0:02 BARKS-RUGGLES: It’s a pleasure to be here this morning at Akia Langa (?) we’re here
0:19 doing a project that’s associated with the design capital initiative here in Cape Town.
0:25 We’re pleased that the ambassador is joining us, Ambassador Patrick Gaspard and several
0:30 artists from the United States working with Akia Langa on a community project based around
0:38 using art.
0:38 GASPARD: First of all, we’re going to have a little bit of fun. This is a great project
0:42 for here in Langa township which was singled out by the world design convention this year.
0:53 It’s a fantastic project working with young people in the community to not only beautiful
0:58 its space but also create an economic development center. And we hope that the artists who are
1:05 here today are leaving something behind to inspire the young people who are with us.
1:11 OTHER: Thank you very much everybody for coming. We’ve got some gallery owners from here
1:38 at Lanate (?) which is the Langa township art gallery.
1:47 BIGGERS: When it comes to visual arts and visual practice specifically definitely in
1:49 my work, I think beauty is just a way to get to a deeper darker story.
1:52 SUSMAN: Certainly in our country when there are people who look at our art program and
1:56 think that there may not be any validity, art gives us that place to start so I want
2:01 to thank you all for being here and participating. I want to thank our artists and most of all
2:06 I want to thank our ambassador and his wonderful wife and their team for making this happen.
2:10 GASPARD: We’re here because of our amazing Arts in the Embassies project which was conceived
2:16 and created in 1963, launched by then-President Kennedy and has been continued in subsequent
2:23 administrations as a form of cultural diplomacy, gives us as Americans to put our culture on
2:31 display, our arts on display but we’re doing it in conversation with local communities.
2:39 We’re trying to leave something behind but we’re trying to take something away as well
2:42 because we’re here to also learn. It’s going to transform us equally as we’re transforming
2:49 the walls in this community.