OUR HISTORY

The Cape Dance Company (CDC) was established in 1995, under the leadership of the now CEO of Cape Town Ballet.

CDC has an impressive international track record, having completed four seasons at the Edinburgh Arts Festival and a season at the Salisbury Arts Festival (UK), as well as performances at the prestigious Alvin Ailey Theater (New York) and Busan Biennale (South Korea). The company's numerous local performances include the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, Dance Factory in Johannesburg and an annual season at the Artscape Theatre Centre in Cape Town.

Our Facebook page and other online sources feature our work over the past 17 years:
https://www.facebook.com/capedancecompany/
https://www.whatsonincapetown.com/post/profile-cape-dance-academy/
https://creativefeel.co.za/tag/cape-dance-company
https://infectingthecity.com/2015/artist/cape-dance-company

OUR FUTURE IS HERE

Since the Covid-19 Pandemic, the company has been dormant. Now more recently, we are under a team of Directors, appointed to breathe a new vision into this very important legacy.

With a new vision, it was only apt we change our name to one, that better defines our new mission – that of OPEN CULTURE FOUNDATION.

Our core programming staff has already developed both international and local programmes, that we will roll out as we find suitable development partners. Timely programmes that we believe will foster a greater understanding of the other, through the lens of culture and the arts.

Deep Commitment to Drive Immediate Value

Covid has presented the industry with a need to be more ambitious. To encapsulate a programme that is inclusive and captures a wider feeding pool. As such our mandate now includes Music and Drama in addition to Dance, hence our drive to establish Arts Academies nationally. To breathe a new life into an industry on its knees, with guidance from the board, and our new leadership, we are looking to help kickstart the Creative Economy.

Our vision is to establish ourselves as a global industry leader in the Performing Arts that empowers and trains African talent while providing professional platforms globally to showcase our homegrown talent.

ABOUT

Open Culture Foundation (OCF) is a non-profit creative arts services organization dedicated to increasing cross-cultural understanding and exposure to the arts internationally, through programmes, and services to our members - artists, art and cultural institutions, policymakers, and the public.

Our Mission Statement

OCF is a non-profit creative arts service organisation dedicated to promoting cross-cultural understanding and exposure of emerging and locally recognised creatives, to art and cultural organizations internationally. OCF fulfils its mission by providing programmes and services to artists, art and cultural organizations, policymakers, and the public.

OUR COMMITMENTS

We believe that art should not only delight audiences around the world but can be put to use to generate a new operating system - one that heartens partakers to question the world they live in. It should at minimum, instil mutual respect and inclusivity, while still promoting excellence and innovation.

At OCF we pledge to:

Sustainability:

We recognise global warming is a real threat, and every decision we make directly impacts
our environment. As responsible citizens, we will do everything in our power to keep our
emissions low. While at present, one cannot fully commit to zero emissions, we will track
and offset our emissions every year, and develop strategies our members (starting with
member organisations) can implement to reduce theirs, year-on-year drastically.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

At the OCF we believe that diversity for us is about the Art Sector attracting and
developing talented people, precisely because of the breadth of their different
backgrounds, experiences, cultures and views. We are committed to using OCF to create a
platform that will instil mutual respect across all borders, and create a more inclusive
world.

IN THE NEWS

https://thecaperobyn.co.za/taking-south-african-art-to-the-global-stage/
See our Instagram Profile (icon below) for more recent activity.

CONTACT US

For more details on our programmes, or to volunteer, please contact us by email: foh@openculturefoundation.org