Robert Colman
Lifestyle
Two homegrown enterprises and a French import have brought fresh life to the Johannesburg suburb of Troyeville. If you aren’t a local it’s well worth crossing the northern suburbs curtain to try them.
First stop is the Spaza Art Gallery. Artist Andrew Lindsay has gathered a rich network of young talent from all over South Africa and Spaza provides a place for their work to be seen and sold.
For buyers it provides a gallery housing work with a cultural and regional mix. The gallery houses established artists such as Troyevillite Steven Cohen as well as Bloemfonteinbased Eausibius Nawa, a former miner whose pictures depict his working experience; Andile Mosongwela, who works as a sign writer in Bazana; a group of young Tembisa artists and many others.
Besides paintings, prints and drawings there is an eclectic range of items on sale. These include Tshirts and scarves by upmarket designer Clive Rundle and products from community selfemployment schemes, including stoneware from Lesotho, tables from a mine workers’ project, lamps with shades from a papermaking workshop in Morokweng, handmade dolls and radio consoles.
Prices range from R30 to R5?000. Spaza has a new show opening on May 1: Workers, Shrikers and Lurkers.
A few blocks from Spaza you’ll find Eats Chow Time, a Chinese takeaway. Sophiatownborn owner Terry Tims, who serves on the executive of the Troyeville Residents Association, opened Eats Chow Time after he was retrenched. With the help of his wife Maureen he makes and sells food from home. At present they only fill orders, ensuring that everything is fresh, but you can order and collect food giving as little as halfanhour’s notice. Tims is busy refurbishing and plans to provide tables where he’ll soon be serving a sitdown menu. He also caters for parties.
Eats Chow Time’s specialties are stir fries with noodles, sweetandsour dishes, spring rolls and sweet pork dumplings char sui bao. Prices range from R2,50 to R12 for portions.
Round off your Troyeville travels at Peg’s Cosy Corner, a jazz caf run by Aymeric Peguillan, otherwise known as Pegs. Hotelschool trained, Pegs, a former classical violinist, has created a caf with an easygoing atmosphere, the kind of place you can chat or go to on your own and read a magazine where women don’t feel threatened or hit on. It attracts a mixed crowd; young and old, black and white. You can sit at tables, couches or in the courtyard and there is secure parking.
The combination of jazz in the background with Troyeville’s stunning view of the Jo’burg skyline is a winning mix. The fully licensed bar offers a range of coffees, teas and other hot beverages and a small menu that changes daily. The regular features are nachos and salsa and cheesecake. Prices range from R10 to R25 and there is always a vegetarian option.
Saturday nights feature Latino jazz and Sundays are listening sessions, with an artist or theme presented. Pegs plans to convert it into a livemusic venue but for now he offers a range of South African, Latino and American jazz. He is also planning to run “openslideprojector” sessions, following a successful slide presentation of a local artist’s work. One of the features of Peg’s is the late closing hours. “If you are looking for somewhere to go at two in the morning, Peg’s is open.”
Lindsay sums up the attraction of Troyeville for both local and international tourists. “It is a genuine, authentic experience … an unsanitised view in an unsanitised neighbourhood.” If, however, you absolutely need to walk from underground parking on to marbled tiles and into the fluorescent lighting of a mall, what can I say? Stay at home and miss out.
Spaza Art: 19 Wilhelmina Street. Tel: (011) 614?9354. Open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm. Eats Chow Time: 35 Cornelia Street. Tel: (011) 614?4204. Open until 8pm daily. Peg’s Cosy Corner: 6 Pretoria Street, Cnr Nourse Street. Tel: (011) 646?3376/ 072 216 6615. Open Thursday to Saturday 6.30pm till late. Sunday 1pm till late