Natural Goods Market and Art on The Island takes place 27 October
The next Century City Natural Goods Market will take place on Central Park on Sunday 27 October and is being expanded to include an art element on Intaka Island.
All the usual delicious eats, snacks and drinks will be on sale with live music being provided by Time Flies and entertainment at 10.30amin the form of The Amazing Dog Show.
Art On The Island will kick off at this month’s market with a studio showcase of sculptures and drawings by Stefan Carstens, San stories told by Angola-born, !Xun-speaking Donika Dala (translated by her son Andre), and various craft artists and studios.
Stefan Carstens holds a National Fine Arts Diploma from the Witwatersrand Technikon in Johannesburg (2000). His work has been shown in solo exhibitions at the Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town (False Profit in 2003 and My Best Shot in 2012), Galerie M, Rue Saint Jacques, Paris (2005), the French Institute, Johannesburg (1996) and in a group exhibition at the Rembrandt van Rijn Gallery in Johannesburg (2000). In 2003 Reaper, which will be on show on Intaka Island, was selected for the Sasol competition exhibition in Pretoria.
From Balkenol-esque wood figurines to sculptures that incorporate agricultural tools or even graphic novel storyboards, Stefan says about his work: “I love labour, the act of making, of physically constructing and assembling and seeing work develop. From building habitable structures to manufacturing mass-produced objects (my first job was working for my parents who were commercial potters producing ceramic objets d’art for hotels and the like) and working on unique, personal pieces, there are, for me, few greater pleasures.” Without fail Carstens pieces manage to simultaneously reverberate an almost cartoonesque humor whilst dealing with life’s discomforts like fatigue and pain, boredom, discontentment and want. “Labour is after all the curse for original sin”.
Donika Dala hails from a San community in Angola, one of many that landed in Platfontein in the Kimberly district after the SWAPO border war. She currently resides at !Khwa ttu San Culture and Educational Centre, where she passes on her !Xun mother-tongue to her son Andre Chris Antonio. A multi-talented artist in his own right, Andre may surprise visitors with bebop dancing or a home-brew rap song in !Xun. With Century City’s original wetland as the setting, the place where undoubtedly San hunter-gatherers roamed centuries ago, Donika and Andre will be telling stories of birds and other animals, in a way only San people can. Times: 10h00, 12h00, and 13h00.
For the last Sunday of every month in season, visitors to Intaka Island may expect a different artist’s studio showcase each month, interactive cultural events such as storytelling sessions or portrait photo studios, and a variety of high-end craft artists too.
For further details go to www.centurycity.co.za. For details on Art On The Island contact Mirjam Asmal, Century City Arts Foundation Project Manager, mirjam@centurycity.co.za.