TAGUR – a cool concept in shoes
Thanks to Stoffel for the Heads up – there’s a new fashion shoe label kicking off in December called Tagýr, rumous have it there are South African’s behind it but we can’t substantiate that. Nice one! They’re not the first to do it but they’re doing it fabulously – they’re “tagging” shoes, shoes that come as a blank canvas with some …high impact pens and you get to “tag” (grafitti) your own shoes… So it’s URBAN art on your takkies! This is a distinctive new line of footwear that embraces urban art on quality products. Tagur fuses new school technologies with the classic cuts and details that made us love sneakers in the first place. The creators of Tagur saw the opportunity to develop a casual sneaker that allows the consumer to be the producer. They offer a smooth, clean leather surface for customisation. You are the artist. You are the Market. You deem what is...
Joburg centre is full of hidden gems
While wondering around the city centre in the warm sunshine of an Autumn day, we came across a strange sign for SOWETO ART GALLERY – in the middle of town! Trying to be an intrepid journalist and not wanting anything to slip by, I wandered into the foyer of Victory House and up two flights of dodgy stairs… hoping to make a magical discovery. I was not dissapointed. The Soweto… Art Gallery is a treasure. It’s not a gallery per se, in fact it is just three little rooms with various artifacts and artwork spread around – we were welcomed by the very friendly and warm artist and owner Peter Sibeko – who it turns out is an international artist whose work is loved by Thabo Mbeki …Apparently Winnie even had his work in her office!!! He has been running the gallery there since 1986 and says that he sells a lot of his work to tourists who are hungry for Soweto scenes… Peter Sibeko was born in 1940 in Orlando and has lived in Orlando East ever since – we also met his son Elias who is also an artist. Bra Peter is best known for his colourful abstract towhship scenes, which he often paints using dust from the Gold Mines surrounding Soweto – his work has been exhibited in the Uk, Australia, the States and all over SA. Martin Luther Kings wife Coletta even has a painting of Peters in the Memory of Martin Luther King collection. He has two huge flatbed filing cabinets, filled with township art depicting township and rural scenes – there is also some abstract work available. The price of the work ranges from R150 to R15 000 – there’s lots in the lower hundreds – all originals and all begging for a loving owner. Artists from Katlehong, Everton, Durban and Soweto bring their work to Bra Peter who holds exhibitions from time-to-time in Pretoria and Joburg. Besides the range of Bra Peter’s work available, other originals from artists such as Dabuku Ntuli, Solomon Sekhaolelo, David Mpele, Fanzile Masonbuku, Godfrey Ndaba and Knowledge Tlou were all available. Bra Peter and friends are also involved in the upliftment and training of young artists in Soweto and will soon be running a workshop guiding and helping out young people that want to be artists – interested parties can contact Peter Sibeko on 011 492 1109 for more information. I encourage ALL our REPRESENT readers, the next time you are in town, make a draai to the SOWETO ART GALLERY and buy yourselves an original SOWETO art piece – they will be worth a fortune one...
Visit the Michaelis Art Library
Any artist worth their paint will be able to direct you straight to the dense shelves of the Michaelis Art Library based in the Johannesburg Central Library: first floor, on Beyers Naude Square, in the throb of downtown. It is an invaluable resource for students and lovers of art alike – stocking hundreds of art books covering all art forms, opening up minds to treasures untold. Once again ef=”http://www.joburg.org.za/2004/march/mar2_art.stm”Joburg.org gives us the lowdown – read all about it...: pic courtesy...
WOZA Friday, it’s time to unwind in Jozi City.
If you’re like the majority of Joburgers, you’re a hard worker, spending Monday to Friday slogging away at your office. But come Friday evening, Joburgers down their tools and forget all about work – they know how to play just as hard. WOZA Friday, it’s time to get down. Why not try something different this Friday after work and pop down to Hollard Square in the gorgeous Main S…treet Mall for an outside city experience. The area has recently been regenerated and is frequented by fun loving people. You may even bump into a famous face from TV’s the Apprentice, the apartment where they are filming the series is around the corner. As you relax in the lap of city sky-scrapers, don’t worry about the cold, simply cuddle up to a heater for warmth or let your hair down on the cobblestones and groove to the funky DJ’s tunes. Friday night drinks Nino’s Hollard Square Corner Sauer and Main Park in Marshall...
Durban’s “High” Society has a new home
If you were lucky enough to catch the very first Durban Fashion Week, you MUST have heard about the new place to be seen at (darl)… SOCIETY on Florida road. Now we know how fickle Durban patrons can be – we wish SOCIETY the best of luck. Our faithful Durban D-Va fills us in yet again on the “High’s high” of Durban. Durban’s fashionably pretentious set are salivating over ONGSociety, the new restaurant-cum-lounge venue located in a gorgeous two-storey colonial building on the Florida road. The restaurant critics are raving; the Musgrave mommies have found a new place to see and be seen; and, in the space of six weeks, word-of-mouth has even reached the people at Top Billing, who have already filmed an insert there. For the older crowds, who feel that “this is what Durban’s been lacking”, Society offers top-quality dining in a sophisticated setting, with a bar and dancefloor conveniently situated only a carpeted staircase away. For younger crowds, Society provides a reason to doll up on a Friday night, and an opportunity to live out any delusions of grandeur. With pressed ceilings and large balconies in black and white tiles, the building itself is a reminder of Durban’s colonial past. The dýcor is suitably ‘colonial’, although that classification doesn’t do stylist Kara van Niekerk any justice. It’s more a kind of ‘meta’ colonial pastiche of old and new, with marine colours, ornate wallpaper, Victorian objects d’art and an eclectic assortment of modern and old-style furniture. The result is both OTT and classy, very much in keeping with the whole 70s revival. It’s a little nauseating at first though – the kind of place where I’d have to go round touching and looking closely at everything before I could possibly have a meal there, among all that beautiful stuff. Look out for it in all the glossies – this place was designed for photographing. The food is on the pricey side, mostly Thai and sushi.The waiters and bar staff are all gorgeous, so be prepared to feel like you’re on a photo shoot, or on a James bond movie set (i.e. you’re expected to dress the part to play the game, which is “just want Durban needed”). The carpeted dancefloor upstairs is oh so plush, with black crystal chandeliers above adding a touch of drama. The music progresses along with the evening, from jazz during dinnertime, moving to progressively deeper house music. Best of all is the news that Meanboy Roy will be spinning the decks on a Friday night (Meanboy had a huge – mostly female – following in Durban a couple of years ago....
We will be back!
