was also one of the founding organisations behind the Live Art Network Africa, which was officially launched at the Institute’s premises during a three-day gathering held from 17–20 February 2018.

Exchange 2026:
– Mauritz Tistelö (Gothenburg) to ICA Live Art Festival, Cape Town
– Lorin Sookool (Cape Town) to Live Action, Gothenburg

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