SAVAH, the South African Visual Arts Historians, in association with the International Committee of the History of Art (CIHA), addresses in this colloquium concerns about the unequal distribution of resources around the globe and challenges from postcolonial societies to the older methods and concepts of Western art history. These challenges have relevance in South Africa, Africa and the Global South, which in this context is a cultural construct rather than a geographic term. It refers to communities and artistic production, throughout history and across nations, which, within the dominant narratives of Western art, have been ignored, marginalised, displaced and appropriated. The aim is to shift the centre of discourse and challenge received systems of thought, which are still largely positioned within Western-centred logic. The desired outcome is to complicate the history of art and the relationship between histories in the Global South and the ‘North’ or ‘West’.
The call for papers for the SAVAH/CIHA Colloquium closed on 31 July, and there has been a wide response both nationally and internationally. The Getty Foundation has generously given a grant to fund the travel expenses of delegates from Africa, India, South East Asia and South America. This has substantially increased the global reach of the conference, with delegates from Cameroon, Nigeria, Angola, Zambia, Mozambique, Jamaica, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, India and Singapore included in the programme.

Amareswar Galla, Professor of Museum Studies at the University of Queensland, Australia, is the confirmed conference keynote speaker. Prof Galla is a world expert on museums, sustainable heritage development and poverty alleviation through culture, and has worked extensively in Vietnam, South Africa, Iraq, the Pacific, Europe, Asia and Australia. He has been a key advisor for the UNESCO World Commission for Culture and Development, and is a well-known international public speaker.