As we find ourselves in unprecedented political times, Common Ground, the title and theme of the HEAT Winter Arts Festival, has never been this necessary since the advent of our democracy.

Listen to this article 11 min Listen to this article 11 min A government of national unity is uncharted territory for our country, yet it pulls the cover off years of political minutiae as a participatory government has never been more urgent than at this moment.

In any event of cohesion, there has to be an acknowledgement of difference coupled with every individual, whether Black, Coloured, Indian, white or Asian, who must feel they have a stake in this country, geographically, politically and economically.

Similarly, HEAT, which runs in Cape Town's city centre from 11 to 21 July, calls on a multitude of stakeholders, galleries, artists, musicians, theatre practitioners and comics as we attempt to dissolve the cultural silos that have existed in Cape Town for generations.

When dissolving these silos, participants seek to answer the question: how do we go about finding common ground even in our differences, opposing worldviews, and violent colonial histories embedded in this nation's fabric?

HEAT situates its main thesis within the question of what conditions facilitate "common ground"; questions of community and collaboration become integral to the cultural practices and the 15 galleries that are being platformed.

Moving beyond the brick-and-mortar...