From an Algerian-born art historian and a Lebanese curator-writer duo exploring the intersection of art, culture and political struggle to two 50-something friends opening up about living in the midlife lane, it was fitting that with Women’s Day upon us, the two social do’s to kick off this month revolved around remarkable females.
First, it is an unusually warm Thursday evening in a reclaimed grain silo nestling on the edge of Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront that I meet Rasha Salti and her close collaborator Kristine Khouri whose work draws from archival materials and documentary film to weave connections between art and political liberation movements from Palestine to South Africa.
That’s quite a heavy subject matter, but Rasha and Kristine have managed to present it quite lyrically through their exhibition, Past Disquiet, which forms part of the new season of exhibitions at the Zeitz MOCAA.
“The joie de vivre and the cuisine,” says Rasha, when I ask the Beirut- and Berlin-based curator about the similarities between Mzansi and Lebanon.
I, though, also point out that the Middle Eastern country could be a bellwether to us here about how an energy crisis can ravage an economy (Lebanon was gripped by a full 24-hour power outage back in 2021 when two of their power plants ran out of fuel).
On a fashionable note, I am drawn to the handiwork and tangerine hue of the linen kaftan Kristine is wearing over her black dress and sneakers ensemble.
It’s from artisanal brand L’artisan du Libran which supports more than 1,000 makers in Lebanon, thus helping to preserve the country’s crafting skills.
The official bits start with Storm Janse van Rensburg, the museum's lanky curator of contemporary art, welcoming us before we hear from Rasha, Kristine and Zahia Rahmani, the academic whose “Seismography of Struggle” is the companion exhibition also opening.
Next comes the turn of Zeitz’s chief curator Koyo Kouoh to explain why these two exhibitions matter. The big draw of the night, though, was remarks by former diplomat and cultural leader Barbara Masekela.
As Barbara begins her speech, I notice a familiar face in a bold-patterned red shirt seated next to me — that’s another struggle icon, former Justice Albie Sacks who is wearing a bold red patterned silk shirt of which Madiba would have approved.
The ANC activist opens her speech by reading an extract from her book, Poli Poli.
“I wanted to quote from my book, because I wanted to evoke the childhood of most black people in South Africa which is that the first images we see are images that are humiliating about our background. We grow up with those images,” she says, praising how the exhibitions allow to be heard the voices of those which history has often ignored.
Up to the fourth floor of the museum where the two bodies of work are displayed. I meet someone who I know as a thespian, director and author — but who was there wearing her other hat, as panellist on a symposium the museum held yesterday.
Buhle Ngaba tells me her involvement comes through her work as a researcher and curator of a project called “The Southern Women’s Archive” which spans photos, letters and the minutes of meetings inherited from her great-aunt, Umkhonto we Sizwe soldier Ruth Mompati who was one of the 20,000 women who took to the streets of Pretoria back in 1956 to protest against unjust pass laws.
Meanwhile, in Joburg the day before, the subject matter was a lot more, er ... raunchy at the launch of a new podcast series called Outspoken Owls.
This is the brainchild of two besties, marketer Katie Mohamed (who those with long memories may remember as one of the hosts of SABC3 talk show No Reservations) and Lynn Forbes (mom of the late rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes).
Held on Wednesday morning at a venue in Melrose Arch, the brunch shindig was hosted by Nomuzi Mabena who announced: “I love Women’s month; it’s like having a birthday every day”.
Guests included Tansey Coetzee and Kim Jayde (who I am convinced both go out more than I do), Rosette Ncwana, gynaecologist Dr Abigail Lukhaimane, actress Refilwe Modiselle and latecomer DJ Zinhle Jiyane who shares a daughter, Kairo, with AKA.
What can you expect if you tune into the series, which is available on Spotify?
Lots of chats about relationships (both are single and “looking”), finance matters and health topics including the vaginal dryness that comes after menopause ...
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