Jozi Art Fair- A contemporary African Art Showcase
The Joburg Art Fair – the first African contemporary art fair which will be held in Johannesburg from March 13 to 16 – will establish South Africa as an essential stopover on the global contemporary art buying calendar. On sale at the Sandton Convention Centre will be the largest collection of African and South African contemporary art the world has ever seen. Prices will range, making art accessible to all – from arts appreciators to serious collectors. The fair will provide buyers and art lovers with a single point of access to a wide range of galleries. Potential buyers can also see a cross section of work in a short space of time by the continent’s best artists including Zwelethu Mthethwa, William Kentridge, Santu Mofokeng, David Goldblatt, Pieter Hugo and Sabelo Mlangeni, as well as being exposed to the continent’s best newcomers. The Joburg Art Fair will include a specially curated show entiled ‘As You Like It’ by Simon Njami and Thembinkosi Goniwe. Njami was the chief curator of the highly successful Africa Remix exhibition, as well as the Africa pavilion at last year’s Venice Biennale. Njami is choosing a selection of art from artists throughout Africa who are not represented by galleries on the fair and all these will be on sale. Artists selected (although this is subject to change) include video and installation works by Bili Bidjocka (Cameroon), Loulou Cherinet (Ethiopia), Amal Kenway (Egypt), Myriam Mihindou (Gabon), IngridMwangiRobertHutter (Kenya), Jimmy Ogonga (Kenya), Zen Marie (South Africa) and Patrice Felix-Tchikaya (DRC). Mixed media works by Modou Dieng (Senegal), Berry Bickle (Zimbabwe), Joël Mpah Dooh (Cameroon), Dominique Zinkpé (Benin) and Tamrat Gezahegn (Ethiopia) as well as sculpture by Shuck (Guadeloup), Isoje Chou (Nigeria) and Jems Koko Bi (Ivory Coast) will be shown. There will be photographic works by Omar D (Algeria), David Damoison (Martinique), Ihosvanny (Angola), Thando Mama (South Africa), Ananias Leki Dago (Ivory Coast), Jellel Gasteli (Tunisia), Kiluanji Kia Henda (Angola), Malala Andrialavidrazana (Madagascar), Mouna Karray (Tunisia), Emeka Okereke (Nigeria), and Michele Magema (DRC). International contemporary art galleries confirmed for the Joburg Art Fair include the Jack Shainman Gallery from New York, Galerie Peter Herrmann from Berlin, Gallery Ames D’Afrique from Strasbourg and the October Gallery from London. Morocco’s L’ Appartement 22, Rabat and Cairo’s Townhouse Gallery will also be participating in the Joburg Art Fair. The New York Perry Rubenstein Gallery has chosen to feature their South African artist Robin Rhode as part of the Special Projects section of the Joburg Art Fair. Other special projects include the FUNDA college booth that highlights emergent artists from this significant South African arts institution. TONIC Design will create a...
Represent Recommends: Blood Orange
Blood Orange is the story of a boy’s journey toward manhood. Blacklaw weaves all the usual trials and rites of passage that go with growing up; with the realities of our childhood in the apartheid era. Our protagonist is able to tell his story against this backdrop of conflict, thus commenting on and often making light of the darkness of our past. The story is bitter-sweet, much like the fruit from which it takes its name. The partnership of Grieg Coetzee and Craig Morris is remarkable. Each of these very skilled theatre practitioners are storytellers, one verbal and one physical. This results in a performance that is multi-faceted and thick with detail. Craig Morris changes character with ease, and throughout the narrative we are introduced to many characters, yet each is distinct in accent, posture and characterisation. With Craig, only one performer is needed as opposed to a cast of hundreds. His physicalisation creates such imagery, just when you think his vocabulary of facial expressions have dried up – along comes another wonderfully vivid character. One that we can recognise… we know someone like that! As if that weren’t enough, there are these startling moments when we are reminded of Craig’s astounding dance abilities as he portrays feelings though his movement. He is only aided by the use of shadows and 4 tyres – ingeniously utilised. The piece is memory inducing and thought provoking and a testimony to the old adage ‘A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down’. An hour and a half on stage, alone and he holds us in the palm of his hands and on his every word for, every minute. GO AND SEE BLOOD ORANGE!!! BLOOD ORANGE An adaptation of Troy Blacklaws’ novel of the same name The Market Theatre and Untouchable Productions presents 22 January – 17 February 2008 (Tues – Sat 20h15; Sun 15h15) BUY TWO TICKETS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE Available from Wed, 23 January – Wed, 30 January 2008 (ex. Tues, 29 Jan) Tickets must be purchased from the Market Theatre Box Office. Call 011 832 1641. Performed by Craig Morris Directed by Greig Coetzee Debra...
Represent Recommends: Kate Nash
Gotta love the raw accent “in’it” of chart-climbing North Londoner Kate Nash – we love her brash storytelling style of singing/talking – it’s almost like we’re listening to her diary entries being sung out live and loud. “know wot ah mean luv?” Kate Nash has something MPeople meets Sinead OConnor about her warbling when she’s in the singing parts – although her semi-spoken style is often compared to Lily Allen… Editorista has been chasing her voice down for a while now and eventually found it. Hows this for lyrics – listen to the video below : So I went to that party and everyone They were kind of arty And I was wearing this dress Because I wanted to impress But I wasn’t sure if I looked my best ‘Cause I was so nervous But I carried on regardless Strutting through each room Trying to find you And when I saw you Kissing that girl My heart it shattered And my eyes, they watered And when I tried to speak I stuttered And my friends were like whatever You’ll find someone better His eyes were way too close together And we never even liked him from the start And now he’s with that tart And I heard she done some really nasty stuff Down in the park with Michael He said she’s easy And if your guy’s with someone that’s sleazy Then he ain’t worth your time ‘Cause you deserve a real nice guy So I proceeded to get drunk and cry And lock myself in the toilets For the entire night...
Ladies get enchanted by the Quadro…
Mhh, Good looking talented Brothers in suits singing coolio harmony and opera with deeep bassey voices… ladies, this one’s for you. The Soweto Opera Quadro will be hitting the road to take their Brothers in Song show to both Johannesburg and Cape Town audiences in March and April this year, in what is set to be not merely a tour, but a tour de force. The four Soweto singers that make up the outfit – tenors Elliot Koena, Edward Mabunda and Bokang Sehau, as well as baritone Xola Mpo – are causing quite a stir in local music circles, making opera accessible to the broader public while not compromising on quality. These versatile performers are capable of wrapping their finely-tuned vocal cords around anything from jazz, opera and Broadway standards to Afro-pop, traditional music and gospel. The Soweto Opera Quadro will give two performances at the Baxter Concert Hall in Cape Town on Saturday, 1 March 2008, at 5.30pm and 8.30pm. Thereafter, they travel to London’s West End to participate in the South Africa Proud! Festival. The quartet then head back to Johannesburg to perform Brothers in Song at the UJ Arts Centre from 15 to 27 April 2008. An added treat at the concerts will be the presence of special guest Loveline Madumo, a talented soprano who also enchants audiences as a member of the celebrated Black Tie Ensemble. Musical direction for the Brothers in Song show is by Mark Cheyne, who also conducts, with staging by Trish McKenna. The concerts promise to deliver a blend of music to suit all tastes. Music-lovers can expect to hear exquisite renditions of a diverse selection of tunes by the likes of Josh Groban, Il Divo, The Beatles, George Harrison, Verdi, Johannes Kerkorrel and Nianell. Booking for all the Brothers in Song concerts is open at Computicket. The Soweto Opera Quadro is: Edward Mabunda Born in Soweto, Edward started singing at an early age. He joined a private music clinic where he studied basic performing arts and majored in voice and stage acting under Petrus Mofokeng. Edward sings a variety of music genres from traditional African music to opera. He joined Pro Musica Opera Company as understudy in 1999 and performed in Opera productions such as Verdi’s La Traviata, Rigoletto, Un Ballo in Maschera, Madam Butterfly, Tosca, La Boheme, Le Nozze di Figaro, Mahler’s Symphony No 2 and the Gounod St. Cecilia Mass. He is also a freelance soloist for SABC choristers and a founder member of The Soweto Opera Quadro. Elliot Koena Elliot is a tenor and started singing at primary school, later joining vocal teacher Petros Mofokeng as a...
“Design your Personal Life” concert online
Musicians we hope you uploaded your tracks onto the HP “Design your Personal Life” website and got everyone you know to vote for you – looks like the gorgeous, hard-working Indie/rock musician and friend of Represent Ike Moriz is shaking his touche at the top of the list… However we wait to hear who the judges choose as final winners. *ahem*. What we’re really looking forward to tho, is the simultaneous online LIVE BROADCAST of the concert from four international cities including JOZI; the other three venues are Dubai (UAE), Istanbul (Turkey) and Athens (Greece). It’s taking place on the 31 January and features the top 5 bands from the campaign – for all of you with electricity, make sure not to miss this event. More info on MIO or the HP ZA site...
Leap Year is round the corner
I don’t know if ladies proposing to their men makes Leap Year special enough for me. Most of the ladies I know would do it on anyday ’cause they’re liberated, free and just nje. Although if you do go for it girls, as lore aka Wikipedia tells us, “Supposedly (but disputed), in a 1288 law by Queen Margaret of Scotland (then age five and living in Norway), fines were levied if the proposal was refused by the man; compensation ranged from a kiss to £1 to a silk gown, in order to soften the blow.” So make sure if you do it and he says no he gets you a sexy Silk some’ing some’ing. Could be a great way just to get spoilt… even us liberated gals need some spoiling! Leap Year for me is special for it’s EXTRA day that it gives us – just think about how fast 2007 flew by – not to mention the whiplash I am getting this January. It also means a WHOLE lot more birthday parties for those peeps who only get to get down once every four years. Good news is the LEAP YEAR parties in JOZI are starting to pour in… First up is an Electric Workshop Reunion Party hosted by Euphonic and the SoulCandi crew – click on the flyer for a taste, and watch this space for...
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