Woodstock is Cool, Officially.

I was very excited to read in the magazine section of yesterday’s Observer newspaper a page feature on Woodstock, where I lived (or stayed, if we’re speaking South African) in Cape Town.

Woodstock is described as follows: largely inhabited by a Cape Coloured community that was spared segregation under apartheid law, the ramshackle suburb of Woodstock runs from the docks to the foot of Devil’s Peak mountain, east of the city. It’s home to a new set of artists, designers and foodie haunts, though, as in most of South Africa, there’s still incongruity – donkey carts piled with scrap metal are often seen limping next to shiny 4x4s trawling for the finest artisanal bread or must-have artwork.

Yes, all true, though it leaves out the bread shop that looks like a brothel (all red with a leather sofa in the window – no sign of any actual bread), the endless stretch of rustic frames shops, the dodgy Nigerian nightclub/sports bar and the crack-dens (alleged crack-dens, Mammy, ALLEGED) and the many 5Rand Chinese shops (though I found these fascinating and visited them often on my way to or from Greatmore Studios.)

I was especially excited to see Neighbourgoods Market featured (you can read my post here) and also the Superette (the same people run the two). Superette was one of my absolute favourite places in Cape Town, conveniently located just between where I lived and where I worked. Like an eedjit, I never got round to taking any photos of it, so I’ve screen-grabbed these from the Superette website, so I can pay tribute to them (if you can't visit Superette itself, the website is still worth a look. Not if you're feeling hungry, though.)

The coffee was great, the cakes were divine, the sandwiches sublime, and their cheese on toast world-class. Loved the concrete floors, the light fixtures and the touches of yellow everywhere.

Oh, I miss you Woodstock!

African Time

[Image copyright Greatmore Studios]

On Monday night, thieves broke into the exhibition space at Greatmore and made off with computer equipment (and incidentally, several video and sound artpieces – though this wasn’t necessarily intentional). The African Time exhibition that we all worked so hard on had to be closed.

I will confess that I have a somewhat unhealthy love affair (unhealthy for someone working in my field) with films about art thefts and jewel heists (How to Steal a Million, To Catch a Thief, The Italian Job, The Thomas Crown Affair – originals and remakes). But of course the reality is far less glamorous and far more frustrating.

Here’s the piece I wrote about African Time:

Train delayed. Meeting starts an hour late. Electrician tells you your phone will be fixed ‘now now’. People nod their heads sagely and say ‘that’s African Time’.

There is a perception that Africans have a loose relationship with time. So much so that ‘African Time’ has become a synonym for being late. But is there more to it than that? What if it is Western concepts of timekeeping and timetables that hinder, while African Time frees us from constraints?

In the first resident curatorship at Greatmore Studios, curator Yvette Dunn brings together a dynamic collective of artists to unpick the concept of African Time. What emerges from the exchange is the sense that African Time is the time in between: in between and outside clocks, diaries, calendars, alarms, schedules and the other ways we measure out our days.

John Lennon said ‘life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans’. African Time represents the space created for the really important things in life - the life that happens to you regardless of the day-to-day routine.

The 13 artists participating in African Time play with elements such as ‘Stop’, ‘Rewind’ and ‘Fast-forward’ to challenge visitors to the exhibition to step outside the boundaries of linear timekeeping and observe for themselves what happens when they become immersed in African Time.

Exchange between artists is an integral part of the exhibition. South African artists are joined by artists from Scotland, Portugal, Mexico and Germany; each exploring different interpretations of time. Though each artist has a different perspective, the works are united by their willingness to explore the free space – both physical and metaphorical - created by African Time.

Greatmore Studios has established the programme of resident curatorships to maximise the potential of its new exhibition space – but more, to build on its unique role as a conduit between different sections of the Capetonian art world. The ongoing exhibitions programme will challenge and experiment, with thought-provoking curated exhibitions acting as the starting point for dialogue.

DIY Exhibition Design

In my pre-August 2009 experience of exhibition design this is how things usually worked:

I would have a random idea, suggest it to the designer, who would roll her eyes and explain patiently to me why my idea was impossible and gently suggest how it might work in the real world where ponies don’t have wings and fairies don’t build your exhibition in the night while you sleep. Then a team of other designers and fabricators would become involved to make the idea a reality.

Things are a little different now. On Thursday, as we looked at the exhibition space in Greatmore and talked about how to demarcate the work of the three artists, I suggested doing something with the floor. ‘Great!’ said Kate. ‘So I’ll leave that with you then.’

Which is how I ended up spending a day cutting stencils and spraying the floor. Well, I started spraying the floor but was doing such a bad job that Gary came in and showed me how it was done.

I did do a few more at the end though. 'Linda' is all my work.

Prints from Zimbabwe

I spent all day yesterday helping to put up this show. I’m used to exhibitions that take months – if not years – to go from conception to opening, so this was something of an eye-opener for me.

I felt like Lenore (heroine of Acorns and Stew, the best children’s book in the world ever) – who ‘cut and sawed and hammered with nails, and painted with brushes that were dipped in big pails’. I hung prints and held spirit levels and passed nails and stuck press-stick (this is South African for blu-tac) and typed labels and printed labels and glued labels and stuck labels.

But doesn’t it look good? (She asked modestly. But actually the prints themselves are fabulous - colourful, diverse, thought-provoking.)

The prints are all by Zimbabwean artists living and working in Zim and the work reflects their circumstances there.

Here are Portia and Gareth, two of the artists:

If you happen to be in the Cape Town area you should come and see – and take the opportunity to snap up a limited edition print by a Zimbabwean artist.

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For those of you eager to hear me on Bush Radio, I’m sorry (not really that sorry) to disappoint but I don’t think they run to a ‘listen again’ service. But if you want to try, go to their website www.bushradio.co.za. I would like to point out that this was not my media debut. I appeared on Action, Station, Saturday at the age of nine dressed as an ultra-violet ray. Really, it’s a wonder I’m not more scarred by the experience.

Happy weekend!