The Centre Outside the Centre is led by Bronwyn Lace and speaks simultaneously to The Centre for the Less Good Idea’s position as a space for artistic, interdisciplinary incubation in South Africa, and to its engagements and collaborations with individuals, organisations and institutions elsewhere in the world.

Located in Johannesburg’s City and Suburban/Maboneng district, The Centre occupies a peripheral and experimental space in relation to the more centralised, global art world, while also having the opportunity to participate in this world. While the work facilitated and produced in Johannesburg remains its core focus, The Centre seeks to leverage this unique position in order to constantly grow opportunities and recognition for South African art and performance, for the individuals who collaborate with The Centre and for the kinds of collective and collaborative strategies and practices that The Centre fosters and advocates for.

The other function of The Centre Outside the Centre is to test these strategies and practices outside of the specific location and conditions from which they emerge, and to see how such a distinct methodology holds in other contexts – to discover whether or not that singular resonance that emerges between artist and audiences in Johannesburg extends to different audiences.

Finally, through the touring and travelling of the works incubated at The Centre, there is a unique opportunity for growth and reflection – to test ideas that have emerged from a particular South African context and discover what translates, resonates or does not hold in order to broaden the experience and the shape of the work.