HERITAGE MUSEUM/ARTS & CULTURE EDUCATION CENTRE/CAPE TOWN: Denis Goldberg House of Hope Arts & Culture Education Centre, Hout Bay, fundraising concert, Thursday February 13, 2020
Ukufikelela – reaching out-Denis Goldberg House of Hope fundraising concert: preview
✔️ Date: Thursday February 13, 2020, 6pm for 7pm.
✔️ Venue: Marquee on the site of the Denis Goldberg House of Hope Arts & Culture Education Centre – which will be built on the grounds of The Hout Bay Museum.
✔️ Address: 4 Andrews Road, Hout Bay.
✔️ Time: 6pm for 7pm (breyani and eats served before)
✔️ Tickets and other info at end of this post.
Harnessing hope and joy from an Apartheid struggle archive of exile and loss:
Dennis Goldberg is gifting his personal collection of art, objects and mementoes to the Denis Goldberg House of Hope Arts & Culture Education Centre- a cultural hub which is being established in his name, in Hout Bay, on the site of The Hout Bay Museum.
The project came about when Goldberg wondered what he should do with his personal collection. He is 86 (87 in April 2020) and fighting terminal lung cancer.
His diverse collection has been amassed through a life, marked by physical interruption and dislocation. He was banned by the Apartheid regime as it tried to muzzle and silence his activism. In 1964, he was jailed for life at The Rivonia Trial, alongside Nelson Mandela and others, in the struggle for a Democratic South Africa. Four years before The Rivonia Trial, in 1960, Goldberg was jailed, with his mother, for four months; without trial. There is more but that gives a sense of what this living icon has encountered.
Throughout his life of disruption, he continued to collect art and support artists. He remained present– engaging with others and embracing art, ideas and images.
After a life of confinement and exile, he returned to live in South Africa. Sixteen years ago, he put down roots in Hout Bay.
Dealing with his illness, he arrived at the point of deciding to either sell his collection, give parts away or donate it to an institution. It was suggested that he establish a home for the collection in Hout Bay. That idea germinated and expanded to incorporate a cultural hub to provide a platform for residents in the area – particularly from under resourced communities in areas of Hout Bay which are marginalised because of poverty and the fallout from Apartheid which has left so many of our citizens, without the means to make a living wage.
There is Hout Bay which is prized real estate and sought after for its views and access to beaches and the harbour and then is the rest –with a leitmotif of poverty and hopelessness. However, there is also tremendous enterprise in Imizamo Yethu and Hangberg, albeit with not nearly enough funding and support for those trying to be entrepreneurial – economically and creatively.
For the most post, Imizamo Yethu and Hangberg are disconnected from the food and markets at the Hout Bay harbour; boutiques, restaurants, wellness stops on the main road.
Goldberg’s vision is not only to establish a gallery/museum but also to create a platform for visual, performing and creative arts. It is about providing a space for people to engage with each other; with his collection; his story; stories of his comrades.
Perhaps most importantly, underpinning the project, is the urgent need to unite people on this site – to encourage an intersection with people who drive past and whiz through the traffic circle- without stopping.
It is envisaged that the centre will eventually have an auditorium which could be used to stage theatre, concerts, screen films and so on. Extra mural classes will be offered – particularly for youngsters in the vicinity and there will be holiday programmes.
Here, at the start of 2020, the Denis Goldberg House of Hope Arts & Culture Education Centre (DGHOH ) is becoming a physical reality- not just a great idea. The concert on February 13, will herald its birth as a physical presence in Hout Bay.
The concert will take place in a marquee (seating 270) on the spot where the DGHOH will be built.
Funds for the start-up phase of building have been raised (about three million rand). Once the plans have been passed through Council, it is hoped that construction can commence in March this year (2020), says Debbie Budlender, the manager and fundraiser for DGHOH.
Photo on this article – painting of Dennis Goldberg. Pic supplied by the DGHOH. The artist? No details available. Please let us know if you know who painted this portrait.
The concert on February 13 is titled Ukufikelela (reaching out in isiXhosa). Artists include:
Jessica Nupen – choreography (South Africa/Germany)
Matthijs van Dijk – composer (South Africa)
Erita Chen – ballet, contemporary and classical Chinese dancer (Hong Kong)
Abigail Overmeyer and Rian Jansen – Jazzart (Cape Town)
Ingoma Choir (Hout Bay)
Amoyo Performing Arts Centre – dancers (Hout Bay)
Zanele Ndlovu – storyteller, musician and artist (Eastern Cape)
Sibusiso Lerole – musician, penny whistle (Johannesburg)
Young musicians from the Miagi Orchestra (Soweto) and Cape Town Youth Orchestra
Trey Lee – cello (Canada/Hong Kong/Germany)
Gareth Lubbe (director) – overtone singing, violin/viola (South Africa/Germany)
The Western Cape provincial government has awarded a 99-year lease of the site to the Denis Goldberg Legacy Foundation Trust, to enable the trust to use the land in Andrews Road, on which the Hout Bay Museum is located. Great to see land of an under-used museum which dates back to the Apartheid era, being repurposed.
The project is about triggering physical and emotional interaction and connection in a vibrant cultural hub. Support the project by donating online https://goldberghouseofhope.co.za/ and/or buy a ticket to attend the concert on February 13, 2020.
This is an ongoing project. There will be other events. Watch this space.
Ukufikelela – reaching out: Denis Goldberg House of Hope – concert ?/ travel ✈️advisory:
Date and time: Thursday February 13, 2020 6pm-9pm. Concert starts 7pm. Refreshments- including breyani will be served before (included in ticket price).
Venue: marquee on the grounds of the Hout Bay Museum, Andrews Road 4, Scott Estate, Cape Town, South Africa, 7806
Booking: Quicket: https://qkt.io/Ukufikelela
Tickets: R300 plus R5 booking fee. Donations may also be made online, through the Quicket link or online http://www.goldberghouseofhope.co.za/
