Concerts SA to host Women’s Month discussion on 4 August

The panel discussion is titled How Do We Advance Representation, Equity and Safety for Women in the Music Sector? and will be held at the Women’s Jail on Constitution Hill in Johannesburg on 4 August from 2pm to 4pm. It will mark the commencement of a new phase of Concerts SA’s research into the South African music industry.

The panel will be led by writer, researcher and academic Gwen Ansell. She will be joined by performer, composer, director and arranger Shannon Mowday, jazz vocalist, composer and educator Nomfundo Xaluva-Dyantyis, bassist AusTebza, soul, R&B and gospel singer Titi Luzipo, composer, pianist and vocalist Monthati Masebe, DJ, music specialist, radio show producer and presenter Nicky Blumenfeld, cultural expert and researcher Marie Fol and music professional Sarah Jane Nicholson.

Topics under discussion will include Why Are Women Under-Represented in the Music Industry? Are Women Undervalued? and How Do Women Navigate the Challenges of the Sector? Additionally, the panel will cover female artists’ representation, equity and safety in the music industry.

“We know very well from the vast amounts of international research that the exact same problems exist even in far more developed economies than us,” Ansell said. “It depends on two things: how seriously society and policymakers take these issues and how effectively those who care about these issues organise.”

The discussion will be followed by live performances from Maleh, Gina Mabasa, Ntshikiwane and SPARTZ at the ConHill Market.

Interested participants can register to attend the event here, with an option to stream it here. Find more about the discussion here.