Matthew Krouse
The latest incentive to bring culture to the inner city on a grand scale will probably be greeted with scepticism from suburban quarters. It’s winter again, and inner city culture suffers historically in the cold.
Working against the weather, and metropolitan apathy, the French Institute kicks off its bold plan to stage a day-long city celebration this Saturday, July 10. The Newtown Cultural Precinct will pay host to a programme that includes dance, jazz, children’s events, exhibitions and films.
Press releases for the event claim that Saturday’s free party is “a day of rejoicing and discovery – the common initiative of all the structures operating in the area”. The list of organisations turns out to be quite large. Indeed, one often forgets how many cultural outfits there are in the Newtown vicinity to start with.
The list of cultural businesses in Newtown that will participate in Saturday’s event is 20- strong, and includes all Market Theatre venues as well as the Artist Proof Studio, Carfax, the Horror Caf, Speedy Bag Factory, the Workers Library, the Dance Factory, Megamusic, Museum Africa and the Film Resource Unit.
Starting at 9am, free dance classes will be held at the Dance Factory in West African dance and Afro Jazz dance. Museum Africa will hold children’s paper craft workshops, South African Breweries Centenary Centre will show Djibril Diop Mambety’s La Petite Vendues de Soleil and the Market Theatre Laboratory will showcase a day of community theatre.
Art exhibitions will take place in the Rembrandt van Rijn Galleries and at the Fordsburg Artists’ Studio where artists Kay Hassan and Joachim Schonfeldt will display their works.
The Mary Fitzgerald Square will play host to magician Rashid and French accordionist Michel Macias. At 4pm Megamusic Warehouse will show The Fantastic Guys from Zaire. The event will continue late into the night with French and Afro funk events happening at Carfax and at the Horror Caf.
So why go to the National Arts Festival, when you can celebrate at home?
For more information call the French Institute. Telephone (011) 836-0561