Air It

Jana gaan Johannesburg toe om met Suid Afrikaanse kunstenaar, Senzeni Marasela, ‘n onderhoud te voer. Hierdie episode is ‘n eksperimentele mash-up waarin Jana vir Nicolene meer vertel oor haar phd projek, en die opbou tot die gesprek met Marasela.

In this episode, we catch up with Nicolene on her MA Theatre and Performance practice-based research journey. As you will hear, Nicolene has a lot to say and is very passionate about this topic, she asked that we disclaim that the speed at which she speaks might give you a little anxiety, so slow us down, pause, and breathe if necessary. Expect discussions on Afrikanerdom, Whiteness, Christi van d...

Unlike the title of this episode suggests, we did not organize ourselves in preparation for this conversation. Sometimes "airing it" means researching and writing down a structure (most of the time we do that) - other times it means lying around with friends and allowing our minds to run free. In this episode, we start by making sense and ... then later not so much ... enjoy this goofy, Afrikaans,...

We sat down with Prof. Stella Viljoen to talk about guilty pleasures. What makes something a guilty pleasure? Why do we, as feminists, love a stukkie rom-com? In this informal and juicy episode, we consider guilty pleasure from a cultural studies perspective and share some of our guilty pleasures - like regency romance novels, period dramas, and the Kardashians. And don’t forget the mice pies!

The Western art and philosophy canon has been so ingrained into most of the world that it seems to be this glorious record of groundbreaking art that is set in stone. However, there are so many accounts of women creatives influencing the trajectory of culture that are not commonly acknowledged in this historical timeline. In today’s episode, we bring you stories of a few complicated creative power...

Nicolene and Jana meet again in the 'genot grot' to talk about work, productivity, and the hustle in general. They recall family narratives about manual labour and a perceived sense of purpose and superiority that come from always being busy and doing something. Why is it so hard to do nothing? What does one do when you do nothing? In pondering these questions, this episode addresses topics about...

In this episode Nicolene and Jana both need to talk through the research they are doing at the moment.  Nicolene discusses her constant fascination with the grid in her painting works and wonders how it will morph to fit with what she is making now. From a data log to a meditation medium and now a tool to speak about political identity, the grid seems to follow her everywhere. How do we recog...

In this raw and unfiltered episode, Nicolene and Jana talk about their experiences with sex education in South Africa. They start by reflecting on shocking Sunday school lessons and the awkward conversations about sex in their formative years. Then they turn to contemporary thinkers who expose the limits of sex education today, like relationship-guru Esther Perel and the feminist philosopher Amia...

We've been talking about marriage and wedding rituals on Air It over the past few months. Our conversations were inspired by the performance art piece  Lilith & Lesbet Trou , a collaboration between Nicolene Burger and Mandri Sutherland. Now in the third part of this series on white weddings, we do something completely new to Air It podcast. The That Eclectic team listened to our pre...

Air it sat down with Mikhaila Coerecius to discuss how womxn can “be” in public and online spaces.  In the beginning of this episode, you will hear us unloading many personal experiences of how being in public spaces are complicated, especially as womxn. We think about walking, safety, selfies, access, race, the gaze, and class. Through the lens of her Masters outputs and research on the flâneuse,...

Air It sat down for another impromptu conversation where Nicolene & Jana tried to unpick and untangle body hair norms. We took a broad approach and discussed everything from grooming, bolding and shaving to shaming, policing and internalised patriarchy. In the end, we can't help but wonder: how have we been conditioned to hold certain body hair beliefs?  If you haven't subscribed to our podcast ye...

We sat down in a cave and spoke to our Square Designer, Margaux Loubser, about her research on psychedelic architecture in South Africa. Prepare yourself for a journey into the world of consciousness, liminal spaces, ritual, and rock art.  If you haven't subscribed to our podcast yet, please do so. Rate and review us if you enjoy our content– this way you help us by making it easier for other...

In episode 13, we chat with Jana's supervisor, Prof. Louise du Toit about her current research on Mahatma Gandhi and non-violent protests in South Africa today. You can look forward to discussions about Gandhi's spiritual ontology, a deep dive into aggressive non-violence, and how we can rethink self-care and discipline within our current political landscape. This episode was recorded a few weeks...

Two artists meet on social media and come together to investigate and unpick their Afrikaner culture on the topic of getting married. In this episode, Jana asks Nicolene Burger (Air It co-host) and Mandri Sutherland questions about their multidisciplinary performance, “Lilith & Lesbet Trou”. Beyond the actual performance piece, they also look at topics such as Live art vs. theatre; audience im...

Inspired by a private performance Nicolene will be doing with Mandri Sutherland in mid-June, Jana and Nicolene finally decided to tackle a topic that is very personal and controversial in their communities: getting married! They have both attended many (Afrikaner) White weddings and decided to reflect in this episode about the rituals, value, consumerism, and expectation connected to tying the kno...

This “gezellige” conversation with Georgie Visser, which took place in Fish Hoek on Moroccan scatter pillows (with tea and chocolate chip cookies), aims to inspire you to relate consciously to the spaces and objects around you. We touch on the Danish concept of Hygge, The Art of Happiness by Alain de Botton, and how humans tend to desire objects that reflect what we lack. We share many personal st...

What makes something art? Why are certain objects kitsch? How can you differentiate between the rotten banana in your fridge and the one that is worth millions in a gallery? In this minisode, Jana and a Nicolene considers the value of art from a Philosophy of Art perspective. They also focus on the local artist Kemang Wa Lehulere as a valued cultural text to flesh out their questions. If you haven...

Pronouns, Xenofeminism, cyborgs, binaries, and the limits of language. These are but a few touch-points in our dense conversation vir Paul Joubert about how we can make gender irrelevant. In this episode we attempt to dismantle gender by turning it in every direction… concluding that it might just be a thin-membraned sphere. Can we get any more ambiguous than that? Just wait until you listen to ep...

In this episode of Air It, we do an in-depth brainstorm with Valeria Geselev about the gendered politics of public spaces. We discuss the two-way street of social dynamics and visual representation. That is, how gendered power structures embedded in our society translates into the visual field around us, and how changes in the visual realm can shift these power relationships between men and women....

AIR IT IS BACK! In our first minisode and New Year's bonus we look at a collaborative art piece by Die Antwoord and Roger Ballen. Deranged, utterly strange and “universally offensive” is but a few ways that this dark and freeky music video can be described. But viewing it as a zef subversion of conservative Afrikaans culture, scratched open many more questions about race, artistic motive and appro...

In season one of Air It, we touched on many current topics that are widely debated around the world. But in the season finale, we look at what might be the most pressing challenge humanity is facing collectively at the moment: climate change. Roux Vosloo, master's student in English Studies, writer, and Jana's brother, guides us into a deep and profound conversation about what constitutes home, ho...

In this episode, we discussed the philosophical implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for our broader understanding of consciousness with our guest, Fabio Tollon – who is a philosopher of technology.   For our cultural text, we analysed the sci-fi film Ex Machina (2014) to draw out themes surrounding creation, embodiment, programming gender and machine ethics. Who knows what...

Contrary to popular belief, passion projects focused on inspiring critical engagement and social change, also need monetary support to continue (thanks, capitalism!). Find out where to go if you want to get involved and support us in our research efforts, production, and marketing costs. In this way, you can help us to expand the project of Air It and ensure that we continue to air ideas for your...

In this cheerful, yet critical episode, we asked the question: what does it mean to queer religion and/or spirituality? Together with our phenomenal guest, Ashwin Afrikanus Thyssen, we delved into the various ways in which queer theory can help us to broaden our understanding of the concept of God, the church, and spiritual practice in general.  Amongst many things, we spoke about the pervasi...

In this episode, feminist philosopher and writer, Azille Coetzee helps us to think through White Afrikaner Femininity and how the constructs set up before and during Apartheid around this identity has persisted post-Apartheid. We touch on the complicated colonial history of South Africa, gender roles, class enclaves, Afrikaner patriarchy and how all of this is related to the po...