Eish! It’s a wild world we’re living in; one where the news cycle barely gives us time to catch our breath. So, if you’re looking for a moment to pause, reset — and quite literally breathe — then the Stellenbosch Triennale might be just the tonic.
Running until the end of April in the Western Cape’s scenic wine country, this year’s edition is themed “Ba’zinzile: A Rehearsal for Breathing”. Inspired by the Abe’Mbo people’s tradition of embodying stillness and calm, the exhibition unfolds across multiple venues, offering an artistic escape from the chaos of everyday life.
I got a sampling of what’s on offer on Wednesday morning at the festival’s opening brunch held at the landmark Oude Libertas.
It was a scorching 30ºC morning as art lovers and practitioners alike gathered on the estate.
Under the chief curatorship of Khanyisile Mbongwa (the sociologist and sangoma named one of this column’s A Listers you need to know in January), this festival artfully and spiritually challenges the legacy of this town built on the rock of white privilege and Afrikanerdom by reclaiming the land in a deeply moving way.
Case in point being the welcoming ceremony, heralded by Khanyisile’s whistle, which included a horn libation by Khwe-Khwe descendants, Ernestine Deane and Rae Adams.
“I am the daughter of the Aboriginal ones, the ones who came from here like the fynbos,” explains Ernestine, who encourages us to take a seat on the ground: “Rest your eyes, and just be here, lie on the land… to gather, just to take a breath.”
Significantly, the indigenous artist points out that while we’re being welcomed, others long ago “came here, without a welcome, taking…”
In the crowd, I recognise Billie Zangewa, the artist who creates tapestries from silk fabrics, whose latest exhibition had opened at the Norval Foundation the day before; Lungi Morrison, the granddaughter of Archbishop Desmond Tutu; Jo-Ann Strauss (the former Miss SA who these days has her own art podcast); and visual artist Sethembile Msezane, who introduces me to American independent curator Amy Rosenblum-Martin, with whom she’ll be collaborating at the Cuenca Biennial in Ecuador later this year.
Speeches follow from Khanyisile (who points out that “as a queer black woman, the only thing I have is the rhythm of my breath”), Francé Beters (a founding trustee) and Andi Norton of the Stellenbosch Outdoor Sculpture Trust, which is behind the free public event that includes offshoots at the Rupert Museum and Stellenbosch University.
Then we get a chance to see some of the art, and I gravitate towards the larger format sculptures by Manyaku Mashilo, Nandele Maguni, Helen Zeru and Simphiwe Ndzube who had all been given just 10 days to create their installations on site.
I also meet American collectors Michael Silver and his jewellery designer wife Stephanie Thomas, who have a Stellenbosch farm featuring an impressive sculpture garden of their own.
I ask Michael, who sits on the Getty Museum director’s council, what draws him to art in this part of the world. For the owner of a US company that provides advanced materials for industries in space exploration, nanotechnology and the military, it’s like “being a kid in a candy store” — with the lower prices which South African art fetches compared to international counterparts.
And, if you were looking for the art candy store, it would have to be the Cape Town Art Fair, which held its VIP opening on Thursday evening at the Cape Town Convention Centre.
Now in its 12th edition, this is Africa’s biggest platform for art lovers and collectors to snap up works from some of the art world’s most exciting talents not only from across the continent, but from art spots around the world (this year, galleries from Tokyo and Kuwait City also set up shop).
Making a return to the fair was Milan-based Dep Art Gallery.
What’s the draw? I ask founder Antonio Addamiano.
“You never know who will show up in front of you — it can be someone from Cape Town, Miami or Milan,” explained the gallery owner.
Among those browsing the booths was the fabulously eccentric Lady Linda Wong Davies. Through her KT Wong Foundation, she recently took the largest-ever exhibition of African photography to Shanghai.
The philanthropist — who divides her time between Asia, London and Cape Town — was accompanied by an entourage that included her mother, sister Clara Wong and friends Jacqueline Leung and Carrie Perrodo, the Hong Kong-born billionaire heiress.
Things were also looking bright for gallerist Banele Khoza, the artist behind Johannesburg’s BKhz gallery. By early evening, he had already made six sales from the works of Mankebe Seakgoe, the artist he was showcasing.
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