Jacki McInnes, Abandoned Land I, 2021, mine dump dust, photostat, oils, oxides, wood glue on ply, 90 x 90 cm. (Artist’s Collection)
Jacki McInnes: Filthy Rich/Dirt Poor
With this exhibition, McInnes interrogates the deeply inequitable status of contemporary South Africa and the leading role played by Johannesburg’s informal recyclers. Their back-breaking work is undoubtedly for the betterment of society and yet they are subjected to extreme levels of stigmatisation and marginalisation. With this in mind, McInnes’s research centres on “value judgments”. In the first instance, as these pertain to trash, but, more especially, as they extend to the city’s recyclers themselves.
Details: Wits Art Museum; Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 4pm. In accordance with Covid regulations there are restrictions on the number of people allowed into the museum at a time, so booking is essential. Please call 011 717 1358 or 011 717 1365, or email [email protected].
(Un)Infecting the City
Infecting the City, renamed (Un)Infecting the City, brings art, music, dance and performance out of theatres and galleries and into public spaces around Cape Town. As South Africa grapples with the Covid-19 pandemic, and more recently, the fires in the city at the University of Cape Town, this year’s (Un)Infecting the City will have a thematic focus on the psychological and social effects of this time.
Details: This year’s event consists of eight distinct programmes, created by 50 artists. They are all free to the public. Please visit infectingthecity.com/2021 for details. The programme may be subject to change.
Handle with Care
The exhibition borrows its title from the work Handle with Care (1994) by Johannesburg-based artist Kagiso Pat Mautloa. The exhibition aims to facilitate the mediation of its previously private collections by constructing a repository of knowledge to which people from different backgrounds can claim belonging. In a world that is collectively experiencing the uneven effects of Covid-19, the administration of care has become even more crucial. Handle with Care is organised into four themes, mediated through entry points created by four artists: Neo “Hlasko” Mahlasela, Tebogo George Mahashe, Sabelo Mlangeni and Nyakallo Maleke.
Also featured is the work of Mmakgabo Helen Sebidi, Penny Siopis, David Koloane, Gerard Sekoto, Robin Rhode, Jo Ractliffe, Santu Mofokeng, Adrian Piper and Antonio Ole, among many others.
Handle with Care is curated by Javett-UP curatorial director Gabi Ngcobo and a team comprising Danielle Oosthuizen, Puleng Plessie, Sinethemba Twalo and Tlotlo Lobelo, supported by the Javett-UP technical team, South32 Art Collection caretaker Mary-Jane Darroll, Georgina Glass and Chris de Klerk.
Details: The centre is open daily from 10am to 5pm. The exhibition will be open to the public from 8 May 2021 until 9 January 2022. Javett-UP Art Centre is situated on 23 Lynnwood Road, Elandspoort 357-Jr, Pretoria. For more information, visit javettup.art.
Themba Mkhize Jazz Experience
Jazz pianist Themba Mkhize takes to the Opera Stage at The Playhouse Company in Durban for a one-night only concert on Friday 15 May. He will be supported by vocalist Nokukhanya Dlamini.
Details: The show starts at 7pm. Tickets cost R100 and are available at webtickets.co.za.
Saul Williams will be headlining the Live Ideas 2021 virtual festival next week. (Courtesy of Music Like Dirt)
Hybrid 8th Annual Live Ideas Festival of Art and Ideas Exploring Afrofuturism
Live Ideas 2021: Altered-Worlds: Black Utopia and the Age of Acceleration, which features six days of live and virtual performances, installations, a symposium, and more, opens with a virtual Live Ideas gala honouring David Adjaye, Spike Lee and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Festival headliner Saul Williams presents and performs new music featuring direction by Bill T Jones and world-premiere choreography from Maria Bauman, Kayla Farrish, Marjani Forté-Saunders, d Sabela Grimes, Jasmine Hearn, and Shamel Pitts
Details: The Live Arts Gala will be held on 10 May and the Live Ideas Festival runs from 11 to 15 May. For more information, visit newyorklivearts.org/programs/liveideas. The Live Arts Gala costs $100 to attend; many of the other events on the programme are free.