On a balmy Sunday evening last weekend in central Johannesburg, amid the bustle of the Hillbrow weekend shoppers and taxi-induced craziness, about 100 people gathered on the rooftop of the Drill Hall in Twist Street to participate in the first Skaftien event.
An initiative for both artists and audiences, Skaftien creates a space for artists to pitch their project ideas to an audience that has bought tickets priced on a sliding scale from R60 to R100. At the end of the night the audience votes for its favourite artist and the winning project receives the proceeds of the evening.
Last Sunday the grant was R6 000 and it went to an organisation called the Boitumelo Sewing Project, based in Hillbrow. Other projects in the running for the grant were a mix tape of all-female singers, poets and emcees, a documentary on Johannesburg’s public pools, a dance video and a literary journal.
Included in the price of the ticket is dinner, which at the first event was a bean-and-cheese bunny chow with braaied chicken and boerewors. Live music was provided by the new genre-defying Johannesburg band, The Brother Moves On, and DJs kept the crowd dancing far later than they usually would on a Sunday evening.
Skaftien may be the first event of its kind in Africa, although not in the world. Co-organiser Kevin Clancy brought the idea from his native United States, where similar events are held regularly under names such as Feast in Brooklyn and Sunday Soup in Chicago.
Skaftien is administrated by the Keleketla! Library and the artist who helps to run it, Rangoato Hlasane. The library, in the Drill Hall, has about 3 500 books that are used mainly by inner-city high school and college students.
Clancy met Hlasane when he first visited Johannesburg in 2009. He returned on a fellowship this year and was determined to get the event up and running. With Hlasane’s help, the first Skaftien, which means lunchbox in South African colloquial speak, kicked off.
“The name comes from the whole idea of food being left over from the night before and sustaining you through the day,” says Hlasane. “It is also something that people like to share.”
The purpose of the Skaftien events is to try “to break the notion that artists are poor and feeble”, says Clancy. “We are getting people to support a culture that they care about and they will be supported in return — The wonderful thing about this community is that the people supporting these artists are also doing amazing things themselves. Everyone’s welcome to apply.”
The duo are passionate about building up an artistic community around the events, with different DJs, cooks, bands, artists and audiences at each event.
To apply to take part in the next Skaftien event, go to www.skaftien.org