Cape Town as a
>> page 8 & 9
Spicing up the CBD
>> page 6 &7
Around the world in a city block
The fashion ramp is on the street
>> page 4, 5, 12
DIVERSE CITY
CLEAN | SAFE | CARING
CITYVIEWSYOUR FREE CAPE TOWN CENTRAL CITY PAPER July 2012
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about town 2 CityViews July 2012
In May we received an email from Street Parking Solutions applauding one of their Dar-ling Street parking marshals, Natasha Alaart, for helping to stop a thief who was trying to steal something out of a car parked in the area. Thanks to the keen eyes and ears of people like Natasha, Cape Town’s streets stay as safe as they are.
“It’s very exciting doing this work,” Natasha says. “People know me and I feel
safe here. I meet lots of people and I love working outdoors. My hope for this place is that … one day there will be more oppor-tunities for people to fi nd work here.
Is there someone who has transformed your experience of the city? Write to us and tell us about it.
The Central City Improvement Dis-trict is a private-public partnership formed by the property owners of a defi ned geographical area to pro-vide top-up services over and above what the City of Cape Town provides. The CCID and its managing agent, the Cape Town Partnership, were formed when the City of Cape Town, the South African Property Owners Association (SAPOA), the Cape Town Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other stakeholders came together to address issues of urban degeneration, disinvestment in the Central City and related social problems. The Central City’s rapid regeneration process has been built upon the strength and pillars of suc-cessful private-public partnerships at both operational and strategic lev-els, and a shared vision for a clean, safe and caring Cape Town CBD.
SAVE THESE NUMBERS ON YOUR PHONE
CCID Security Manager: 082 453 2942
CCID Deputy Security Manager: 082 442 2112
CCID 24-hour number: 082 415 7127
SAPS Control Room: 021 467 8002
Social Department:082 563 4289
CITYVIEWS
Reading City ViewsWe love knowing who our read-
ers are and what they think. If you enjoy your copy of City Views, why not mail a picture
of you reading it, wherever you love to read it (Your local coffee shop? On a street bench while people-watching?) telling us what you enjoyed most. If we
like it, we’ll run it. Get in touch: [email protected].
Telling your story in City Views
City Views does not sell advertis-ing or editorial space at this time. We are, however, always on the look out for city ownership sto-
ries: tales of people who love the CBD, who choose to live, work, study, invest, and play here. If you would like to be featured,
please send your story to [email protected]
for consideration. Please note that submission of a story doesn’t guarantee that it will be included.
Distributing City Views
If you’re an eager reader of City Views – and you know others
who would enjoy reading it too, consider becoming a distri-
butor. All we need is your con-tact details, address and how many copies you need each
month. Or, if you would just like to track down where you can
obtain your FREE copy send an email to Aziza Patandin on
A celebration of diversity in the city
Gratitude attitudeEveryday acts of kindness help transform Cape Town, and City Views would like to recognise those individuals who would otherwise continue doing good, but without thanks.
Published by:The Central City Improvement
District (CCID)
Editor:Judith Browne: 021 419 1881
Deputy Editor:Benita Kursan
Website:www.capetowncid.co.za
www.capetownpartnership.co.za
Design: Infestationwww.infestation.co.za
021 461 8601
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Did you know: Table Moun-tain is sometimes com-pared to Janus, the dou-
ble-headed Roman god of new beginnings and transitions, of doors and gateways, the past and the future? It’s an apt metaphor for July in Cape Town as we mark the half-way point through the year. With six months left, what do you still want to do in 2012, and how will you take care of it?
As you take time to refl ect on what’s past, and plan for what’s ahead, let me encourage you to keep two things in mind: What can you do to show the people around you – in your community and your city – that you care, and to celebrate the difference and di-versity in that community?
Show you careBeing mindful of those around
you – whether they are parking guards or street cleaners, the neighbour across the street or the family member in your own home – is important all year round. Take time to acknowledge these people, and to be grateful for the role they play in your life, however big or small. And in your gratitude, take a moment to think about those who are less fortunate.
Winter, while relatively mild in the Western Cape, can be hard on those who have no home – those liv-ing on the streets – so please show you care by giving responsibly. There are a number of organisations who are working hard to ensure there is a viable alternative to life on the streets. Instead of giving R5 or R10 at a traffi c light or street corner, give to the organisations who can re-ally make a difference – by offering your time, your money, your exper-
tise. For more details about these or-ganisations and what they do, read the back page of every edition of City Views.
Celebrate diversityWhile you’re being mindful of the people around you, take a mo-ment to appreciate how different these people are. One of the most compelling things about Cape Town is its diversity – that you can hear so many different languages, whether French or Portuguese or Somali, on our streets. That our cityscape is defi ned by the boom of the Noon Gun as much as it is the muezzin’s call to prayer. That you can travel the world by walk-ing a few city blocks.
My challenge to you this July – and the fi ve months of 2012 that follow after that – is to step outside yourself and learn more
about another culture, another language, another way of life in the city. The diversity of Cape Town CBD is something to be both understood and celebrated, and it starts with you.
Yours in gratitude and diversity,
Tasso EvangelinosCOO of the CCID
MANDELA DAY 2012
Parking marshal Natasha Alaart on duty in Darling Street
CARING CITY
CITY VIEWS ONLINERead the latest e-dition: www.capetownpartnership.co.za/city-views
Friend us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CityViewsCapeTown
Follow us on Twitter:@City_Views
What are you doing with your own two hands and 67 minutes for Mandela Day this 18 July 2012? Register your project at www.mandeladay.com
What can you do to help foster diversity in Cape Town? Here are fi ve easy steps by the Arterial Network’s Ouafa Belgacem and U40 Africa coordinator Daniel Lima:
1.1. Eat a meal in a restaurant where different cultures are represented.
2.2. Read literature by African writers and arrange a discussion or book exchange session with friends.
3.3. Watch the ongoing screenings of foreign fi lms at the Labia cinema.
4.4. Speak to someone in their own language by signing up for foreign language classes.
5.5. Decorate your home with items handmade by local crafters.
things to do for diversity 5
3 about town July 2012 CityViews
For many of the im-migrants and expats who move here, Cape
Town represents a place of opportunity, based on pull-factors like the convenience of the city’s geographic proximity to major trans-port hubs and the beauty of the mountain-meets-sea landscape and the lifestyle it inspires.
Tunisia-born Ouafa Bel-gacem has lived in countries across the continent and recently relocated here to take up the position of secre-tary general of the Arterial Network – a Pan-African network established to em-power creative people and facilitate the creation of a
vibrant and diverse cultural community. “The fact that
DIVERSE CITY
“Diversity creates great opportunities
for an economy because a diversity
of people means diverse thoughts, ideas and problem solving. It creates room for creativity
as opposed to narrow-minded
thinking, and this is sure to drive any
economy.”Johannes Kraus
diversity matter?Why does
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For more information on this user survey (and the business survey of the CBD that happened at the same time) watch out for the August edition of City Views – Cape Town as an economic hub – and the launch of the State of Cape Town Central City Report.
Diverse city by numbers
The CCID recently conducted a user survey
of the CBD, to fi nd out who is using the CBD, why, and
where they come from – so as to better meet their needs. Over 1 500 people
were interviewed at random (one every eight minutes during a two-week shift
in March 2012), at various times of day.
A snapshot of city diversity
the city is economically active and geographically convenient helps to attract a mix of people who come here to fulfi ll their dreams. The unique laid-back vibe of the city attracts a lot of creative people in particu-lar,” says Ouafa.
The perception of Cape Town as the country’s multi-cultural capital is another important pull-factor for many people who move here.
“People refer to the city as a cultural melting pot, but strictly speaking, the term ‘melting pot’ is a metaphor for a heterogeneous society becoming more homogene-ous, with its diverse aspects
melting together into one common culture. Multicul-turalism on the other hand implies a mixture of differ-ent cultures where each culture remains distinct. So the salad bowl metaphor is probably a better way of defi ning Cape Town,” says French-Beninese Daniel Lima who recently moved here to assume the role of coordinator for the African arm of U40 – a global arts and culture youth lead-ership network that was formed to help promote the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.
Johannes Kraus, a local
ambassador for InterNa-tions a company that facili-tates events to connect its 1 500 members from 62 dif-ferent continents and settle them in to Cape Town life explains how multicultural-ism and a place’s openness to and tolerance of different cultures can play a vital role in economic growth. “Diver-sity creates great opportuni-ties for an economy because a diversity of people means diverse thoughts, ideas and problem solving. It creates room for creativity as op-posed to narrow-minded thinking, and this is sure to drive any economy.”
It’s diffi cult to ascertain exactly how many expats
live and work in the CBD, but the fact that over 25 foreign consular offi ces are based here – representing countries as diverse as Bel-gium, Japan, Switzerland, Brazil, India and Angola – is testament to the diversity of our immigrant population.
The Arterial Network and U40 Africa25 Commercial StreetT: 021 465 9027www.arterialnetwork.org
InterNationsT: 021 426 4606www.internations.org
38.4%38.4%Of the city users come from the
South (Athlone, Bonteheuwel,
Claremont, Fish Hoek, Grassy
Park, Gugulethu, Hanover Park, Hout Bay,
Langa, Lavender Hill, Maitland, Mitchells Plain,
Muizenberg, Phillipi, Pinelands, Rondebosch,
Simon’s Town, Strandfontein, Wynberg)
34.6%34.6%come from the North (Atlantis,
Bellville, Bloubergstrand, Blue
Downs, Bothasig, Brackenfell, Delft, Durbanville,
Edgemead, Elsiesrivier, Gordon’s Bay, Kenridge,
Khayelitsha, Kraaifontein, Kuilsrivier, Macassar,
Melkbosstrand, Milnerton, Parklands, Parow,
Scottsdene, Somerset West, Strand, Table View)
9.8%9.8% are from the City Bowl (which
includes, for this survey, Camps Bay
and Clifton)
What did they fi nd?
Cape Town’s CBD is home to people of many different cultures. Their diversity makes the city an exciting place in which to work, stay and play, but there’s a more serious side to it too. A better understanding of diversity can impact an economy positively and help to bridge the gaps between cultures.By: Benita Kursan
say the single biggest reason the CBD is so well regarded is it’s so multicultural
52.1% 52.1%
are here to live8.7%8.7%
are here to study12.1%12.1%
of city users are here to work 55.3% 55.3%
are from outside the metro
(Paarl, Stellenbosch, Worcester
and beyond)17.2%17.2%
CV What is Cape Town Fashion Council’s involvement in Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Cape Town this year?This year the CTFC is funding the Emerging Designer fashion show, showcasing designers who were involved in the CTFC Design Indaba Expo programme – so this is the obvious next step for their brands. The CTFC, together with Foschini and Africa Fashion International (AFI), will also be hosting fast-track entrepreneur-ial seminars targeted at grad-uates and startup designer brands.
CV What aspects of Fashion Week are you most looking forward to this year?I’m looking forward to Fashion Week, and using iconic city buildings as show venues – an essential exercise for The Fringe in the lead up to Cape Town as 2014 World Design Capital. I’m also looking forward to the line-up of new designers showing in Cape Town for the fi rst time. A CTFC panel of four designers and eight players in the clothing and textile industry selected fi ve emerging designers – Pumeza Mekuto of Black Coal Clothing,
Celeste Lee Arendse of Selfi , Ro-byn Victor of August Clothing, Tarien Malherbe of Non-Europe-an and Maloti Mothobi of Strato – as part of a project to develop and sustain the clothing and textile industry in the Western Cape. The designers were cho-sen for having the potential to mould their brands into sustain-able business platforms.
CV You’ve been at the helm of the Cape Town Fashion Council for just over a year now. What are some of the local initiatives you’ve launched and how have Capetonians respondedto them? We’ve revised previous work-shops and seminar offerings, resulting in workshop atten-dance increasing by 100%.
Our membership has grown from 350 members in 2011, to close to 1 800 – an indication that we’re moving in the right direction. Earlier this year we funded a stand at the Design Indaba Expo for our members, and our collective raised R320 000 during the four-day expo, with the CTFC making a return on investment of R1.2-million.
CV Are any new CTFC initiatives in the pipeline?We’ve secured funding from the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) to help im-prove designer competitive-ness. The three-year project kicks off in August and we hope to have 24 designers on the programme by the time it fi nishes. We’re also going to
be launching mentorships and international partnerships for our designer members in No-vember, and we’ll launch pre-liminary trade show interven-tions early next year.
The city’s most familiar Victorian building is due for another dose of sound experience with the third City Hall Sessions event taking place this month. Headlined by South African icons Mada-la Kunene and Caiphus Semenya, it features a lineup of legendary local jazz, experimental and world music stars.
A journey in jazzOpening night on Thursday 5 July features The Bridge – a big band contemporary jazz experi-ence that links our musical heritage to the pre-sent. Directed by Cape Town jazz greats Kesivan Naidoo and Lee Thomson – founders of The Mahogany Room jazz club – and narrated by lo-cal actor David Isaacs, the spectacle will feature the likes of saxophonist Khaya Mahlangu and guitarist Errol Dyers, with guest appearances by Freshlyground vocalist Zolani Mahola and New York-based Morris Goldberg, who is in South Africa to take part in the Standard Bank Jazz Festival in Grahamstown.
An instrumental experimentCloset Snare is set to bridge the gap between experimental noise, jazz, hip-hop and electron-ica, mixing up live instruments with machines and the 12-piece City Hall Chamber String Ensemble. Guest artists include Lark songbird Inge Beckmann, jazz pianist and Standard Bank Young Artist Award winner Bokani Dyer, and emcee EJ von Lyrik, whose style is a combo of funk, rock, dancehall, hip-hop and reggae. MXO featuring Joe Nina also take to the stage with an unconventional blend of hip-hop and township grooves.
A world awayCity Hall Sessions culminates in a double bill featuring legends of African groove, Madala Kunene and Caiphus Semenya. Rooted in ritual and tradition, Madala’s Maskanda guitar music blends blues and African folk and is known for its ethereal, transcendental quality. Caiphus returned from exile in the US in the 1990s after having collaborated with the likes of producer Quincy Jones, and is recognised as being one of the country’s foremost composers and directors.
From 5 July City Hall Sessions returns with a three-night melting pot of diverse rhythms and beats.
Madala Kunene
Soundtrack of the city
Thursday 5 July
Ticket prices range between R80 and R150, with substantial student discounts. Visitwww.cityhallsessions.co.za for more information and bookings.
FASHION FORWARD
Don’t despair if you didn’t make it to this year’s National Arts Festival in Grahamstown. The Fugard
Theatre’s Eric Abraham in association with theatre afi cionado Mannie Manim and the National Arts Festival are bringing Fugard’s The Blue Iris to Cape Town for a limited season. Directed by Janice Honeyman, and featuring Claire Berlein, Graham Weir and Lee-Ann van Rooi, the story is set in Fugard’s beloved Karoo and revolves around the gradual disintegration of a marriage, told through the reminiscences of a widowed farmer, and his wife’s loyal
companion and loyal farm worker.The Blue Iris runs at the Fugard Theatre from 4 to 28 July. Tickets cost between R110 and R140, and are available from the Fugard Theatre box offi ce or via Computicket.
The Fugard TheatreCorner of Caledon and Lower Buitenkant StreetT: 021 461 4554www.thefugard.com
to the National Arts FestivalConnecting Cape Town
Athol Fugard’s latest play – The Blue Iris – takes to the stage at the Fugard Theatre this month, following a world premiere season at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown.
Championing Cape Town fashionBryan Ramkilawan heads up the Barrack Street-based Cape Town Fashion Council (CTFC), an organisation that represents the Western Cape’s fashion industry.
“I’m looking forward to Fashion Week,
and using iconic city buildings as show
venues – an essential exercise for The Fringe in the lead up to Cape Town as 2014 World
Design Capital.”Catch the CTFC Emerging Designer showcase at Mercedes-Benz Cape Town Fashion Week at the CTICC at 15h30 on Friday 27 July. For more information visit www.afi .za.com.
Cape Town Fashion CouncilHarrington House37 Barrack StreetT: 021 461 1498www.ctfc.co.za
Friday 6 July
Saturday 7 July
CityViews April 2012fringe4 April 2012CityViewsfrom the 4 July 2012
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Bryan Ramkilawan
Spotlight on Cape Town fashionLocal design stars take to the ramp for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Cape Town, at the CTICC from 25 to 28 July.
The fashion establishment – including Craig Port, Hip Hop, Habits, Stefania Morland, Rosenwerth and Fabiani – will unveil their Spring/Summer 2012 collections, alongside newcomers to the AFI platform
like Rachel de Mart, Adriaan Kuiters and Ruald Rheeder. Organisers African Fashion International (AFI) aim to increase the sustainability and global footprint of African fashion by creating platforms to showcase designers.
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CityViews
5 about town July 2012 CityViews
New shop on the blockRonit Yiacoumis, the owner of XOXO Clothing, a locally produced women’s clothing brand that recently set up shop on Buitengracht Street, tells us how she defi nes Cape Town style and why she loves working in the city:
“There are a lot of talented creative people in this town and they each have an individual fl air for fashion which makes the city really interesting to browse and shop in. As an
Israeli who traveled the world as a fl ight attendant, I would call Cape Town the slipslop city because everyone wears them, even when they go for dinner at nice restaurants.”
XOXO Clothing63 Buitengracht StreetT: 021 424 0082www.xoxoclothing.co.za
XOXO Clothing
The fashion ramp is on the streets
We-are-awesome.com started around fi ve years ago with Andrew and
Sean looking to share the stories of their friends involved in Cape Town’s design, fashion and music scenes. At the time they didn’t have a particular creative outlet, so they decided to get a foot in the city’s creative scene by document-ing what was going on around them. “We don’t really have criteria regarding the people we feature on the site. We like to showcase people who are comfortable with and confi dent about the way they present themselves,” says Andrew. “People who follow our blog appre-ciate well-crafted local products and considered places. We’ve cre-ated a platform upon which these products, places and the people who make them can be featured.”
Like what you see?Visit www.we-are-awesome.com for more snapshots of Cape Town street style or email [email protected] for more information.
Occupation: Fashion designer at Izembatho Creationsz Location: Harrington Street More information: [email protected] “Cape Town is the real place of gold. I wake up and look at Table Mountain and wonder if it’s real or if it’s wallpaper.”
Occupation: Fashion designer and creator of Dear Dorothy Location: Long Street More information: www.dearestdorothy.tumblr.com “Cape Town style is multicultural and takes inspiration from multiple infl uences, just like the city itself.”
Occupation: Illustrator and graphic designer Location: Woodstock Industrial Centre More information: www.jordan-metcalf.com “Cape Town is an incredible and contradictory place.”
Occupation: Finance student, DJ and music promoter Location: Myrtle Street More information: www.soundcloud.com/tdm “Cape Town style is a refl ection of the diversity of its people.”
Occupation: Co-owner of A-store Location: Kloof Street More information: www.astoreisgood.com “Cape Town is a fashion phenomenon. With all the different people living and visiting here it’s hard to defi ne a defi nite style because it’s always evolving. This makes for some great surprises.”
LUNGILE KUNENETHOMAS DE MOYENCOURT DARIO LEITE
LAURA WINDVOGEL JORDAN METCALF SHAKIR PRICE
(AKA MR PRICE)
Occupation: Tailor Location: Long Street More information: 021 423 8300 “Cape Town style is generally casual but a lot of businessmen still wear suits that have been tailored by me.”
Andrew Berry, Sean Sassen, Adriaan Louw and Mark de Menezes are the guys behind we-are-awesome.com, a city-based blog that documents the lives of Cape Town’s creative people, their styles and their spaces. We asked photographer Andrew to scour the streets of the CBD and snap a few of the awesome people he encountered …
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ST. JAMES
CHELMSFORD
FLORIDA
MELLISH
GRISNEZ
ARUM
DELPHINIUM
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GLADIOLUS
FREESIA
BELLA DONNA
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CHURCH
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ANDELA BOULEVARD
HELEN
SUZMAN BOULEVA
RD
NOON DAY GUN
KLOOF STREET
green point
gardens
central city
district six
VREDEHOEK
the fringe
oranjezicht
bo-kaap
WOODSTOCK
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11
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13
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2
6
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Cape Town to Cairo
For an experience of Africa in Cape Town, consider starting at
1 Table Mountain (T: 021 424 8181) the Watcher of the South. Then head to 2 Lekka Kombuis (81 Wale St, T: 079 957 0226) to learn a little Cape Malay cooking with Gamidah Jacobs (but remember it’s Ramadan coming up, so be sure to wish her a blessed month of fasting). Then walk down Long Street and stop by the 3 Pan African Market (76 Long St, T: 021 426 4478) or 4 Greenmarket Square (56 Shortmarket St) to pick up wares from African crafters, before heading to the 5 African Music Store (134 Long St, T: 021 426 0857) for kwaito, hip-hop, gospel, reggae, jazz and soul from the continent.
If, after this cultural immersion, you’re planning a little sub-Saharan travel, note that the 6 Angolan Embassy (Thibault Square, T: 021 425 8700), 7 Mozambican Consul (8 Burg St, T: 021 426 2944) and 8 Namibian Consulate (22 Riebeeck St, T: 021 419 2810) are all based in the CBD. If you’re hungry, feast at 9 Little Ethiopia (76 Shortmarket St, T: 021 424 8254) or, if your group is a larger one at 10 Addis in Cape (41 Church St, T: 021 424 5927) – and be sure to order coffee, which comes with popcorn, incense and its own special ceremony.
Wrap your evening up at 11 Chez Ntemba (4 Buiten St, T: 021 423 7575), which hosts Afro Thursdays – or an African fi lm night at the 12 Labia (68 Orange St, T: 021 424 5927), or an African dance party at the 13 Kimberly Hotel (48 Roeland St, T: 021 461 2160). (Go to www.africanartsinstitute.org.za for details.)
Bogota to Buenos Aires
You don’t have to own a yacht to go from the Cape to Rio. Instead,
start by shopping for handmade items from Columbia, Guatamala and Peru, at 1 Hadeda (3 Wandel St, T: 021 465 8620) in Gardens. Then learn capoeira – a martial art combining dance and music that can be traced back to African slaves in Brazil in the 16th century – at 2 Abadá Capoeira Cape Town
(Tamboerskloof Primary, T: 083 506 6026). If you are planning to head to Rio de Janeiro for the 2014 World Cup, then head to the 3 Consulate of Brazil (22 Riebeeck St, T: 021 421 4040) for more information, before planning your trip over Columbian coffee at 4 Orinoco (17 Bree Street).
That night, take in a Peruvian meal at 5 Keenwä (50 Waterkant St, T: 021 419 2633) before learning how to salsa at 6 Que Pasa (Caledon St, T: 021 465 0225).
If Argentinian tango is more your style, you can Milonga de Verano – in the summer – at 7 De Waal Park, or Milonga el Abrazo – in an embrace – at 8 Cru Café (Cape Quarter, T:
021 418 6293) in De Waterkant. Go to www.capetango.com for more details.
Montreal to Mexico City
Experience a slice of French-Canadian life
by walking the cobblestone streets of De Waterkant and making like you’re in Montreal at 1 La Petite Tarte (76 Waterkant St, T: 021 425 9077),
a quaint sidewalk café that serves French Mariage Frères tea and gateau. Then stroll off your brunch by heading uphill in the direction of the 2 Noon Day Gun (273 Longmarket St, T: 021 424 0529) to see views of the city that connects mountain and sea, similar in some respects to Vancouver.
With American Independence Day around the corner, make your way across town to the American Corner at 3 Cape Town Central
Library (Darling and Parade, T: 021 467 1500). Immerse yourself in a great American novel (ask the librarian for a recommendation) and then get up to speed on what’s happening stateside by reading a few US newspapers and magazines.
If you’re hankering for more Americana, get your fi ll of good old-fashioned diner fare – think Cobb Salad and Sloppy Joe’s – at 4 Clarke’s (133 Bree St, T: 021 424 7648), or a gourmet
burger at 5 Royale Eatery (273 Long St, T: 021 422 4536). In the mood to shop? Hotfoot it to 6 Sportscene (Golden Acre, T: 021 4174618) to pick up a pair of Converse Chuck Taylor’s, the all-American sneaker.
Come sundown, head south to Mexico at 7 San Julian (3 Rose St, T: 021 419 4233), where chef Ricardo Gardio-Aispur serves real-deal Mexican fare. If you’re lucky, Ricardo will pick up his guitar
and entertain you with traditional Mexican folk music.
If jazz is more your style, catch a performance by city legends at the 8 Mahogony Room (79 Buitenkant St, T: 076 679 2697). Just as Cape Town’s jazz tradition took inspiration from US, this compact jazz club takes inspiration from another famous institution: New York’s famous Village Vanguard.
on the town
Around the world in a city block
Do you want to see the world but saving up enough money is still proving a challenge? Here are some ideas on how to travel the globe in a few city blocks.
6
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7 on the town
full-scale reconstruction of a typical 1800s Lithuanian village (a shtetl).
Pop past 5 Raith Gourmet (Mill and Buitenkant St, T: 021 465 2729) to stock up on bratwurst and sauerkraut before heading on to the 6 Ulrich Naumann
Bookshop (15-19 Burg St, T: 021 423 7832) – and then cross the border to France at the 7 Alliance Française (155 Loop St, T: 021 423 5699), the place for all things French (including a weekly Friday food market and language lessons).
Now that you’ve mastered French, why not take up Spanish? Enquire at the 8 Spanish Embassy (37
Shortmarket St, T: 021 422 2415). At 9 Mesopotamia (Church and Long St, T: 021 424 4664) and 10 Anatoli (24 Napier St, T: 021 419 2501) you can feast on Mediterranean or Kurdish fare while watching a belly dancer perform, or, if you’re watching your own waistline, experience an invigorating Turkish bath at 11 Long Street Baths (Long St, T: 021 400 3302).
Since you’re in the Mediterranean, pop past the 12 Greek Consul (30 Hout St, T: 021 424 8160) and stop by 13 Maria’s (Barnet St, T: 021 461 3333) on Dunkley Square for spanakopita and tzatziki. Cruise on to the 14 Italian Consulate (2 Grey’s Pass, T: 021 487 3900) and 15 Dante Alighieri Society (14 Tuin Plein St, T: 021 465 8261)located nearby for information on language courses and local food and fi lm festivals. Continue cruising until you reach the 16 Embassy of Portugal (Standard Bank Centre, Hertzog Boulevard, T: 021 418 0080) and if you’re still hungry, set foot in 17 Dias Tavern (15 Caledon St, T: 021 465 7547).
Speaking of early explorers, connect with the Netherlands at the 18 Dutch Consulate General (100 Strand St, T: 021 421 5660) and round off exploring Cape Town’s European connections relaxing under the trees of the 19 Company’s Garden, formally established by Dutch settlers in 1652.
and entertain you with traditional Mexican folk music.
If jazz is more your style, catch a performance by city legends at the 8 Mahogony Room (79 Buitenkant St, T: 076 679 2697). Just as Cape Town’s jazz tradition took inspiration from US, this compact jazz club takes inspiration from another famous institution: New York’s famous Village Vanguard.
Kolkata to Kuala Lumpur
If you’d like to start the day in a state of serenity, then
begin at the 1 Taj Hotel’s Jiva Spa (Wale St, T: 021 819 2000)for your choice of ayurvedic treatments, or a meditation class at the 2 Art of Living (37 Harrington St, T: 083 301 3976).Then walk to your next location – keeping your eyes open for fi lm crews, as the streets of
Cape Town are often used as Bollywood sets – to take a South Indian cooking class at 3 Masala Dosa (167 Long St, T: 021 424 6772). If that leaves you inspired, be sure to pick up a range of Indian spices from 4 Atlas Trading Company (94 Wale St, T: 021 423 4361) for use at home – and while you’re in the area, walk around the Bo-Kaap, where many Capetonians of Indonesia and Malay descent continue to live. End your day off with a traditional Chinese
foot massage at 5 Happy Feet (Thibault Square, T: 021 425 0000) before going to 6 South China Dim Sum (289 Long St, T: 078 846 3656) for some street food from Southeast Asia, Cape Town’s hole-in-the-wall sushi stop 7 Minato (4 Buiten St, T: 021 423 4712) or Korean grill at 8 Galbi (210 Long St, T: 021 424 3030).
And keep in mind that if you are planning to travel, that the 9 Consul of Japan (Standard
Bank Centre, Heerengracht,
T: 021 425 1695), 10 Taipei Liaison Offi ce (Standard Bank Centre, Heerengracht, T: 021 418 1188) and the 11 High Commission of India (34 Bree St, T: 021 419 8110) are all based in the CBD.
Reykjavik to Rome
Interested in exploring your European roots? Start by
making contact with the
1 Swiss (T: 021 400 75 00), Belgian (T: 021 419 4690) and Irish consulates (T: 021 419 0636) at Thibault Square or2 Norwegian (8 Riebeeck
St, T: 021 425 168) and 3 Lithuanian consulates
(5 St George’s Mall, T: 021 406 9208).
Did you know most Jewish South Africans can trace their lineage back to Eastern Europe? Intrigued? Then check out the 4 SA Jewish Museum’s (88 Hatfi eld St, T: 021 465 1546)
The City Bowl is full of restaurants where you can satisfy your craving for culture. Other places of diversity include:
Videos stores that stock foreign fi lms Book stores and libraries Music stores Language schools Places of worship (mosques, schuls and temples) Museums and galleries
MOREPLACES OF DIVERSITY
MUIRMUIR
N
How would you arrange your day of diverse cultural experiences? Mail the editor at [email protected]
around town 8 CityViews July 2012
“Our menu features simple
dishes that people eat everyday in
Thailand. The soups and noodle dishes are typical Thai street food to eat on the go,
or you can sit down and order a few different dishes for the
table to share.”
These diverse food destinations and the people behind them prove that you don’t have to leave the city to satisfy a craving for culture
CV What does the word “sababa” mean? Sababa is Hebrew slang for everything is awesome. We chose the name because it has a nice ring to it and it’s a play on our surname, Saban.
CV How has your background and family infl uenced your style of cooking?Our mother’s family was originally from Eastern Europe, and our dad’s from North Africa, so we grew up surrounded by a com-bination of Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jewish cultures. Our parents grew up in Israel, and we’ve both spent time living there, so there’s a strong Israeli connection too.
CV What is the concept behind Sababa Kitchen and Deli?The food at Sababa is the same as the food we eat at home. The concept is simple: healthy Mediterranean and Middle-East-ern home cooking inspired by our family’s traditions and our travels. At our parents’ house everything happens around the kitchen table, and it’s the same at Sababa.
Our customers congregate around our ta-ble; it’s how we bring people together and share our culture.
CV How has your menu evolved to suit the tastes of your customers?Most of our regular customers want a healthy lunch to eat on the run, so our menu changes everyday. We always have a selection of salads; vegetarian, meat, fi sh and chicken dishes; soups, cakes and pas-tries. Traditionally our food is spicy and full of fl avour, but we’ve had to cut down on the amount of garlic we use, as some of our customers are sensitive to it. Our sesame chicken schnitzel is very popular, as well as our borrekitas, Sephardi pies fi lled with cheese or spinach; homemade humus with zatar – a spice we import from Israel – and the dolmades we import from Turkey. When anyone in our family trav-els they return with suitcases full of food. On Thursday nights we celebrate Israel’s favourite street food – falafel – and every-one gets involved choosing their favourite toppings, and over Jewish festivals we’ll cook traditional foods like chicken soup – aka Jewish Penicillin – with kneidlach, or matzah balls, over Passover.
Sababa Kitchen and Deli231 Bree Street021 424 7480Open Monday to Friday 07h00 to 17h00, Thursdays from 19h00 to 22h00www.sababa.co.za
the city
CV Simply Asia’s menu draws on a variety of Thai culinary styles and traditions. Who taught you to cook, and how has your background infl uenced your style of cooking?I grew up in rural Thailand, east of Bangkok, and as the eldest of six children, I would of-ten help my mom and aunts in the kitchen. Later I studied hotel and catering in Ger-many and learnt from some excellent chefs there, and the chefs at my restaurants con-tinue to infl uence my style of cooking.
CV How did the Simply Asia concept come about? I wanted to reach consumers who were on a budget, but still wanted to experience Thai cuisine in a sit-down restaurant envi-ronment, and to introduce them to healthy alternatives to the regular food choices they’re faced with on a day-to-day basis.
CV Why did you decide to locate your fi rst Simply Asia outlet on Shortmarket Street?We launched here to see how people would take to the menu and concept. It’s a very cosmopolitan part of town, with a mix of people and cultures, and a variety of good places to eat.
CV How does the Simply Asia menu refl ect Thai culture?Our menu features simple dishes that peo-ple eat everyday in Thailand. The soups and noodle dishes are typical Thai street food to eat on the go, or you can sit down
and order a few different dishes for the ta-ble to share. Our recipes are true to their Thai roots, subtly fl avoured with fresh herbs and spices, but sometimes we tweak them to suit local tastes by tempering spic-es to make a dish milder, or adding chilli to give it more bite.
CV Which traditional Thai dishes are most popular with locals? Geang Khew-Wan, a green curry with chick-en, coconut milk, broccoli, caulifl ower and basil; Tom Yum Goong, a soup with prawns and mushrooms fl avoured with Tom Yum paste; and Phad Thai, a stir-fry with Phad Thai sauce, served with rice noodles and topped with peanuts, bean sprouts and lemon.
CV Apart from the day-to-day operations at Simply Asia, are you involved in any other initiatives that help to promote Thai culture? We import ingredients and employ chefs from Thailand. We often work together with the Thai Embassy to promote Thai-land and Thai cuisine by participating in various cooking demonstrations and trade shows, like the Thailand Trade Show that recently took place at the CTICC.
Simply Asia96 Shortmarket StreetT: 021 426 4347Open Monday to Saturday 11h30 to 22h00, Sundays 11h00 to 21h00www.simplyasia.co.za
Chaiphorn Lekcharoensuk – aka Mr Chai – visited Cape Town on honeymoon in 1991 and decided to make the city his home soon after. Now he’s the CEO of three Thai restaurant brands, including the city’s popular chain of Simply Asia Thai Food and Noodle Bars.
Mr Chai, Simply Asia
Nirit Saban & Tal Smith, Sababa
The kitchen has always been the heart of the home for sisters Nirit Saban and Tal Smith who always knew they’d team up one day to spread their passion for fare that takes inspiration from their family’s Israeli roots.
“We stumbled upon our premises by chance and we love it here. The area
is a great mix of old industrial workshops
and new eateries doing great things. The area
is fl owering and people are saying that Bree
is Long Street for grown-ups.”
Spicing up
Phot
o: L
isa
Bur
nell
Phot
o: L
isa
Bur
nell
Nirit Saban & Tal Smith
9 around town July 2012 CityViews
CV What is the history of the café?My mother Yasmina and my late fa-ther Achmad started Café Zorina – and named it after my eldest sister – in 1960. Back then the café was half the size of what it is today. My parents lived nearby on Buiten Street and my mother would cook at home and supply food to facto-ries. Twenty years later, in 1980, my fa-ther bought and renovated the building, and my sister and I took over running the place a few years later.
CV How has your family’s heritage infl uenced your style of cooking?My mother spent a lot of time in the kitch-ens of her Indian friends and neighbours and she learnt to cook by watching them prepare curries and other traditional dishes. These recipes were never written down, and we still serve the same dishes we used to eat at home at the café today – mutton, mince and sugar bean curries served with rotis; samoosas, koeksisters and milk tarts.
CV How has your menu evolved over the years? Before my parents opened the café they took a trip to Durban and Johannesburg. In Durban they discovered bunny chow,
a scooped-out loaf of bread fi lled with curry, and they brought the concept back home to Cape Town. Café Zorina was the fi rst restaurant to serve bunny chow here and it was so popular people started calling my brother Bunny. Our curries are mild so most people enjoy them and the recipes haven’t changed. Over festival times like Eid we usually prepare special dishes like roast leg of lamb and corned beef.
CV Has the nature of your business changed over the years?Café Zorina hasn’t changed much, but the members of our family have gone on to do different things. I still run the café as well as a baking business that supplies many retail outlets, Ziada Booley Bakes; my sister Zorina runs a restaurant in the Bo-Kaap, and my brother Yusuf’s wife runs another branch of Café Zorina in Paarden Island.
Café Zorina172 Loop StreetT: 021 424 9301Open Monday to Friday 08h30 to 17h30, Saturdays 09h00 to 14h30
CV What sort of food does Limoncello serve?I’m from Naples so we cook Southern Ital-ian food, which is a little bit more Medi-terranean than typical Italian food and features a lot of fi sh. We’re known for our fresh fi sh, especially our mussels and ca-lamari; we also do seafood pastas and risot-tos based on our fresh fi sh of the day.
CV What makes your food unique?Through travelling I’ve expanded my rep-ertoire to include dishes to please Italian and South African palettes. I’ve been to the East, Australia, the States, South America … and I’ve picked up a few things that have infl uenced my cooking, although we’re very traditional at the restaurant. For the fi rst six or seven years we wouldn’t serve chilli and garlic on the side, until eventu-ally we gave in. We still refuse to put avoca-do, banana or pineapple on pizza though.
CV You recently launched the Limoncello food truck, which is like a restaurant on wheels that can pop up anywhere. How does it work?It’s based on the food truck culture that is currently big in the USA. We’ll pitch the truck wherever and let people know where we are using Twitter and Facebook. We went all out in building the truck with a big stove and oven and all the equipment we need to do everything we do in the res-taurant.
CV Do you need a special food truck licence to operate in the city?For now, we’re only going to places we’re allowed to go. We can be on any private property, so markets aren’t a problem. At Oudekraal we don’t need a permit, which is why we’ve started the Wednesday food truck gatherings there. There are no laws regarding food trucks yet; we can’t operate under a hawker’s licence because it allows you to be on the pavement, and food trucks don’t exactly fi t on the pavement. We’re in the process of engaging with council to ad-dress the permit issue. Council recognises the value food trucks can bring to tourism and the economy; they’re cheaper to set up than restaurants; they’re greener and they provide a service where none exists.
Limoncello8 Breda StreetT: 021 461 5100Open Monday to Friday 12h00 to 15h00, Monday to Saturday 18h00 to 23h00www.limoncello.co.za
Follow the Limoncello food truck on Twitter (@CTFoodTrucks) or Facebook for regular updates on its whereabouts.
Sam Kelly, Lee Doig and Luca Castiglione are Cape Town Food Trucks, a company that specialises in coordinating the sourcing, design and management of food trucks.
“Food Trucks bring fi ne food to the street and other hot spots. They’re mobile restaurants run by passionate chefs. The movement is driven by social media – we tweet or place updates on Facebook to let our fans know where we’re going to be.
People even tweet or SMS their orders to us before they come,” says Sam. “We’re in the process of engaging with council to address the issue of permits. Council appreciates the value we could bring to tourism and the economy; food trucks are cheaper to set up than restaurants and they’re greener.”
Cape Town Food TrucksT: 082 502 3014www.capetownfoodtrucks.co.za
Other food trucks to follow:The Soft Machine serves soft-serve
ice cream in exotic fl avours: @thesoftmachine1
Lady Bonin’s Tea Parlour serves magical infusions of organic loose-leaf teas: @Lady_Bonin
Durban’s Finest Curry makes the real-deal Durban curry and bunny chow: @durbfi nestcurry
Hot on the food truck trail
“I love Cape Town’s food culture
because you can get any type of food, and usually the
best of what you’re looking for. There’s so much on offer that people can
choose a restaurant based on one
particular dish!”
Luca Castiglione, Limoncello
Luca Castiglione brought the authentic taste of Southern Italy to Cape Town 12 years ago when he threw open the doors to his bustling restaurant, Limoncello.
Café Zorina was the city’s fi rst eatery to serve traditional home-style Indian and Cape Malay cuisine, and 52 years on it’s still going strong.
Zaida Booley, Café Zorina
“We’ve always catered for the city’s diverse
cultures, not only our community. Our customers include
doctors, lawyers and businesspeople from all around the city. Some of them have been coming
here since they were children and my mom has watched many of
them grow up.”
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Zaida Booley and her mother Yasmina Sallie
Luca Castiglione
around town 10 CityViews July 2012
CV Why did you decide to relocate to Cape Town?Zanele: We’ve lived in practically every province in SA except Lim-popo and the Northern Province. Last year I moved to Barcelona for six months and when I returned I knew I wouldn’t be happy any-where else but Cape Town.Zodwa: My husband and I left Cape Town to work in Johan-nesburg in 2004 and we always wanted to move back here. We love the pace here, living and working in the city, and what it has to offer in terms of lifestyle.
CV Where in the city do you stay?Zanele: I live in the heart of the city centre overlooking Green-market Square because I don’t want to lose the lifestyle I had in Spain, being able to pop down to a coffee shop anytime and being a part of the hum of the city.Zodwa: We moved here in Octo-ber last year and a friend found us a spacious fl at in Zonnebloem. As a family of four we needed a big space on a tight budget and our fl at ticked both those boxes, so we’ll stay here until we fi nd a home to buy.
CV What are some of the things that make the city special?Zanele: Aside from the obvious and incredible beauty of Table Mountain – I still catch myself staring at it from my desk – I love travelling and meeting peo-ple from all over the world, and in Cape Town there are so many opportunities to engage with for-
eigners and be exposed to differ-ent ways of thinking. Zodwa: I love how people get on with things here. You see wonder-ful little business ventures pop-ping up all over the place – from design, to décor, to food – there’s a real entrepreneurial spirit amongst the young people here.
CV What has your experience of Capetonians been like? Zanele: So far most of the friends I’ve made here weren’t born or raised here.Zodwa: Capetonians love peo-ple much more than they need them. There isn’t a desperate clamouring of folks trying to make friends because there are so many things you can do here without a group of friends.
CV Do you consider Cape Town to be a diverse city? Zanele: A city and a country can be diverse without being inclu-sive. Cape Town is diverse but it’s still segregated. Zodwa: Diversity can be meas-ured in so many different ways. It’s about creativity as well as cul-ture. In terms of creativity, Cape Town is a smorgasbord, but in terms of diversity, it’s perhaps not quite so much as Johannesburg.
CV Where do you go to relax in the city? Do you have a favourite secret spot?Zanele: A walk on Sea Point Promenade or Lion’s Head, or I have a recliner in my lounge and when the sun streams in, it’s my favourite place to decompress.
Zodwa: With two little ones, home is best, but we love the park at Deer Park Café.
CV What are your favourite places to eat in and around the city? Zanele: We love the dim sum
at South China Dim Sum; Chef Pon’s for Thai, and Narona for the best pizza and ribs in an unassuming and relaxed atmos-phere.Zodwa: Bread, Milk and Honey for coffee and a catch-up with a friend; Sevruga for dim sum and sushi, and Hemelhuijs for their poached eggs with artichoke hearts and hollandaise sauce.
CV Where are some of your favourite places to shop?Zanele: Art was my major at university so I buy my supplies at the Deckle Edge in Woodstock, and for local fashion I shop on Long Street.Zodwa: Church because they stock my favourite magazine – The Gentlewoman – and have great gift ideas, Mr and Mrs on Kloof, and Mungo and Jemima.
We live in the Central CityZanele Kumalo, features editor at Marie Claire magazine, and her sister, freelance writer and new mom Zodwa Kumalo-Valentine, have lived in cities around SA, but they recently chose to relocate to Cape Town.
Explore Zanele and Zodwa’s kind of Cape Town for yourself
Bread, Milk and Honey10 Spin StreetT: 021 461 8425
Chef Pon’s Asian Kitchen12 Mill StreetT: 021 465 5846
Church12 Spin StreetT: 021 462 6092www.churchgifts.blogs-pot.com
Deckle Edge130 Sir Lowry RoadT: 021 180 4442www.deckleedge.co.za
Deer Park Café2 Deer Park AvenueT: 021 462 6311
Hemelhuijs71 Waterkant StreetT: 021 418 2402www.hemelhuijs.co.za
Mr and Mrs98 Kloof StreetT: 021 424 4387www.mrandmrs.co.za
Mungo and Jemima108 Long Street021 424 5016www.mungoandjemi-ma.com
Narona136 Buitenkant StreetT: 021 465 8111www.narona.co.za
SevrugaShop 4, Quay 5V&A WaterfrontT: 021 421 5134www.sevruga.co.za
South China Dim Sum Bar289 Long StreetT: 078 846 3656
Retelling the stories of our streets
“When I’m away from Cape Town I miss the smell of
the sea, everything being less than a fi ve-minute drive away, artisanal
shopping, the quality of the food and the diverse restaurant
offerings.” Zodwa Kumalo-Valentine
If, like author Peter Hart, you’ve ever won-dered where Cape Town’s street names come from, you’ll love his new book:
A Bowlful of Names. Published by the Historical Society of Cape Town, it explains the origins of the names some of the city’s most inter-esting streets and lanes. “Did you know that Spin Street is named after what was once a silk-spinning factory between Plein Street and Parliament Street?” asks Peter, a retired univer-
sity lecturer and university librarian who was awarded the Mayor’s Medal for Cultural Affairs, after having explored the city on foot and penned no less than fi ve books on its streets.
Pick up a copy of A Bowlful of Names at Clarke’s Books, or for more information contact Peter Hart on 021 685 3498.
Named after people, places and produce, there’s a story behind every Cape Town street.
Zanele Kumalo and Zodwa Kumalo-Valentine outside Church in Spin Street
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Peter Hart and his new book, A Bowlful of Names.
11 around town July 2012 CityViews
CV What is your personal connection to Afrikaans and how did your background inspire you to become involved in the Afrikaaps project?I grew up in Kuilsriver and Dur-banville and my parents spoke Afrikaans, as did their parents, but my sister and I were raised in English. Afrikaans was always there in the background so I was excited when the project came along. The documentary is my representation of the journey of the Afrikaaps theatre show. It’s about what happened behind the scenes and it covers all the historical and anecdotal content that the show does.
CV What was the theatre show about?Basically a group of local art-ists, poets and musicians – Kyle Shepherd, Emile from Black Noise, Shane Cooper, Moenier Adams, Bliksemstraal, Jitsvinger, Jethro Louw and Blaq Pearl – and director Catherine Henegan and dramaturg Aryan Kaganof, created a stage production that traces the roots of Afrikaans and aims to reclaim and reframe the language.
CV How would you sum up the message of Afrikaaps? The message is that there is no pure or suiwer Afrikaans. The language started in the Cape in
the 1600s as a creole dialect, when slaves and indigenous peo-ple were speaking Dutch, so it’s ludicrous to think that the Kaaps dialect of Afrikaans is somehow less than offi cial Afrikaans. And most importantly, the language belongs to everyone who speaks it, not just Afrikaners.
CV How effective has the show and documentary been as a means of changing the way that everyday Capetonians think about Afrikaans?It’s been a revelation for people who have never heard this side of the story of Afrikaans, and for others it’s affi rmed the legiti-macy of their mother tongue. In the documentary one of the kids who goes to see the live show says, “I won’t be ashamed to speak the way that I do anymore” and that’s been the best kind of response. I think people are ready for this sort of questioning
of history to come out. It’s time for South Africans to rethink our prescribed identities.
CV Are you aware of any current plans to elevate the level of Kaaps Afrikaans to that of suiwer Afrikaans?Someone who publishes an Afri-kaans dictionary wrote to the director of the show, Catherine Henegan, to say that they are going to include more Kaaps words in it, and a symposium on Kaaps is taking place this month, so it seems that the language is getting more recognition now as a legitimate dialect, not only as a street language.
CV Do you and the rest of the Afrikaaps crew intend to continue spreading the story of Afrikaans as a language of liberation? There’s a lot of work to be done on the Cape Flats in terms of spreading the message and there’s more stuff in the pipeline so watch this space. Siendjy!
Find Dylan on Twitter (@dylan_valley) and purchase a copy of his documentary at Clarke’s Bookshop (211 Long Street, T: 021 423 5739) or the African Music Store (134 Long Street, T: 021 426 0857).
Woodstock-based fi lmmaker Dylan Valley explains how the Afrikaaps project is helping to reframe and reclaim the most spoken language in the Western Cape.
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Dylan Valley also took part in The Callings, an intervention that recently took place on the streets of the CBD.
Retelling the stories of our continentA local publication about Africa by Africans is a platform for free ideas and political refl ection.
Explore Chimurenga online here: www.chimurenga.co.za or pick up a copy of it or their latest offering, Chimurenganyana, at:
Clarke’s Books211 Long StreetT: 021 423 5739
The African Music Store134 Long Street T: 021 426 0857
The Book Lounge 71 Roeland StreetT: 021 462 2425
Blank Books 368 Albert Road
Mabu Vinyl2 Rheede StreetT: 021 423 7645
T he Callings formed part of the Exuberance Project, an event organised by the Gor-
don Institute for Performing and Creative Arts in collaboration with the Centre for African Studies and the Michaelis Gallery at UCT. Produced by Nicole Sarmiento, Memory Biwa and Tazneem Wen-tzel, fi fteen artists collaborated to produce a walking production about the city and slavery – incor-porating music, dance, poetry, per-formance and video installations. Nicole Sarmiento explains: “We were inspired by projects such as the Pan African Space Station
and Infecting the City, that help us forge new imaginary and sensual/sensorial maps of our urban envi-ronment ... We are interested in exploring rituals of memory, and how traces, bodies and fragments get remembered, buried, retold, imagined, mythologised and em-bodied. We are interested in what gets told, but also and even more so, in what gets left out.”
To see footage from The Callings visit https://vimeo.com/43386284.
Retelling the history of our city
Chimurenga is an annual pan-African publication of writing, art and politics. Based at the Pan African Market on Long Street, it was founded ten years ago by editor Ntone Edjabe as a vehicle to promote African literature and
exchange between African artists. It’s expanded since then to incorporate the organisation of and participation in ongoing cultural and literary activities, as well as the publishing of a range of books and periodicals, in print and online.
Liberating a language
“Cape Town is super-diverse: our history, our people,
our music, our landscape. We just need to build more
bridges across this diversity to
create more social cohesion.”
Dylan Valley at Little Ethiopia on Shortmarket Street
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12 CityViews April 201212
Straatwerk has job rehabilitation
projects for men and women.
021 425 0140
Salesian Institute Youth Projects
provide education, skills training and rehabilitation
to vulnerable youth. 021 425 1450
The Haven’s vision is to get the homeless home.
021 425 4700
The Homestead provides residential care and family integration for boys.
021 461 7470
Ons Plek provides residential care while undertaking reunification process for girls.
021 465 4829
The Carpenters Shopprovides rehabilitation services and skills training for adults.
021 461 5508
Many children and young adults living on the streets have severe drug addiction problems. More often than not, the money they receive from begging is used to buy their next “fix”.
The CCID therefore requests that members of the public do not give money or handouts directly. If you would like to help, please contact one of the listed organisations mentioned.
Contact the Central City Improve-ment District’s (CCID’s) Social Development Department for further information or assistance.
www.capetownpartnership.co.za
Pat 021 419 1881 | Dean 082 928 3862Headman Sirala-Rala 082 262 0113 Mark Williams 082 262 0112
July 2012
CV What makes Cape Town’s city centre so diverse?The city centre is one of the few places in Cape Town where people of many different nationalities rub shoulders. It’s also one of the areas of Cape Town where most people get around on foot and you can see diversity all around you – hear the many different languages being spo-ken, and see the variety of fabrics and colours worn by pedestrians.
CV Are there any areas that you fi nd particularly interesting?The area at the bottom end of Longmar-ket Street is a real mixture of shops and traders, different nationalities and good public spaces to watch everyone go by from. I like the buzz around the Earth Fair Food Market in St George’s Mall on a Thursday, with more people walking and riding bikes. And some of my favourite sightings have been the Somalian wedding parties I’ve come across in the Company’s Garden.
CV How did you go about capturing images for Sharp Sharp?By walking as much as possible. My book celebrates the South African street and the only way to discover the streets is to get out and walk them. I approached people who caught my eye and very quickly tried to get them to agree to be pho-tographed against a background that was close by and interesting to be photographed against. In Cape Town a lot of the street art I photo-graphed was outside the city centre because it can be diffi cult for artists to do their art here in the city centre. I discovered street graphics in the unlikeliest of places and I kept re-visiting favourite streets where the signage changed all the time.
CV How did Capetonians respond to being photographed for the book?As a rule most people seemed fl attered and happy to be photo-graphed. Occasionally people said no, which is understandable – not everyone feels comfortable being photographed in a public place by a
total stranger – but there were some people who said no who I still think about and wish I’d photographed and included in the book.
CV Is Cape Town as diverse as Johannesburg and Durban?Joburg feels more cosmopolitan, with citizens from across Africa liv-ing and working in the city centre, and there’s a real buzz to the streets and an excitement about being at the centre of what’s developing. In Durban there’s a trend towards an interesting combination of tradition-al dress and contemporary fashion. Cape Town is defi nitely diverse but it feels more stratifi ed.
CV Is there something unique that unites Capetonians? A Cape Town style?That’s quite diffi cult to answer. There are small style tribes but what underpins a lot of what Capetonians wear is a style that’s casual with a twist. It’s a bit unconventional. Per-haps what unites us is an under-standing that in order to keep the city centre interesting, you have to do more than just drive in and out of it everyday. I hope that a sense of the city being as good as those who live in it will ultimately unite us.
CV What do you love most about living in the city?I stay in Gardens and I love that most days to get into town I walk across De Waal Park, the Company’s Gar-den and down St George’s Mall. It’s pedestrianised almost all the way. I like using Government Avenue as my main thoroughfare and taking my daughters to the museums there on their skateboards. The fact that I see colours and fabrics from across Africa on our city streets always makes me smile, and I love the re-
sourcefulness and creativity of a lot of people I know in the city.
CV Your favourite places to eat, drink and play in the city centre?I like to get coffee at Bean There on Wale Street, a drink at Tjing Tjing on Longmarket Street; burgers at The Dogs Bollocks on Roodehek Street, and to see fi lms at The La-bia. After seeing Sonar at City Hall, I would love to see more gigs there.
CV What does the Cape Town CBD taste and smell like to you?Those red skinned peanuts you get from street vendors.
Experience Ed’s Cape Town for yourself by walking to his favourite city spots: Earth Fair Food MarketUpper St George’s Mall, off Wale and Church StreetThursdays 11h00 to 15h00www.earthfairmarket.co.za
Bean There58 Wale StreetT: 087 943 2228 www.beanthere.co.za
Tjing Tjing165 Longmarket StreetT: 021 422 4920www.tjingtjing.co.za
The Dog’s Bollocks6 Roodehek StreetT: 083 440 7843
The Labia68 Orange StreetT: 021 424 5927www.labia.co.za
“Perhaps what unites us is an understanding that in order to
keep the city centre interesting, you have to do more than just
drive in and out of it everyday. I hope that a sense of the city being as good as those who live in it will
ultimately unite us.”
my town
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Ed Suter
Photographer Ed Suter’s new book – Sharp Sharp, South Africa Street Style
– celebrates the diversity of downtown SA, and the art, fashion and attitude that makes our streets the dynamic
places they are.
My Cape Town: Ed Suter
Ed’s book retails for around R275 and is available from bookstores around the city, or you can contact Quivertree Publishing (T: 021 461 6808) for more information.
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