August Diary 2014

Spring flirts with winter, gently beckoning it to move aside while the rest of us work up a storm merrily shaking off those winter blues and other unwanted… things. Check out our fab line-up to help get you out of your little cocoon, as we also celebrate all the amazing women that have changed and are still changing the world, this Women’s Month.

Ongoing

V&A Market on The Wharf
Nobel Square, between the Two Oceans Aquarium and the V&A Hotel, Cape Town 
The V&A Market on The Wharf is quickly entrenching its position as Cape Town’s ultimate gastronomic destination. An array of artisanal foods, on-site demo kitchens and a kids’ entertainment area are just a few of its features. The market is open all day Wednesday to Sunday.  

Neighbourhood Goods Market
The Old Biscuit Mill, 373 Albert Road, Woodstock, Cape Town
Every Saturday from 9am to 2pm, come rain or shine, the Old Biscuit Mill becomes the hotspot for locavores. Expect over 100 specialty traders including local farmers, fine-food purveyors, organic merchants, bakers, grocers, mongers, butchers, artisan producers, celebrated local chefs and micro enterprises – not to mention the designers. Get there early for parking. 

Neighbourhood Goods Market
73 Juta Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg
This is the younger cousin of the Cape Town event. It runs every Saturday from 9am to 3pm. It may not be quite as big and epic, but it’s steadily growing alongside the exciting Braamies rejuvenation. 

City Bowl Food Market
14 Hope Street, Gardens, Cape Town, citybowlmarket@gmail.com 
Every Thursday from 4.30pm to 8.30pm and Saturday from 9am to 2pm, this food and wine market offers easy access to fresh produce and tasty fare. Thursdays in particular have become quite a social affair and Saturdays sometimes includes a fashion component. 

Capital Urban Market
107 Corobay Avenue, Menlyn Maine, Pretoria
Capital Urban Market is a Pretoria inner-city market forming part of the Cool Capital 2014 citizen-driven initiative to revitalise and restore the inner-city, as well as give local designers and entrepreneurs the opportunity to showcase and expand their brand. Read more here.  

Dreams to Reality
ErdmannContemporary, 84 Kloof Street, Gardens, 021 422 2762
Until 29 August. This photographic exhibition brings together a host of emerging and established talents working both locally and internationally in a variety of photographic styles. The theme aims to explore the nature of the conscious and the unconscious world around us, and reflects the ideas of dreams and realities of the human condition. Opens at 6pm.

21 Portraits
Museum of African Design (MOAD), 281 Commissioner Street, Johannesburg, 011 592 0517
Until 31 August, join photographer Adrian Steirn for the first public showing of a poignant and inspiring multimedia exhibition of 21 of South Africa’s greatest social masters, including Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Sophia Williams De Bruyn, Ahmed Kathrada, Nadine Gordimer and George Bizos.

Dear Mr Mandela, Dear Mrs Parks and Freedom XX
The University Museum, 52 Ryneveld Street, Stellenbosch (Sasol Art Museum), 021 808 3691
Until 31 December, Dear Mr Mandela, Dear Mrs Parks is inspired by the late human rights activist Rosa Parks, as well as the hundreds of children around the world who wrote letters to Nelson Mandela. The staff of the university museum crowd-curated Freedom XX, with each member selecting an artwork and writing a short curatorial statement. Both form part the university-wide celebrations of 20 years of freedom. 

Art Exhibition: Zanele Muholi and Andrew Putter
Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA) Pavilion, Bascule Bridge, V&A Waterfront
Until 12 October. View the work of provocative African artists Zanele Muholi and Andrew Putter from Wednesday to Sunday. Admission is free and the exhibition will be open from 12pm to 8pm.

Le Creuset Annual Sale

Until 10 August. Shop online at lecreuset.co.za or visit any Le Creuset boutique store to view their annual sale.

Sunday 3 August 2014

Architecture Otherwhere
37 Margaret Mncadi Avenue, Victoria Embankment, Durban
Until 7 August. UIA 2014 will bring architects from around the world to debate their common concerns and interests – through an unashamedly African lens. African knowledge, African challenges and African opportunities will enter into a dialogue with the world. Make your mark in the debate that perceives poverty eradication as a first unavoidable step in human progress.

Wednesday 6 August 2014

Decorex Joburg
Gallagher Convention Centre, Johannesburg
Until 10 August. This year Decorex celebrates its 21st year and a host of new and exciting features. Known as Africa’s largest decor, design and lifestyle exhibition, this is certainly a show not to be missed. Your entrance ticket also gains you access to 100% Design South Africa, one of the top design exhibitions in the world that takes place alongside Decorex Joburg.

Thursday 7 August 2014

First Thursdays
Central Cape Town, goodevening@first-thursdays.co.za
Kickstarting every month with a bang is First Thursdays, when various galleries, shops and eateries in central Cape Town open their doors until 9pm and the city becomes a museum like no other.

Room 13 Collection Sale
South African Market, 107 Bree Street, Cape Town, hello@room13collection.co.za
Visit the Room 13 stand and get selected scatters cushions for up to 30% off on sale this evening.

Binary Humans
The AVA Gallery, 25 Church Street, Cape Town, info@ava.co.za, 021 424 7436 
Until 20 August. Join artist-in-residence Jan Henri for an open studio event with audio and video creation and a real-time exhibition. From 6pm to 9pm.

Into the Black
Stevenson, 62 Juta Street, Braamfontein, 011 403 1055/1908
Until 12 September. Artist Serge Alain Nitegeka explores both the formal and philosophical concept of ‘blackness’, covering a lineage of art movements that have placed the colour at the centre of their rationales, including Russian Constructivism, Minimalism and Abstract Expressionism: from Malevich’s ‘generative’ black and Rothko’s ‘pulsating’ black, to Reinhardt’s ‘degrees’ of Black.From 6pm to 8pm.

Saturday 9 August 2014

Women’s Day Lunch
Dornier Wine Estate,Blaauwklippen Road, Stellenbosch, 021 880 1200
Treat the wonderful women in your life to a delectable lunch at the Botega Restaurant and stand a chance to win a two night’s stay for two people at Dornier’s Homestead. RSVP to attend.

Wednesday 13 August 2014

Open Design
Various locations around Cape Town
Until 23 August.  Themed “Design is for Change”, this year’s event will once again feature a host of curated exhibitions, performances, seminars, demonstrations, launches and open studios to raise awareness and share the transformative power of design. Delve in and explore how design is and can be an enabler and an advocate for positive change.

Saturday 16 August 2014

TEDxCapeTown2014: Design Your Thinking
Cape Town City Hall, Darling Street, Cape Town, info@tedxcapetown.org
Until 17 August. Ever wondered where your ideas come from or why you think the way you do? We all have a unique filter through which we view the world and the power to alter our perceptions and design the way we think. Join TEDx as they focus on what made someone change the way they think, and whose ideas have inspired them to take positive action and change the world around them.

Binary Humans: Workshop
The AVA Gallery, 25 Church Street, Cape Town, 021 424 7436 
Until 20 August. Stimulated by the collaborative precedent between artist Igor Stravinsky and composer Wassily Kandinsky, artist-in-residence Jan Henri will be presenting a painting workshop on the relationship between sound and images. Spaces are limited so booking essential. From 10am to 1pm.

Architectural Tour: OH16
Open House Architecture cc, 136 Buitengracht Street, Cape Town, 021 422 3803
Tour selected buildings by Andrews & Niegeman, a firm of architects who practiced in Cape Town from 1945 to 1999. Amongst their most famous is the Rex Trueform and House of Monatic clothing factories in Salt River as well as the SA Naval College in Muizenberg. The clothing industry in Cape Town, and the buildings that it produced, played a significant role in the particular way that the city of Cape Town developed in terms of race, class, and identity. Space is limited, so booking is essential.

Wednesday 20 August 2014

Binary Humans: Party
The AVA Gallery, 25 Church Street, Cape Town, info@ava.co.za, 021 424 7436 
Join the end-of-residency party celebration for artist Jan Henri, with audio and video creation and a real-time exhibition. From 6pm to 9pm.

dhk Open Studio
dhk, De Waterkant Centre, 6th floor, 9 Somerset Road, Cape Town, 021 421 6803
Ever wondered what a day in the life of an architect would be like? Why not pop in at dhk for an exclusive behind-the-scenes sneak peek. Meet and greet a fab team of architects, interior designers, urban designers and landscape architects as they showcase a selection of completed and current work. This forms part of Open Design Cape Town’s Open Studio programme, in association with the Cape Institute for Architecture.

Thursday 21 August 2014

Third Thursdays
East City Cape Town, goodevening@first-thursdays.co.za
Following the great success of First Thursdays, Third Thursdays puts the East City on the map with various galleries, shops and eateries opening their doors until 9pm. Start off at the District Six Museum and move on up to Roeland, Harrington, Buitenkant and Canterbury Streets.

FNB Joburg Art Fair
Sandton Convention Centre, 161 Maude Street, Sandton, 011 447 3868
Until 24 August. Known as the place to be for all budding and seasoned artists, galleries, collectors, writers, thinkers and art lovers, it is the first international art fair on the continent. Come and show your support to the flourishing contemporary arts landscape in Africa. 

Friday 22 August 2014

Weylandts Sale
Nationwide
Until 23 August. Get up to 50% off on selected ranges for two days only. Capacity limited to 200 shoppers an hour.

Thursday 28 August 2014

New Paintings
Stevenson, 62 Juta Street, Braamfontein, 011 403 1055/1908
Until 4 October. Be inspired by the experimental painting techniques of Zander Blom.Abstract in nature, his latest works rely heavily on palette knives and the paint tube itself.

12 Rooms Charity Auction Drinks Party Finale
Leon at CCXIX showroom, 219 Albert Road, Woodstock, 021 447 1304
Support the SA Children’s Home, and get your hands on some fine designer pieces while you are at it, by simply making a turn at the gallery (or requesting their catalogue via email) and placing your bid. 

Friday 29 August 2014

New Paintings Walkabout
Stevenson, 62 Juta Street, Braamfontein, 011 403 1055/1908
Until 4 October. Zander Blom will give a walkabout of his exhibition in support of the Friends of the South African National. Starts at 11am. Cost is R20. 

Baby Steps to Ballroom
Upstairs @ Bamboo, Corner of Rustenburg Road and 9th Street, Mellville, 083 457 3259
Until 7 September. Get your hands on delightful new artworks by Bonnie Walters. Opening speech by Prof Kim Berman from University of Johannesburg’s Fine Arts Department.

Sunday 31 August 2014

Bottelary Hills Pop Up Winemakers Lunch
Mooiplaas Estate, M23 Bottelary Road, R304, Stellenbosch, 021 886 4310
Join this close-knit winemaking community for a superb, home-cooked four-course feast prepared by passionate hosts, Dirk and Kirsten Roos. Costs R280 per person for an interactive tasting and lunch that includes a glass of wine per course. Starts at 12h30. Booking is essential.

Save the date

7 August 2014
PG Bison 1.618 Competition Deadline

30 August to 2 September
Tendence 2014
Frankfurt

31 August
Rado Star Prize deadline

4 to 7 September
Cape Homemakers Expo
Cape Town International Convention Centre, Cape Town

13 to 21 September
Creative Week Cape Town
Various locations around Cape Town

25 September to 5 October
Cape Town Fringe
Various locations around Cape Town

16 to 18 October
Spier Secret Festival
Spier Wine Farm, R310 Stellenbosch, 021 809 1100

30 October to 2 November
Photo & Film Expo
Coca-Cola Dome, Johannesburg

This page is constantly updated, so browse back regularly to stay in the loop. If you would like your event featured, email details to web@visi.co.za.