On 14 May, 2010, this opinion piece by Zayd Minty, Creative Cape Town’s Coordinator appeared in the Cape Times.
A space where we can cross boundaries
The Cape Times has had an ongoing set of articles focussıng on the divides in our city – much of which have been attributed to our racialised pasts/presents and the difficulties of reconciling the politics on race from up north, in a city with a complex history of miscegenation.
Some writers have proposed strategies furthering a non-racial project including recommendations focussing on arts and culture. Poetry, visual arts, music, performance, music and memory, it is argued, have the potential to engage us with developing new symbols and shared value systems. They can provide the space to help us to connect as creative and conscious human beings and, importantly, through festivals and other events, opportunities are created for us to physically and psychically transgress the boundaries that separate us.
I agree with these sentiments but argue that there has not been a strong enough focus on physical spaces for cultural engagement and, in this article, wısh to suggest what the problems are and then to propose some solutions.
Firstly, there is a strong international experience we in South Africa can draw on. A number of European countries have long-standing sophisticated cultural diversity policies at a national level as a result of intense immigration over a few decades.
In Australia and Canada there has also been a recognition of the marginalisation of, as well as the immense potential contribution offered by first nations people. At a municipal level, these policies have translated – amongst others – to a greater number of intercultural projects and festivals and, importantly, into centres where differences can be engaged with and new identities forged.
The Pompidou in Paris or the Centre for Contemporary Culture in Barcelona are two of many examples of large-scale, municipally funded centres that have played a significant role in forging a new cıvıc identity, while The Casula Powerhouse outside Sydney and The Roundhouse in Vancouver are mid-scale versions of the same. In between are literally thousands of cultural centres around every city or town that allow people to gather, share, learn, be inspired and create.
In South Africa, despite an excellent constitution and some powerful notions behind our arts, culture and media policies, delivery has been less than inspiring and, sometimes, counter-productive to growing an inclusive society. On the positive side some excellent avenues have been created, such as national arts, film and heritage councils. These have funded, at arms length from government, new opportunities in their respective fields.
At a municipality level in South Africa, culture is not a constitutional responsibility and so many cities and towns faced with service delivery issues have actively ignored this area. The provincial authorities in culture have, in many cases, been lacking in capacity and creativity to make any significant inroads in the area at a local level. Where centres have been built, these have often been “multi-purpose” venues where programming in arts or cultural diversity have been only as good as the space that is given in-between sports and other community development activities.
In fortunate situations, often poorly-resourced local arts and culture bodies have been given the space to influence programming. Dedicated cultural facilities are few and far between and are often managed poorly or lacking an engagement with civic structures or professional arts bodies and managers.
In Cape Town, since 1994, only one new municipal facility dedicated to culture has been built – the Guga S’thebe in Langa (a partnership with city, province and national) while the Hugo Lamprecht Music Centre received a significant upgrade. The City has however been strong on libraries and a significant network exists. In addition, a number of public spaces in marginalised areas have been transformed, often with spectacular art works. However, what is missing is often sustained cultural programming and strategic ongoing support of cultural agencies, in accessible dedicated spaces, to make an inclusive civic life a reality.
An examınatıon of the CoCT’s grant allocatıons for last year gıves an ındıcatıon of its prıorıtıes. Of the R5m allocated to arts and culture, over 40% is for events. Around 30% is gıven to the classıcs and Cape musıc respectıvely. Grants are gıven on a project per project basıs annually only. No significant ongoing evaluations or research take place and there is no long-term cultural plan.
The work of the City’s small arts and culture department ıs largely around youth and communıty development servıces and, while it regularly supports “community concerts”, its strategic capacity is low. In this context, strategy towards and the development of an ecosystem of self sustainable institutions is difficult.
It is for this reason that the City and its citizens should look more closely at the Imagine City Hall initiative that aims to turn that space into a dedicated cultural venue for all citizens. The project has its roots dating back to 2006, although there have been various attempts to develop the magnificent but tatty internal parts of this proud piece of built heritage as a cultural facility. Since 2006 the Cape Town Partnership has invested heavily in research and business planning to turn the space into a new, unique and important institution in the City. The project has taken on more urgency since the City Library vacated two floors leaving this proud building empty. The vision is clear, but the bottleneck sits with City Council bureaucracy.
The Imagine City Hall initiative suggests an experimental and incremental three- year approach with extensive fundraising – driven by strong artistic content and pulled together with the support of the four sustainable agencies – Africa Centre, Cape Philharmonic Orchestra, Cape Mic and Creative Cape Town. It does not propose first raising money to redevelop the space, as some influential heritage activists are keen to see happen, but sees this as a natural progression from the establishment of a powerful and sustainable cultural programme.
All the parties need is the space – no money is needed from the state.
The Africa Centre, through its Spier Contemporary, has shown in the last six weeks what is possible in this space. As a privately funded initiative it has invested significantly into creating a space of beauty and conviviality. It has brought more than 12 000 visitors into the exhibition, with more than 2 000 of these being students – the demographics are relatively diverse with at least 40% being broadly black and more than 60% young people.
This initiative recognises that local government is often unable to deliver on the complexities of cultural change without civic and public engagement, but has shown how collective efforts rooted in an agenda for transformation can create active and convivial spaces.
I have marveled in the last weeks as I walked through the exhibition, attended various evening music events or sat in the lovely coffee shop next to the design store at how welcoming a space the City Hall has become. I have met many of our well known and talented musicians, poets, writers, visual artists, performers and academics – they are all inspired by what the space has become – as well as by the art and the music.
They see and feel the vision of a cultural space. Imagine City Hall has asked citizens their views on the proposed plans in a facebook group page and the interest has been overwhelming. But the space closes with the arrival of the 2010 Fan Fest and still no long term City plan is in place– what will happen on 12 July? What will it take to make the vision a reality?
