“Johannesburg is a city surviving…Cape Town is thriving – a place that produces more polished work in contrast to the rough edges of the Johannesburg art scene.” Johannesburg theatre producer

We took inspiration from a part of the world that we knew very little about and for whom touring work wasn’t regularly forthcoming, we were interested to learn how arts colleagues adapt with limited resources and their dynamic styles of leadership.

Cape Town…

Cape Town has long been an artistic hub however it is now home to the impressive Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA), situated in the regenerated V&A waterfront area, this is a landmark building re-purposed from old grain silos. It’s certainly a world-class museum designed by British designed Thomas Heatherwick. However this game-changing initiative has been funded by a private collector, so the collection reflects a very particular approach and with a ticketed entry prevents many residents from visiting.

The past decade has seen the Cape Town arts scene develop significantly, with the opening of many major commercial galleries and artist project spaces. Whereas in the past many artists disappeared overseas, now it seems there is a new critical mass of artists opting to stay and produce work. This has led to many exciting new initiatives such as monthly First Thursdays art walk, with open studios and galleries inviting the public to engage for free in a more social atmosphere – engendering a real sense of community.

One of our favourite areas was Woodstock, a neighbourhood considered a “grey area” during apartheid where white and black people lived together, eventually making way for today’s urban renewal. At its heart is the Old Biscuit Mill, a formerly derelict factory restored in 2006, now promoting craft, art and fashion. A firm favourite was smac Gallery, a contemporary space promoting a range of African artists. It will be interesting to see how this new flourishing community develops given their proximity to tourism and their access to international networks.

However across both cities there is as you might imagine a very real lack of state support. Many arts professionals felt that the government seems unable to recognise the tangible benefits of cultural tourism or the need to widen access for all South Africans to connect with the arts, and there is a depressing lack of art created for the everyday realm.

Some of the most innovative work that is being produced, is on the margins and an inspiring example of that is the activist work of Thandi Swaartbooi. We were extremely fortunate to be invited to meet Thandi, the Founder/Director of Women Unite, who has turned her own home in the Gugulthu Township into a community arts centre for young people. The privilege extended to an afternoon of performances prepared for us and the opportunity to spend time chatting to community activists. It was a profound experience.

We stood in Thandi’s driveway (which doubles up as the outdoor performance space!) to see a group of incredible young girls dance and play marimba. As we watched members of the local community drifted over to join the crowd, mothers and babies wondered in and out of Thandi’s home, and she explained how she had created a safe space for young people, paid for by donations and income from her own professional work such as her large-scale music about the life of Miriam Makeba which had toured the USA. It was a stark reminder that you don’t need a lot of money to get stuff done, just a group of committed individuals.

We also met many other remarkable theatre makers such as Barbara Mathers, Managing Director of Third World Bunfight. TWB’s main areas of focus lies in their examination of the post-colonial situation in Africa, and historical and contemporary relations between Africa and the West. They have a strong orientation towards fostering the talents of both performers and non-performers from disadvantaged communities.

Another great find was Magnet Theatre who we felt offered the most interesting potential for future collaboration. Both they and TWB have a commitment to working with communities, their stories focus are issue-based but are produced in entertaining and though provoking ways. Both companies really welcomed us warmly and their enthusiasm to engage was fantastic.

Johannesburg…

Pop Art Centre is an independent performing arts centre run by Founder/ Director Hayleigh Evans. POP Art stands for People of Performing Art, and they provide an essential platform for showcasing some of the freshest work from Johannesburg. The space is also adjacent to a trendy cinema and cool Ethiopian coffee shop. Hayleigh is a dynamo director, understanding that box office alone won’t sustain her flourishing organisation and with no government subsidy she works creativity to access additional income such as TV production. The growing indie arts scene on Fox Street where POP is based reflects her enthusiasm to create a unique pocket of artistic agency.

Market Theatre – One of the most joyful experiences as meeting CEO Ismail Mohammed and his team at the legendry Market Theatre, set up in 1975 operating as an independently, antiracist theatre during the country’s apartheid. As well as extended tours across both sites (they’ve just opened a new, purpose built theatre complex across the street called the Laboratory), we were treated to a specially organised networking lunched organised by Ismail to coincide with our visit. It was attended by colleagues from the Market and other arts professionals – their ethos is to share contacts and networks, a direct reaction to the ‘pariah situation’ they experiences under apartheid when few international arts colleagues visited.

Over lunch we met some brilliant artistic contacts as well as colleagues responsible for fundraising, marketing and HR (interesting to hear about their limited career progression, again emphasis always on diversifying talents and their difficulties in fundraising – in competition with NGO’s for corporate and government support). It has inspired us to host a similar events at MAC. Indeed Greg Hohman, a theatre director we met, has already been in touch to say he is visiting MAC in December to share ideas and see our newly commissioned children’’ production, Rudolf by Pins and Needles.

We also met Moira Jatz, CEO of National Children’s Theatre, whose passion for developing children’s work shone brightly, however without regular funding it is a difficult task to bring new writing to young audiences. Clara Vaughan, Head of Market Theatre Laboratory has a wealth of experience in education young people via the arts and is now head of the recently opened Market Lab’ building which houses studio spaces, performance spaces and Photographic Studios. The Lab is also houses the highly acclaimed training programmes for which 1000’s of young people apply for just 20 places.

It was also an honour to meet Dr John Kani, international award-winning playwright, actor and anti-apartheid activist. John was currently in rehearsal for ‘Congo: The Trial of King Leopold II’ and stepped out of rehearsals to join us. He generously spent time reflecting on the situation past apartheid and the changing political and cultural landscape of his country, living in a post-conflict environment is complex and brings with it a new set of challenges. John’s new work with the RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon opens in spring 2019.

So finally our visit became a tale of two cities and though it was much easier and safer to navigate Cape Town (certainly for the first-timer), we certainly felt that Johannesburg’s arts scene is possibly more experimental and more comparable to Birmingham.

Across both cities however there was one shared experience – people’s generosity and willingness to connect us across the arts and support our visit, and we’re in no doubt that new artistic relationships will be further developed.

Deborah Kermode
Chief Executive & Artistic Director, Midland Arts Centre
@deborahkermode