The sustainability of arts festivals in South Africa : the show must go on / Pierre-André Viviers

Abstract

South African theatre, and more specifically Afrikaans theatre at art festivals, was on a rocky and struggling road long before the global pandemic struck. This inaugural lecture zooms in on the research that Prof Pierre-André Viviers did over the last few years to identify sustainability problems at South African arts festivals. Focus was placed specifically on social impact research, factors that influence theatre ticket purchase behaviour within different markets (general, youth and children markets) at theses arts festivals. The Inaugural lecture also addressed the implementation of green practices at these Afrikaans arts festivals to enhance environmental sustainability. Recommendations to improve sustainability and new sustainability initiatives were also discussed.