'There is nothing mysterious or natural about authority. It is formed, irradiated, disseminated; it is instrumental, it is persuasive; it has status, it establishes canons of taste and value; it is virtually indistinguishable from certain ideas it dignifies as true, and from traditions, perceptions and judgments it forms, transmits and reproduces. Above all, authority can, indeed must, be analyzed' (Said, 1979: 20).
Republic combined stimulating, innovative practice with critical thinking and spaces where writers, choreographers, social analysts, visual artists and dramatists took on issues of the republic, authority, nationhood, art making and curation with salient global perspectives while pursuing issues of aesthetics and relevance from a local vantage point. Director of GIPCA (ICA), Jay Pather commented that ,'The connection between art-making and issues of nationhood and of authority is fertile ground and South African artists have historically brought much to bear on the subject internationally.'
The symposium was convened by Rike Sitas and included among others Egyptian activist and artist Philip Rizk, Zen Marie from WITS University, Johannesburg Art Gallery curator Nonto Ntombela, Standard Bank Young Artist Award winners Michael MacGarry and Mlu Zondi, artists Faith47 and Ismail Fahrouk Feryal Ali Gauhar, Neville Alexander and Max Du Preez.
