There are just three weeks to go until the much anticipated annual public arts festival (9-14 March) takes to the streets of Cape Town’s central city.
The Cape Dance Company – Blue
The 2015 Festival sees a new curatorial format with a team of curators presenting a programme of works each. Each group on the programme (lettered A-E) is loosely clustered around an idea or theme.
The curatorial team members were chosen for their different backgrounds and disciplines and have diverse ideas about how art functions in public space – and around how audiences interact with public art.
In a series of works grouped under the idea, “Ways of Belonging”; curator Nadia Daehnke and curatorial assistant Ryno Keet explore the tensions between anonymity and belonging in the context of a city.
Mandla Mbothwe, and curatorial intern Mandisi Sindo’s, theme is “Crossing Over and Round About”, which looks at their group of works through the lens of an ongoing interaction between people and architecture; exploring how humanity shapes and gives meaning to public spaces.
Farzanah Badsha’s programme “What We Deserve” tells multiple stories about how we define and use public space and asks what legacy we are leaving behind to mark our passage and our contributions.
The curatorial team is working under the leadership of Jay Pather, who has curated four previous iterations of Infecting the City.
On 9 February 2015, Infecting the City won an award for the Best Contribution to Visual Arts, including Public Arts, at the Western Cape Government Cultural Affairs Awards.
Infecting the City is a project of the Africa Centre. All items on both the day time and night time programmes are free.
Three major sponsors have partnered with Infecting the City this year: the National Department of Arts & Culture, founding sponsor Spier and the City of Cape Town.
Additional sponsors include: Santam, Pro Helvetia, Western Cape Government and the Goethe Institute. For the first time, Infecting the City partnered with crowdfunding platform, Thundafund, to diversify the works included in the Festival by selecting ten works that called for public funding.
The countdown has begun to the Africa Centre’s 8thInfecting the City, Cape Town’s annual festival of public art that takes place 9-14 March 2015.
The Cape Dance Company – Blue
The Festival is comprised of artworks derived from a multitude of disciplines that include dance, poetry, music, performance and visual art. Collectively the body of work seeks to uncover and explore the underlying experience of the human condition. All the performances and programme items for Infecting the City are free to the public and take place in the central city.
The 2015 Festival expects to build on the success of 2014, when 419 artists and over 32,000 audience members were in attendance.
The 2015 Festival is being curated to bring freedom of expression and unexpected meaning to the streets of Cape Town, whilst shifting artworks out of theatres and reinventing the notion of how we use and interact with our public spaces.
From the deeply poignant, to the thought-provoking, humorous and curious, Infecting the City’s 2015 programme includes work from both local and international performance artists. Says the Africa Centre’s Executive Director, Tanner Methvin; “Our intentions for Infecting the City 2015 are to provide a unique moment in time when all our complexity can be laid bare and felt by everyone. Where we take that exposure is up to us.”
A sample of the artworks includes: Living Room Dancers by Swiss choreographer Nicole Seilers, in which audiences are invited to view dancers through binoculars as they dance simultaneously at the windows of an apartment block. Johannesburg-based artist, Sandile Radebe, brings us Colour Me In, in which he presents us with an old City map depicting the geographic lines of racial segregation and asks us to redraw and colour in the City we want to see.
Nicola Elliot, recipient of the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Dance (2014), will present a piece called Chalk which explores how the delineation of chalk can change meaning, whilst Jacqueline Manyaapelo and Khayalethu Witbooi ask some important questions about South Africa’s education system in UnEducated.
Berlin-based artist Hilla Steinert and Elize Vossgatter will make connections in The Braid by plaiting a braid using grasses they have collected. Audience members are invited to contribute materials to plait into the braid. Other works explore social issues and events such as Marikana and the 2014 kidnapping of 273 girls in Nigeria.
Works in the Festival can be experienced either as part of a route, or independently – and often experienced unexpectedly. Routes will be activated by day and night to ensure there are plenty of spaces to enjoy refreshments and conversation along the way. 90% of the programme has been released online and will be complete by 15 February 2015 – including information on all the routes. Visit and return to http://infectingthecity.com/2015/artworks/ to view confirmed programme items.
This year, the Festival’s curation has changed to a team approach. Several curators; Mandla Mbothwe, Farzanah Badsha, Nadja Daehnke – and Mandisi Sindo, as curatorial intern – join, Jay Pather, who leads the curatorial team. Having curated a number of festivals previously, Pather says that bringing in new curatorial perspectives brings fresh energy to the Festival: “Working with a team of curators allows us to explore further and open some new territory.
Each individual curates an allocation of artists and productions that follow various routes through the City, so there is sure to be sharp differences in perspectives from programme to programme, which will serve to enrich this growing Festival.”
Three major sponsors have partnered with Infecting the City this year: the National Department of Arts & Culture, founding sponsor Spier and the City of Cape Town.
Cape-Mongo, an anti-fable regarding the mythologies of Cape Town’s consumer culture.
The NationalDepartment of Arts & Culture’s Moleleki Ledimo notes that Infecting the City stimulates local artistic participation. “It further contributes to growing diverse creative industries – visual arts, music, dance, film, storytelling, whilst bringing Cape Town to its own people. As diverse as it is to its audiences, it gives the public new senses of ‘looking, hearing and language’, as it challenges and engages them.”
Founder sponsor Spier‘s CEO Andrew Milne comments; “Spier is a proud partner of Infecting the City. We look forward to the annual transformation of Cape Town as people from all backgrounds are engaged through the arts and the city comes alive with new perspectives.”
Mayoral Committee Member for Tourism, Events and Economic Development, Councillor Garreth Bloor agrees: “The City of Cape Town welcomes the Festival’s use of its most well-used and recognisable spaces. It’s a great activation of public space and it furthers inclusivity.’
Additional sponsors include: Santam, Pro Helvetia, Western Cape Government and the Goethe Institute. For the first time, Infecting the City partnered with crowdfunding platform, Thundafund, to diversify the works included in the Festival by selecting ten works that called for public funding.
eaSummertime in Cape Town is an ideal time for a number of outdoor activities, one such activity is a favourite for a number of Capetonians hoping to enjoy the fine summer days and dusky evenings.
Spier picnic basket
I know a number of you would be thinking going to the beach, spending time with the family at the movies or even hosting a family braai (barbecue), but it’s neither of these… it is however, a picnic.
A picnic in any of Cape Town’s scenic spots is a firm favourite for locals and tourists alike, fine weather and great views make for a fine outdoor activity.
The humble picnic allows you to fill your basket with food to suit any occasion; salads, cold cuts, yoghurt, fruit, crackers, pate’s, breads, jams, cheeses, fruit kebabs, chocolate, champagne and orange juice make for a perfect picnic meal.
Whether it’s a morning breakfast picnic at one of the many nature reserves that ring the Cape, an afternoon picnic at a local wine estate or an evening sunset picnic on the western side of Table Mountain, Cape Town has a picnic venue for e very occasion.
Beach Picnics
Top picnic spots in Cape Town include; Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, Table Mountain, Lions Head, Tokai Forest, Silvermine Nature Reserve, Paarl Mountain, Zeekoevlei, Wynberg Park, Zandvlei, Signal Hill and Green Point Urban Park.
Beaches famous for sunset picnics include Oudekraal, Sea Point, Camps Bay, Clifton Beach and Blouberg beaches.
Sunset from Signal Hill
Many wine farms around the Cape like Groot Constantia and Buitenverwachting in Constantia, Boschendal Wine Estate between Franschoek and Stellenbosch, as well as Blaauwklippen and Spier in Stellenbosch offer great options for a picnic.
No matter what your picnic option, Cape Town has a venue for every picnic occasion so grab the picnic basket, fill it with tasty goodies and head for your picnic spot of choice.
Please note: – No alcoholic beverages are allowed on Cape Town’s beaches.
Top Tips to make your picnic hassle free:
Pick your spot to ensure your picnic can be accessible and safe especially at night.
Keep it simple.
Pack only the food you will eat, ensure that allergies are noted.
Pack the essentials.
Make sure you’re fully equipped for your adventure.
Here’s a list of essentials for your outdoor excursion:
Picnic basket and/or cooler box
Bottled water (freeze overnight and use as an ice pack)
Outdoor dinnerware, plates, cups, cutlery
Napkins
Corkscrew and/or bottle opener
Tablecloth and/or a picnic blanket
Sunscreen
Bug spray
citronella candles or battery powered lamps
Warm clothing should the weather take a turn for the worst
Make sure someone knows where you are going
Ensure that your mobile phone battery is fully charged and that there is mobile phone reception
Avoid any risk of food poisoning
Avoid ice cream as it will melt before you reach your picnic spot
Avoid sticky puddings, and sweet cakes as they attract insects
Trash bags.
Make sure you leave only your footprints at the picnic spot.
Cape Town in Colour promotes the Mother City, its people, art, culture, events, music and cuisine.
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