South Africa Blog

The his­toric Cape Winelands town of Tulbagh is host­ing a Spring Arts Festival over the week­end of 26–28 August 2011, cel­eb­rat­ing the arts in all their var­ied forms. The fest­ival also coin­cides with the spring wild­flowers, which include sev­eral vari­et­ies of rare endemic bulbs that only flower in the Tulbagh val­ley. It is aimed at rais­ing funds for the Tulbagh Community Gardens and Galgeheuwel Reserve ini­ti­at­ive, which will cre­ate a pub­lic pleas­ure garden for the enjoy­ment of all in his­toric Church Street.

The Tulbagh Spring Arts Festival is head­lining with the open­ing of the Christo Coetzee House Museum and Gallery (post renov­a­tion of the dilap­id­ated barn, where Coetzee painted from 1973 until his death in 2000, and the Rhenish mis­sion­ary house where he lived behind the stu­dio.) For the dur­a­tion of the fest­ival the work of past, present and future mas­ters of the val­ley will be on display.

Christo Coetzee is obvi­ously our past mas­ter. The South African Encyclopedia says about Coetzee’s work: “He has broadened art in the sense that he con­trib­uted to the fad­ing of the tra­di­tional bound­ar­ies between paint­ing and sculp­ture and because he insisted on viewer par­ti­cip­a­tion in the cre­at­ive pro­cess. (more…)

Cape Town is gearing up for festival season with many carnivals, creative and music events coming up later this month and throughout March.

Infecting the City, an annual public arts initiative, presented by The Africa Centre, offers free performance art happenings in public spaces in the City that are relevant to the theme and significant for Cape Town. This year’s theme, Treasure, engages its audiences with free street experiences such as Xhosa stick-fighting, a Goema Symphony, Ratiep, and flash mobs by inspirational artists from 21 – 26 February 2011. (www.infectingthecity.com)

Cape Town Pride, the City’s next ‘pink’ festival is scheduled for 24 February – 6 March 2011 with an eleven day celebration incorporating events such as a Mr. and Ms. Cape Town Pride pageant, a Pink Ball and the Pride Parade. The different aspects of this combinative event will take place across the city from Cape Town Stadium and gay-friendly suburb, De Waterkant, to Mzoli’s in Khayelitsha. (http://capetownpride.org)

Amongst many community festivals presented by the ‘One City, Many Cultures Project’ during the month of March, the annual Cape Town Festival is set to take place from 19 – 21 March 2011 in the Company Gardens. The Cape Town Festival is in its twelfth year of celebrating National Human Rights Day with music performances by diverse local bands over the three-day period. (www.capetownfestival.co.za) (more…)

100 artists have been selected for The Africa Centre’s art biennale, the Spier Contemporary 2010, which opens at The Cape Town City Hall on 14 March 2010. The mammoth task of selecting the finalists from over 2 700 entries at selection centres across the country was undertaken by the five member curatorial team.

Mwenya Kabwe, a member of the curatorial team, says; “There was an enormous amount of art. Making the selection entailed endless hours of debate between our team members. Whilst we were enriched by our journey through South Africa’s creative landscape, it was exhausting!”

Digital art and photography emerged very clearly as popular mediums for this year’s competition, which also includes strong sculptural and performance arts dimensions. Says, Jay Pather, from the curatorial team; “Contemporary art is a measure of our society. A lot of the work reflects the search for identity – it suggests that we are a nation in crisis. Themes of cynicism, fear and a lack of faith in our leadership are definitely present. We did not seek to narrate or shape this reflection. It is what it is and often art speaks to us because it echoes our truth.”

Within the soul-searching, there are however many moments of wry humour, playfulness and some extraordinary musings on human nature. Soccer commentary also emerged as a strong theme, with many artists questioning the hype and absence of real community benefits surrounding the forthcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Work has begun on the Cape Town City Hall setting, where the first stop of the exhibition will be shown. Commissioned architect, Nabeel Essa, will be designing the exhibition within the crumbling grandeur of the Edwardian building to create an interpretive space quite unlike the white cube. A total prize money of R1.2 million and six artist in residency programmes (to places as far afield as South Korea and Brazil) will be awarded to the finalists and winning artists. Winners will be announced on the 13 March 2010.

The Africa Centre presents the Spier Contemporary 2010 with the generous support of Spier.

Dates & Details:
The Spier Contemporary 2010 Exhibition at The Cape Town City Hall
14 March – 14 May 2010
Daily 10am till 6pm
Entrance is FREE

To arrange interviews with members of the curatorial team, project managers, qualifying artists and Spier Contemporary’s producer, The Africa Centre – please call Brenda on + 27 21 447 3198

ABOUT SPIER CONTEMPORARY 2010:
The Spier Contemporary has been conceived to provide a platform for visual and performance artists to show their work, uncompromised by the limitations of technology, space and access. Artists in South Africa work under extremely varied conditions and see from radically different perspectives. These differences are what define our collective identity and unique social and cultural landscape. The Spier Contemporary provides a platform for exploring our diversity, giving audiences insights into our complexity and thus contributing to our understanding of difference.

ABOUT THE AFRICA CENTRE
The Africa Centre is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the promotion and development of contemporary African arts and cultural practices. In addition to the Spier Contemporary, the Africa Centre conducts three annual festivals in Cape Town: Infecting the City (performance art), Badilisha Poetry X-change (poetry) and the Pan-African Space Station (music); as well as an artist-in-residency programme based in Senegal, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa – SPARCK – Space for Pan-African Research, Creation and Knowledge.

The Heritage Awards 2009: Sat 19 September @ 7pm: ICC Durban – The Heritage Awards, a high-profile annual event which sees six phenomenal South Africans honoured for their contribution towards the preservation and promotion of South African heritage and culture – takes place on Saturday 19 September at 7pm at the ICC Durban at a glittering function.

This significant elegant awards evening is believed to be the only major annual award to honour leaders in the field of Heritage specifically, and their contribution to the cultural traditions and legacy of this country. The awardees were carefully selected after contribution from The Premier’s Office; BASA; NAC; Independent Newspapers and Kizo.

Photograph: Centre for Fine Art, Animation and Design’s Nanda Soobben

This year the awards will be going to: Alfred Nokwe (late) for theatre; Johnny Clegg – music and social cohesion; Noria Mabasa – an accomplished sculptor and wood carver; Bheki Mseleku (late) for music; Nanda Soobben – Durban based animator and arts educator and Jay Pather for dance.

The Awards will be a glittering affair as part of the city’s Celebrate Durban heritage season and will be held for the first time at the ICC. The guest speaker at the awards will be Advocate Mancotywa (National Heritage Council CEO). MC is living treasure Gcina Mhlophe. Entertainment is co-ordinated by Mbongemi Ngema and Committed Artists.

The Gateway Theatre of Shopping and Kizo Art Gallery’s annual Heritage Art Festival is once again an ambitious multi-layered, forward-thinking festival of 20 art themed events which will be held throughout Heritage Month at the Kizo Art Gallery and the Gateway Theatre of Shopping. The Heritage Awards is one of the major events of the annual Heritage Arts Festival line up.

Kizo wishes to acknowledge its valuable partners for The Heritage Awards function: Provincial Government; Independent Newspapers; ICC; BASA; NAC; Celebrate Durban, SMG Durban, Beverley Hill Hotel, Paul Cluver Wines, and Committed Artists.

Contacts:
Nathi Gumede – Head Curator – Kizo Art Consultants or
Sharon Crampton – General Manager – Kizo Art Consultants
Tel: (031) 566 4322/4
Fax: (031) 566 2494

Heritage month – time for the eighth annual Celebrate Durban events showcase which features 40 plus eclectic participative events which are on offer this year during September in recognition of heritage / tourism month. The season once more sees a comprehensive calendar with a clever mix of social, family, heritage, sports, arts, culture, health, environmental and spiritual events to celebrate our city’s cultural diversity.

Among the many highlights of the season is the anchor event: MMINO MusicMix “A Boundless Experience” to be held on 24 – 25 September in the ICC Arena. This musical extravaganza features Johnny Clegg, Zimbabwe’s Oliver Mtukudzi, Hugh Masekela, Thandiswa Mazwai, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Ray Phiri. Musicians from nine SADC countries and Etran Finatawa (Niger) will collaborate with the MMINO Boundless All Star Band led by Neill Solomon to symbolically break down musical barriers and create music without frontiers. The festival includes free workshops.

The MusicMix festival marks the culmination of a four month Boundless Southern Africa Expedition, led by National Geographic explorer Kingsley Holgate to raise awareness of the nine SADC countries and transfrontier parks. An exhibition which showcases the nature, culture and communities encountered on their journey, will be held in the ICC foyer and includes a talk ‘around the camp fire’ with Holgate, beautiful photographs and video footage. The event also includes free workshops and Kingsley Holgate’s Boundless exhibition in the ICC Foyer. More info can be found www.musexchange.co.za.

Another key component of the season is the Heritage Arts Festival – an exciting ambitious festival of 23 art themed events which will be held throughout Heritage month of September primarily at the Kizo Art Gallery and the Gateway Theatre of Shopping. The Heritage Awards is one of the major events of the annual Heritage Arts Festival line up, which takes place at the ICC on 19 September. A major exhibition will be held at Kizo Art Gallery throughout the season, opening on 1 September and curated by resident Kizo curator Nathi Gumede. Entitled A Known Heritage it celebrates the region’s rich multicultural heritage.

The season sees favourites like the annual Coca-Cola Bunny Chow Barometer; the Flavours of Durban Sister Cities Cuisine Festival and the Independent on Saturday Design Durban’s Drink. There will be dance events (Vodacom Yebo Millionaires Ballroom and Latin American Dance Championships and Phansi Phezulu Dance Fest); theatre (What’s Funny in SA?; Freedom Valley and Red Eye: Ready?); literature (Creative Writing and Story Telling and Dancing Pencils Book Fest); fashion and beauty (Miss eThekwini and Durban Young Designers Fashion Extravaganza); sports (Celebrate Durban Ward Based Sports programme and MTN Coast to Coast Cycle Challenge); heritage (Living Legends Awards; Out of Step: ECC 25th Anniversary Commemorations; the Heritage Awards; Back To Africa; Heritage Day event for traditional healers and Separate is Not Equal exhibition)

Of course there will be festivals within festivals (Glenwood Community Festival; Shared Histories: The Indian Experience in SA; Healthy Lifestyle Expo; the Float Street Parade and Durban Blue Lagoon Indian Ocean Festival) and much music (KZN Music Imbizo; MMINO MusicMix “A Boundless Experience”; Emerging Sounds of Durban Festival; Isicathamiya Festival; Cell C Durban Music School Street Festival; Cardinal’s Concert; Renee Fleming in Concert; KZNPO Spring Season; SATMA Awards 2008 and Durban International Blues Festival).

A major component of the season is the eleventh SMME fair which takes place at the Durban Exhibition Centre provides a platform for small businesses to create linkages and networks with each other and with big businesses and service providers. Interspersed with the events will be a strong presence from the Clowns Without Borders.

DURBAN has once again put together a diverse, engaging and participative programme for September to which city residents and visitors are warmly invited to share.

Contacts:
For more information, contact the Department of International and Governance Relations in the eThekwini Municipality on tel 031 311 2104, or for the whole season visit www.durbanexperience.co.za

Related Links:
To book your accommodation for Heritage Month visit Durban Hotels or, if you prefer to stay at a Bed & Breakfast, Guest house or Self catering option see Durban Accommodation for hundreds of options.

A rising star in the opera firmament will grace the stage of the Nederburg Manor House recital room on July 27 at 17h00 to perform the third Nederburg concert of the season.

Up and coming local tenor, Given Nkosi will showcase the extraordinary talent that has seen him win a number of local and international awards. Accompanied by one of the country’s finest pianists, Victor Tichart, Nkosi will sing traditional German, Italian and English songs and some favourite opera arias such as La donna e mobile, Una furtive lagrima, Amor tivieta, M’apari tutt’ amor.

Nkosi started singing at school and in youth choirs, participating in various competitions. In 2001 and 2002, he was chosen as the Tirisano School Choral Eisteddfod national champion and, in 2003 and 2004, was national champion of the Post Office Eisteddfod. He has appeared in numerous local opera productions and concert performances, among others as soloist with the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2005, he won first prize in the Schock competition at the University of Cape Town (UCT). He is currently studying towards a Performer’s Diploma at UCT under the tutelage of Professors Angelo Gobbato and Brad Liebl.

All concerts start at 17h00 and bookings can be made by calling Sonja Morkel on (021) 809-8344 or Irma Albers on (021) 809-8106. Tickets are R125 and include a superb finger supper served with fine Nederburg wines.

South African ARTS doccie reality show HEADWRAP will be screening the last few episodes of the show and then the series comes to an end. For everyone who is interested, here are two great ones coming up.

AFRO FIESTA AND MAMA KAAP S
SABC 1 18H30 30 JULY DIRECTED BY LLEWELYN RODERICK
Mama Africa in Long Street, Cape Town is a wonderfully clichéd melting pot of locals and tourists, dancing to the Congolese rhythms of Mermans Kenkosenki’s band – AFRO FIESTA. The band’s name reflects the mix of musicians, who are from all over the African continent. Although AFRO FIESTA is defined by a broad reggae afro jazz label, it’s music writhes with the strong spirit and sound of the Congo. Watch Headwrap to see how AFRO FIESTA and Mermans collaborate with one of Cape Town’s Jazz legends Sylvia Mdunyelwa a.k.a Mama Kaap, to take this fusion of sound to a new height. Mama Kaap, who calls Langa Township in the Western Cape home, is an internationally acclaimed jazz voice. She has travelled and worked in the USA and Europe, but has her roots firmly set on African soil. This bringing together of voices from the Diaspora comes at a crucial time in South Africa’s history, as we reach out to find ways of re-uniting as brothers and sisters from the continent.

Photograph: DINEO BOPAPE Contemporary Artist featured in Headwrap

AZWIMPHELELI MAGORO AND DINEO BOPAPE
SABC1 18H30 DIRECTED BY CHIPO LABA
Azwimpheleli Magoro is a man who is comfortable in his skin and in the ways of his people. He is best known for depicting traditional themes from Venda cultural life in his sculptures. Based in Muledane near Thohoyandou his love for carving started in primary school. Now an acclaimed sculptor, Azwi’s works are made from soft indigenous woods like Moroela and Wild Fig. He has a relationship with the wood, which comes alive with linear movement as it reveals itself to him. Dineo Bopape is a flamboyant character that likes the energy of the big city. Originally from Polekwane this young artist embraces the now. Dineo who graduated with a B Tech from the Durban Institute of Technology in 2004 calls her multi-media work “contemporary art”. She refuses to be boxed into a genre but does admit to being an obsessive collector and assembler of objects. These artifacts are the start of an idea for her ultimate artwork. Dineo and Azwi go on a journey together and start collecting objects with the hope of creating a joint artwork. Although both artists operate in a conceptual realm, they find that their ideas are conflicting and difficult to merge into a single outcome. Watch HEADWRAP to find out how these two strong voices each have their say.

The Connections Zulu Choir returned from Australia last week after introducing the country to the unique sounds of South African music on a three-week tour of Australia. The choir, from Kwa Nyuswa, is made up of 20 teenagers and young adults. The tour was organised by The Oaktree Foundation, an Australian aid group run entirely by volunteers under the age of 26.

While in Australia, the choir travelled over 1,500km to perform at 20 mostly sold out concerts to around 10,000 people. As well as receiving great feedback from excited audiences, media outlets around Australia were very keen to interview the choir. Through their media appearances, the choir reached around three million people, performing live on Australia’s highest-rating breakfast television program, Sunrise and appearing in major metropolitan and regional newspapers.

They were also in hot demand by Aussie bands while they were in the country. One of the highlights of the tour was a collaboration with Evermore, one of the country’s highest-selling bands. The choir also appeared at Evermore’s Melbourne concert to sing two songs to over4,000 screaming audience members. The choir also impressed Bliss n Eso, one of Australia’s biggest hip hop groups, when they recorded tracks together for Bliss n Eso’s forthcoming album. Both Evermore and Bliss n Esso visited South Africa this week with The Oaktree Foundation and MTV, and again they worked with Connections Choir whilst in Kwa Nyuswa.

The choir met a group of young Australian musicians in early 2005 when the Aussies were on a study tour with The Oaktree Foundation, and they have shared an amazing friendship and partnership since then. They wrote and recorded a CD in 2005, and then in 2006 the Australian musicians returned to South African again and recorded a second CD with the choir. This CD was called Simunye Sound (or ‘we are one’ sound in Zulu) – and it is a mix of Australian and South African sounds and influences, including the Zulu choir, a jazz singer, a punk singer, an electric guitarist, a bass player, a percussionist, a keyboardist and a guitarist. The group of Aussie musicians joined forces with The Oaktree Foundation at bring the choir to Australia. The choir performed both by themselves and as Simunye Sound with their Australian musician friends.

Nhlanhla Jila, the leader of the Connections Zulu Choir, said the tour was an amazing experience for all the choir members. “We feel so lucky that we were given this amazing opportunity to travel to Australia and share our music with the people there. This trip was the biggest thing any of us have ever done,” he said. “We met so many wonderful people in Australia and are looking forward to keeping in touch with our new friends across the ocean. And of course we’re hoping to go back to Australia soon to do it all again!”

Olivia Brian, one of the Australian musicians the choir toured with, said it was an experience that she was proud to be a part of. “The choir touched so many people in Australia with their music and their inspirational story while they were here,” she said. “The tour was a huge success and I know many people in Australia are keen to have the choir return”.

 “The choir also did a great job at promoting South African music and culture, and giving Australians a taste of South African life – I’m sure that there will be many Australians looking forward to visiting the country after seeing the choir perform!” 

Connections Choir are hopeful that this will not be their first international music tour. “We feel this is very much the beginning. None of us had ever been overseas before this trip to Australia – and it was the best thing we’ve ever experienced. We hope to continue our friendship and partnership with our Australian musician friends. We want to record more CDs with them, write more music and tour again. We’re also hoping to expand our reach within South Africa – there is a lot of exciting things to come!” said Mr Jila.

For interviews, photo opportunities and media enquiries please contact:
NhlaNhla Jila, Choir Leader, on 07823110998
Olivia Brian, Oaktree Foundation volunteer, +61 410 531 436

101 Things to do in Cape Town for under R101.00 (under $15.00). From climbing to the top of Table Mountain, horse riding on Noordhoek Beach, club-hopping to see up-and-coming South African Musicians, Dragon Boat racing at the Waterfront, Cruise around Cape Town’s historic harbour, museum visits, wine-tasting, indoor karting, Sight-seeing on the double-decker, topless City Explorer Bus, Theatrical Dining at a Restaurant in Rondebosch, places to go, things to do all for under R101.00. And about 50% of the suggestions are totally free of charge!

Visit the South African Rugby Museum in Newlands, attend a parliamentary session (no charge but bring your passport!), stroll up Government Avenue, Watch the firing of Cape Town’s Noon-day Gun on Signal Hill (it’s free), enjoy a site-seeing horse-drawn carriage tour through the streets of Cape Town (did you know that exists? I didn’t), visit the Comedy Warehouse for a good laugh or laugh yourself silly at the side-splitting comedy at Theatre Sports … so much to do, so many places to see.

A very cool list. See … 101 Things to do in Cape Town »
on the Cape Town Accommodation site, or see Things to Do in Cape Town on SA-Venues.com for a more comprehensive list (500+ and counting …)

If you are in Cape Town this weekend head over to the ICC for a Hot musical experience. The 8th Cape Town International Jazz Festival is a musical extravaganza par excellence – The festival kicks off today (Thursday) …. A FREE free concert takes place on Thursday, 29th March and is the introductory event to the festival. the artist that will be performing at this years free concert is Hip Hop Pansula, CODA, Siphokazi, Saskia Laroo Band, Ezra Ngcukana Band and Standard Bank National Youth Jazz Band. The selected venue for the past four years is the well known Greenmarket Square.

At the ICC from Friday 30th to Saturday 31st March five stages will host 40+ international and African artists including Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Randy Crawford, Average White Band, Beki Khosa, the Geri Allen Trio, Jack De Johnette & Sibongile Khumalo “Intercontinental”, Stimela …. and many many more this party is going to be hot! For festival details view the site at: http://www.capetownjazzfest.com/Festival.aspx

If you are in KwaZulu Natal this weekend, pack a picnic basket on Sunday 1st April (this Sunday) and head over to the Botanical Gardens in Berea, Durban. My favourite South African Band, Freshlyground are playing at the Lake. Entrance is R100.00 and it starts at 3.00 pm.

Related Sites:
Freshlyground
Cape Town Jazz Festival

Article by Brian Kemp of Halls Country House in the Drakensberg.

The Ukhahlamba - Drakensberg Park was declared a World Heritage Site in 2000. International recognition was achieved through its unique richness of biological diversity, its endemic and endangered species and its superlative natural beauty. Mostly though, it was declared a World Heritage Site for its masterpieces of human creative genius in the form of some 35 000 Bushman rock art images.

Only a few artifacts and 35 000 paintings, slowly weathering away, remain to tell the story of the Bushman. The Drakensberg has the world’ s richest treasure trove of stoneage rock art. With artistic skills honed by a tradition of total intimacy with their environment, the Bushman expressed their life experiences in art painted in the caves and overhangs in the mountains. They are drawings of infinite detail, sensitivity, movement and meaning.

Natural weathering of the exposed softer sandstone layers under the harder basalt created caves where Bushmen lived. Many of the paintings were drawn onto the relatively softer sandstone substrata and have deteriorated considerably over the years.

The top three Drakensberg destinations to see Bushman rock painting are: Game Pass Shelter in the Kamberg, Main Cave at Giant’s Castle and Battle Cave at Injasuti. KZN Wildlife operates guided tours from all three of these locations daily. There are literally thousands of other places in the Drakensberg where you can view Bushman paintings. But if you’re looking for destinations other than the “big three” mentioned above, then you’re going to have to get your hiking boots on. Legislation has recognized this amazing outdoor art gallery, and that each painting is an irreplaceable treasure. As such they are protected. Please don’t touch. Or I’ll kill you.

Visit Halls Country House at: Halls Country House