Monica Newton: Arts as Civic Infrastructure
Saturday, 9th August 2025
Monica Newton leads one of the country’s most important cultural events with a conviction that the arts are civic infrastructure, not a luxury. She focuses on growing a creative economy by commissioning artists, expanding access, mentoring producers and pushing for gender equity across programming and funding. For Monica, success isn’t only ticket sales — it’s whether the festival helps the city imagine new futures and creates year-round cultural impact. Let's get to know more about Monica:
Q&A
1. Please can you share some of the key experiences or turning points in your personal or professional life that led you to this field?
My background in cultural policy gave me the chance to see first-hand how powerful the arts could be in shifting narratives, building livelihoods and strengthening communities. It showed me just how much work still needs to be done to create a sustainable and inclusive creative economy. Working with the National Arts Festival is about that implementation, rolling up our sleeves.
2. What aspects of the work keep you motivated or inspired to stay in this space?
There is no greater reward than seeing artists do what they do best—move people, provoke thought and bring communities together. At the Festival, you see this every day. It's the small moments that stay with me: a young child seeing a performance for the first time, an emerging artist finding their audience, a standing ovation for a brave new work. That energy is contagious and it reminds me why we push through the challenges.
3. How does your work contribute to the tourism, culture, or heritage of Makhanda and the rest of the Makana region?
The National Arts Festival has deep roots in Makhanda—it’s part of the town’s identity and economy. Every year, we bring thousands of people to this corner of the Eastern Cape, not just to experience the arts, but to engage with the town, its history and its hospitality. In this way we are in a partnership with the town to host and showcase what we have and who we are. We’re also constantly looking at ways to expand our creative impact —whether it’s supporting local creatives, building skills in our team or creating new pathways into the creative industries for young people in the region. Culture isn’t something we bring in for eleven days a year—it’s something we invest in year-round.
4. What does this year’s Women's Month theme mean to you personally? The Urgency to Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering Women and Girls.
The word that jumps out to me is urgency. We can’t keep saying “we’re making progress” while the pace of change remains so slow. Gender equality must be woven into every decision—who we hire, who gets the mic, who sits at the table, who gets funded. Empowerment is not a buzzword. It means real opportunities, fair pay, safety, respect. For me, this theme is a call to act with more intent, courage and accountability.
5. What challenges have you faced as a woman in your field, and how have you overcome them?
The cultural and public sectors aren’t immune to the same gender dynamics we see everywhere else—women being spoken over, sidelined or underestimated. I’ve learned to hold my ground, to speak up and to support other women in doing the same. I’ve also learned that having a strong network of women around you—friends, mentors, colleagues—is essential.
6. What message would you like to share with the next generation of women and girls in the Makana region and further on in the country?
You belong in every room. Your voice matters. Don’t wait for permission—build, speak, create, lead. And support one another. We still live in a world that benefits from our silence or our hesitation. So take up space. And if the path isn’t there, carve a new one. You are more powerful than you know.
Read more about the National Arts Festival here.
