25 PARTNERSHIPS, STAKEHOLDERS AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT The Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture maintains active membership in key professional organisations including the Cumulus Association, the Design Education Forum of Southern Africa (DEFSA), the South African Council for the Architectural Profession (SACAP), and the African Institute of the Interior Design Professions (IID). Through these affiliations the faculty remains aligned with developments in the design industries and ensures that its professional programmes remain relevant and responsive to professional standards. International and National Platforms The University of Johannesburg hosted the Cumulus Conference 2025 in Johannesburg from 26–28 November 2025, in partnership with the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. The conference, themed Design Intelligence and 5IR, formed part of the Cumulus Association’s biannual peer-reviewed conference series. It brought together designers, educators and researchers to engage critically with the evolving role of design in the transition from the Fourth Industrial Revolution toward the emerging Fifth Industrial Revolution, with an emphasis on human-centred, ethically driven and collaborative futures. The programme combined keynote addresses, research presentations and structured exchanges between international delegates and local stakeholders. Keynote speakers included Prof Mugendi K. M’Rithaa (Kenya), Prof Caroline McCaw (New Zealand) and Tracy Lynch (South Africa). The conference hosted 130 unique delegates representing 31 countries. UJ also hosted the 57th International Association of Art Critics (AICA) Congress and UNESCO Women in Africa seminars from 27–31 October 2025. Convened by Prof Emerita Karen von Veh, the congress, titled Re-imagining the Global South: Art, Gender and Identity, marked the first official AICA congress held in Africa. The programme brought together international delegates from Europe and the Americas alongside Southern African participants and included a keynote address by UNESCO-sponsored speaker Fadzai Muchemwa, Director of the National Gallery in Harare. The event explored the relationship between art, gender and identity and critically reconsidered the intersections of art with histories of colonisation, marginalisation and diaspora. Partnerships and Academic Collaboration The Department of Architecture hosted the second Beyond Borders session in November 2025, establishing a cross-institutional platform linking over 60 students and academics across Southern African universities. The initiative promotes continental dialogue in architectural education beyond national curricula and Eurocentric knowledge systems. The Department of Fashion Design presented a series of Friday Fashion Talks featuring industry practitioners including Innocent Ndlovu, Biji, Nadia Candiotes, Shara Morat, Boitumelo Pooe, Kgomotso Madi and Rio-Anastacia de Freitas. The department also collaborated with Proudly SA and hosted guest speakers from Foschini, ABSA, the Small Enterprise Development and Finance Agency, the Industrial Development Corporation and NQ Jewellery. Graphic Design collaborated with the South African Arts Educators Community through an online information session outlining study pathways, career opportunities and expectations for incoming first-year students. Visual Art established international mobility opportunities, raising funds to send ten Honours students to Cologne for a week-long exchange and signing an Erasmus agreement enabling two students to study for three months at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts. Staff also participated in the partner conference. The Department of Fashion Design hosted visiting academics and students from the Academy of Fine Art Vienna and Limkokwing University of Creative Technologies as part of international exchange programmes. FADA’s commitment to stakeholder & community engagement underscores our dedication to nuturing socially responsible practitioners who contribute positively to their communities and broader society
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