The cultural life of space(s)
Curated by Carlyn Strydom
An ArtReach co-production in collaboration with Meta Foundation & August House
22.07.21 - 26.08.21
Mezzanine Gallery
The history of community art spaces in South Africa is marked by the political landscape and its refusal of black artistic ability. During the apartheid era many art spaces were created in response to discriminatory laws in South Africa. During that dark period, black people were not free to receive an equal education, let alone an arts education. To ensure that systematic discrimination did not dull every facet of the lives of our peoples, a cultural movement was initiated that allowed those with the desire to express themselves, to thrive.
Certainly, one of the most well-regarded institutions of that time is Polly Street, which launched the careers of many of our well-known artists. Polly Street served the urban black community in Johannesburg, and we might say that this was the birth of the ‘community orientated art space’, which gave rise to a series of similar spaces throughout the country. Following Polly Street, other art centres emerged including Rorke’s Drift in Kwa-Zulu Natal, the Johannesburg Art Foundation, Dakawa Arts and Crafts Centre in Makhanda, the Community Arts Project in Cape Town and many others across the country.
This movement resulted in a South African Art renaissance, if you will, that gave us many of our household names including Helen Sebidi, Patrick Mautloa, Sam Nhlengethwa, Dumile Feni, just to mention a few. The presence of these institutions has positively marked the South African artistic landscape with the emergence of countless contemporary art spaces across the county today. Overtime, each cultural space has served its particular purpose in response to their community’s needs.
The Cultural Life of Space(s) explores the legacy of community art spaces by focussing on a space in downtown Johannesburg: August House Studios. Located an old factory warehouse, August House Studios houses over fifty artists from around the continent, practicing in a variety of genres and at various stages of their careers. Established by Bie Venter and Maria Svane in 2006, August House, or the ‘artist playground’, has been a fixture in the local art scene for fifteen years. This space, which engages various people through open studios, exhibitions and artist events, has embarked on a cultural exchange with the AVA that aims to broaden our appreciation of our local artists and to build meaningful relationships with other institutions.
Six artists were selected form August House Studios, some of them highly established and others making waves in the industry. Of these six, four are AVA alumni. Sam Nhlengethwa, Diane Victor, Michele Rolstone and Vivien Kohler have each held exhibitions at AVA during their careers. The remaining two artists, Thalente Khomo and Nyakallo Maleke, now join their ranks. The exhibition shows the diversity that has emerged from August House over the years, by including a group of multigenerational artists, each displaying their unique sensibilities through their work.
Through this collaboration with the AVA, which holds significant space as the first and oldest art organisation in the country, we hope to bring awareness and appreciation of the role these intuitions play, the importance of working together and the continuation of a culture of collaboration for the sustained growth of our arts community. Without these spaces and without our collaborative efforts, our artistic landscape would look quite different.
This exhibition forms part of the larger initiative August House//Cape Town Collab, which brings 12 August House artists to various art spaces in Cape Town
This ArtReach co-production in collaboration with Meta Foundation & August House is supported in part by the National Arts Council and the City of Cape Town.
Download the catalogue here
