VISI’s guide to Creative Week CT

WORDS Malibongwe Tyilo PHOTOS Lisa Burnell, Carolin Jordan, Sarah Scott

Although we like to think of Cape Town as a place where every week is a creative week, starting on Saturday 14 September is the city’s official annual celebration of everything creative, innovative and cultural: Creative Week Cape Town. Running until Sunday 22 September, with so much to look forward to, we’ve looked through the schedule and picked our not-be-missed events.

Starting spring on a floral note, on the weekend of 14 and 15 September, do check out the Kirstenbosch Botanical Art Biennale at the Old Mutual Conference Centre at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. The exhibition will feature top local botanical artists as well as others from different parts of the globe. Then zoot across town to the Clock Tower Square at the V&A Waterfront for the Kirstenbosch Chelsea Flower Show Exhibit, which promises to give visitors a snapshot of South Africa’s unique botanical heritage and will be up throughout the entire Creative Week.

With all of that getting around town you’re going to need to sit and take a break, we recommend checking out Die Platteland Market at The Palms, 145 Sir Lowry Road in Woodstock, on Saturday 14 September. Expect live music, homemade jams, toasties, gourmet mushroom kebabs and lots more culinary goodness.

Artist Michael Elion’s Rainbow is also one of those has-to-be-seen wonders. Every sunny day throughout the week, he will create a rainbow arching over the road outside The Yard in Roodehoek Street, Gardens. We wish we could take him with us to create these mini rainbows in our gardens!

Starting on the Monday 16 September and running until Friday 20 September, you’re also invited to view and be part of Design Corridor – an interactive public art walkway project. This will be on the corner of Longmarket and Buitenkant streets, thereby inviting us to enjoy Cape Town’s new innovation area, the East City District.

Sticking to the East City, the Spier Arts Academy, which is based at Union House, 25 Commercial Street, will be holding an open day on Monday 16 September. They offer employment-based training in professional mosaic and have produced many of the largest, high-profile, award-winning mosaics in the country.

In keeping with the spirit of exploring the city, at 10am on Tuesday 15 September, join Future Cape Town’s Brett Petzer on a walking tour of the most beautiful buildings in the city. From the Victorian, to the influences of Modernism, and through to the forgotten Art Deco and Art Noveau architecture.

Speaking of exploring the city, on Thursday 17 September, urban designer Kirsten Wilkins, along with SJ artists, will host a walking tour of public art in the Cape Town CBD. Even for Capetonians, it’s easy to walk through the city and take for granted the amount of public art there is to view, so this is a chance to take a closer look.

The Meet the Makers series running until Friday 20 September is an invitation to visit some of the Mother City’s creatives right in their studio, offering unprecedented access to their private workings. On Tuesday 17 September meet Atang Tshikare (in the video above) and Katie Thompson; on Wednesday 18 September meet Muti and Michael Elion; on Thursday 19 September meet Honest Chocolate; and on Friday 20 September meet Tammy Frazer and Wolff Architects. 

Now for a bit of playtime… Make sure to go to Camps Bay beach at 2pm on the Saturday 21 September for a spot of scrabble – yes you read right, scrabble. Based on the popular word game, this public art project uses life-size scrabble pieces and invites the audience and passersby to express themselves and create temporary artworks. Each performance will last 30 minutes, after which it will be photographed and the game will start over again. Scrabble + art + beach… We love the combo!

Creative Week Cape Town is, of course, also Loeries week, which means the who’s-who of the country’s advertising industry will descend on Cape Town, and the city will be parties galore, so do try and make it to at least one party. If you’ve been invited, then good for you. If not, best you get hustling!

Visit www.creativeweekct.co.za to see the full line up and schedule.