24. May 2015

ICORN in Cape Town!

In the beginning of May ICORN went to Cape Town, South Africa, to investigate and develop possibilities of future residencies in the city.

Initiator was Michael Schmidt, consultant to the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism (IAJ). Schmidt started the South Africa Cities of Refuge Project in 2012, and this May, the project invited Fredrik Elg, Parvin Ardalan and Ramy Essam from Malmö and ICORN's Elisabeth Dyvik to South Africa in order to get Johannesburg, Cape Town, Stellenbosch and Grahamstown on board.

During their four day stay, the delegates met with relevant officials, potential partners and local activists.

The tour was a great success, and reaffirmed the City of Cape Town’s commitment to refurbishing, donating and maintaining the Goodwood Museum as a Guest Writer’s residence. Schmidt and Elg will cement the relationship between ICORN & Malmö and the City of Cape Town with a view to seeing the first Guest Writer placed at Goodwood by early 2017. The Project was also well received by the Mayor of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch Journalism, and the SA Holocaust & Genocide Foundation in particular.

The tour and the South Africa Cities of Refuge Project is a wonderful example of how dedicated individuals and local organizations help persecuted writers and artists by facilitating meetings with potential partners and future ICORN cities. Please download the pdf attached for the full report from the tour.