Event Date has changed to 19 April 2025
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Event Date has changed to 19 April 2025 〰️
At the intersection of art, culture and business, The Gathering is a full day of Indaba-style talks from Namibia’s creative leaders. An inclusive celebration of makers and doers, we are bringing together the diverse pioneers who are shaping Namibia’s creative landscape and the future of this nation. With ~20 speakers, it will be a day of powerful stories, activities and community, a chance to connect with likeminded people, network professionally, become inspired, and energize your soul.
Bring your whole self. Wear what makes you feel most yourself.
8am - 5pm, Namib Primary School, down the hill from Woermann House on Bismarck Street
Ticket includes event entry, coffee and beverages throughout the day, a healthy and delicious lunch, and refreshments, and networking at the end of the day.
$850 NAD
19 April 2025, Namib Primary School, Swakopmund
Limited seats will be available at the door for $950. Cash or card payment options.
Sponsored seats are no longer available.
Our purpose & ethos
The Gathering exists to encourage, inspire and mentor the future of Namibian creativity.
We define “creativity” as the act of “creating”, making and doing - across all disciplines and sectors. A great entrepreneur must be creative, just as an artist, musician, designer, architect, filmmaker, chef, storyteller, activist, or educator is. Creativity is a holistic concept that is necessarily full mind-body-spirit, not simply an act of production.
We aim for The Gathering to become a sustainable platform for our community, defined not by region, race, age, gender or any other societal division, but by our spirit of encouragement, inspiration, and mentorship. Bringing disciplines together, we have a unique opportunity for industry cross pollination - for an artist to connect with a design practice, a filmmaker to connect with an architect, for an entrepreneur to learn from powerful storytellers.
Who is behind it?
We only exist because of our community. The Gathering is conceived and run by a core group of creatives, artists, business and organization founders who believe it needs to happen. Any profit from our first event will go directly toward funding more events, workshops and sustaining a free, online platform for all those people who want access to the talks, but cannot attend in person.
Collyn Ahart, writer, co-founder and creative director of ONGUZA Bicycles.
Niita Shikongo, musician, multi-disciplinary creative, strategist and founder of NiaLumino Communications.
LaSchandré Coetzee, Partner at The Project Room and creative communications expert.
Anne Lacheiner-Kuhn, artist and specialist FX technician.
With great thanks, our first event is being supported by FNB NAMIBIA, ONGUZA, The Project Room, Two Beards Coffee, and Wonderveld Apothecary.
2025 SPEAKERS
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Margaret Courtney-Clarke
PHOTOGRAPHER
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Kauna Ndilula
BFS FOUNDER, NAMIBIAN BUSINESS PIONEER
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Hon. Dino Ballotti
DEPUTY MINISTER OF EDUCATION, INNOVATION, YOUTH, SPORT, ARTS & CULTURE
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Nanyemba Katamba
ARTS COMMUNITY DIRECTOR, FOUNDER OF HOTA, RUNDU
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Omar van Reenen
LGBTQI+ CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST & CO-FOUNDER EQUAL NAMIBIA
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Victoria Sanyime
PLAYWRIGHT & STORYTELLER
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Niita Shikongo
MUSICIAN, CREATIVE STRATEGIST
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Dan Craven
PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE & CO-FOUNDER OF ONGUZA
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Lindie & Regardt Lourens
CO-FOUNDERS OF THE MILL, STAMPRIET
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LaSchandré Coetzee
PARTNER, THE PROJECT ROOM
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Albertina Hamukwaya (ALBA NVLO)
DJ
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Xuro Milton
COMEDIAN & CREATOR
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Anne Lacheiner Kuhn
ARTIST & FX TECHNICIAN
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Marcii Magson
MULTI-DISCIPLINARY DESIGNER, ARTIST, FOUNDER OF WONDERVELD APOTHECARY
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Tuli Mekondjo
ARTIST
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Collyn Ahart
CREATIVE DIRECTOR & BRAND BUILDER
Follow Us
If you’d like to sponsor scholarship seats, or sponsor the event, please contact us. We would love for you to be involved and make a meaningful impact on our community.
Photography used with permission of the artists.
Contents copyright of Collyn Ahart LLC, 2024