The Arts and Culture Trust (ACT), in partnership with UJ Arts & Culture at the University of Johannesburg, will host the inaugural Arts & Culture Conference 'The Arts of the Creative Economy', at the UJ Arts & Culture Centre in Johannesburg on 24 and 25 May 2012.

The conference sets the stage for representatives from national entities, major funding agencies and corporate sponsors of the arts, arts activists and luminaries from various genres across the sector, to come together to share their knowledge and insights with conference delegates with a view to empowering the sector towards its increased economic participation, recognition and support.

The two-day conference brings together local and international thought leaders and will incorporate the following:

• Policies, plans and strategies to stimulate the creative economy across all sectors;
• Findings from key industry research conducted over the past 5 years, much of which remains little- known to practitioners and administrators;
• Overviews of the state of the various sectors within the arts and offer case studies on commercial successes; and
• Insights into funding of the arts and provide constructive guidelines to improve access to funding avenues and opportunities.
  In addition to looking at the 'state of the nation' and the 'state of the sectors', discussion themes will include the World as a Creative Economy, art as the new frontier of leadership, art for art or art for audiences and art and performance in the digital age.

The conference leaders will be focused on delivering constructive outcomes from these presentations and conversations. Plans will be created for practitioners and administrators to remain abreast of developments and industry thought- leadership within the sector.