Fuzzy Bus

Four years ago, many of the black citizens in Cape Town were asked about a big white building that stands in the middle of the city. Many answered that it is a courthouse. The building in question is actually the one that houses the National Gallery of South Africa. This speaks tremendously about the past regime of Apartheid, and the effects still noticeable in the city. For many years, whites only were allowed in some of the top Cape Town hotels, restaurants, galleries and museums. Apartheid ended sixteen years ago, but they inequality of the time, and the evidence of the segregation still remains. In many countries, the world of art is sometimes, sadly the realm of the wealthy and the privileged. The Biennial Art Festival organizers are trying to change that.

In response to the economy, and some criticisms of past festivals becoming too commercialized, the festival this year focused on the local artists of Africa, as opposed to the previous years of bringing in famous artists from around the world in order to boost sales and commerce. This was an attempt to attract a new, fresh audience, and to involve the people of Cape Town who had been excluded in previous years. One event was the Young Curators Program, which put five black curators in charge of curating the shows. They were moved to Cape Town for the year and studied under the tutelage of a curator from Cape Town. Educational systems for blacks in South Africa is still lacking, and many of the curators and gallery owners are still mainly white South Africans.

This not only provided these five with the opportunity to fulfill their dreams, but guaranteed the focus of the festival, that of the art of the locals, living and working and celebrating in Cape Town today. The projects are located all around the city, and are more participatory and performance oriented than ever before. Actors and dancers perform throughout various venues. One theater staged a show in which the stage was filled with kids in Obama and Mandela masks. And murals are on the walls of the city’s buildings commemorating the heroes of the country. This is a wonderful time to visit Cape Town and to witness the art of the country.

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