Creative Cape Town

Infecting The City is “Africa’s only dedicated public arts festival”. What does that really mean?

It means free performances in the inner city brought to you by consummate creative professionals with passion. It means art gets out into the open, and people sing, dance, draw, talk and play in the streets (safely – the city council endorses and oversees). It means you get to experience city spaces in a different way for a few days (21 – 26 February 2011). It means you get to reclaim space, and redefine history in the present.

In the 60s and 70s many people were forced out of the city under the political regime. Nowadays, there’s a new migration, and the people are streaming back into the city for a communal art experience. Are you infecting the City?

The aim, Says Brett Bailey, curator and director of Infecting The City Festival, is to “develop a culture of public art in South Africa to overcome cultural or economic negations of art.”

The festival has had its finger on the pulse of our social ills over its 3 year lifespan. In 2009 it focused on social inclusion and cultural integration with the theme “home Affairs” at a time when xenophobia haunted the ‘hoods and ‘ships and made us question how ‘proudly South African’ we really are.  In 2010, while we were finding new ways to celebrate, Infecting The City chose the theme “Human Rites” and, through it, looked at bringing communities together realistically and creatively. Artists worked with healers, therapists and sociologists to create public platforms for healing including the wishing wall, public theatre and development initiatives bringing learners in from beyond the inner city’s boundaries.

image courtesy of Infecting The City Festival website

Traditionally, the festival is a metaphysical hub for esteemed artists and performers to interact directly with the public. And, for the first time in 2011, the festival is also a geographical hub. Supported by PRASA, The Cape town station forecourt, a contemporary and historical gateway to city, is now a platform for the festival that will host many of its performances.

image courtesy of Infecting The City Festival website

Firsts aside, however, there’s a possible downside.  The festival might also be in its last year of existence if it doesn’t secure funding from a corporate or aid agency that understands its value to our socio-economic well-being as well as the brand association benefits. Considering the increased focus on the arts with regard to developing the economy, supporting a scintillating creative collaboration that focuses on accessible art and urban regeneration can boost a corporate social investment portfolio immensely and it would be tragic to lose a treasure like this.

“Treasure” is, incidentally, this year’s theme – cultural, national, hidden and overt treasure. Unlocking the city’s secrets, the artist work with 4 realms of treasure –  buried, wasted, heritage treasure and undervalued riches. The festival trawled the streets to find garbage sweepers, security guards, and car guards – those who mostly fall outside of mainstream consciousness –and involve them directly with artists, art works and natural resources to bring about public interventions.

The festival programme looks set to surprise.

Music Gems will delight or bemuse commuters passing from the taxi rank and train station through the forecourt at peak hours with a mix of sounds from contemporary Cape Malay Goema to Yiddish Klezmer to Japanese Daiko drumming to Spaza hip hop (and maybe marimba).

Pop-up Ethiopian coffee rituals will find their way to you around the city with a smell of roasting beans and fresh lemongrass.

image courtesy of Infecting The City Festival

A treasure hunt designed by intervention artist Myer Taub promises to invigorates the heritage experience and have you questioning the city spaces you use daily, and the meaning behind them. It may also win you a hefty prize.

Mobile galleries will be seen scattered around public spaces. Recognised and respected galleries from What If The World To Michael Stevenson are filling glass boxes with ideas, artefacts and installations for a short time, and inviting you to gawk (and even Google them).

A veritable archaeological slash anthropological ‘dig’ will reveal art made from the household waste of 4o families overseen by Wasteplan.

A free festival newspaper accompanying performances and gives more information about the programme, artists and intentions behind the work.

The only criticism from Creative Cape Town? There’s too much for us to go to! Luckily, we have a lot of fans (5960 on Facebook and counting) so we’d like to invite you. And you. And you. To go to, and be part of the art at the heart of your city.

Here’s clear proof that Infecting The City is contagious – footage of  impulsive volunteers engaged in a little guerrilla warfare in a temporary, pop-up marketing exercise for 2010’s festival…

[all images (c) Jonx Pillemer unless otherwise indicated. ]