A handful of local businesses in central Stellenbosch recently collaborated to foster engagement between artists, galleries, and new audiences.
This is according to Gareth Pearson, co-founder of First Thursdays Organisation.
Launched in Stellenbosch on 1 May, First Thursdays Stellenbosch was brought together by First Thursdays Organisation, who coordinated local art galleries, restaurants, design stores, and other cultural attractions, said Pearson.
“First Thursdays is a monthly event in Cape Town, Johannesburg, and now Stellenbosch that occurs on the first Thursday of each month,” said Bianca Davis, gallery manager and curator at Gallery University Stellenbosch (GUS). “[The event] grants us the opportunity to offer our artists greater visibility, and to contribute to and grow our local creative community.”
“The idea was to join [First Thursdays to reach] people who had never heard about the place, especially students or people who regularly go to Stellenbosch or live in Stellenbosch,” said Marné Volschenk, gallery manager at Stellenbosch Modern and Contemporary (SMAC) gallery. “It’s a very good initiative for people to collaborate between the public and get to know certain spaces as well.” PHOTO: Kyla Laing
The event creates a different mode for people to view and enter a space, said Clara Babette, creative manager at Oude Leeskamer.
“We welcomed over 100 guests within the first hour and a half of opening,” said Davis. “Many of these visitors verbally expressed their interest in the work, took photographs and videos, and spent a lot of time in our space engaging with the art.”
“The response has been absolutely amazing,” said Salome White, gallery administrator at Art on Church Gallery. “I must say, for the first time that it has happened here in Stellenbosch, we’ve had loads of people come.”
Keenan Gilbert (25, left), PhD student in Physiological Sciences at Stellenbosch University (SU), and Daisy Saffron Glasby (22, right), final-year LLB student at SU, admiring the art at Oude Leeskamer. Oude Leeskamer displayed local contemporary works from the personal collection of Lindsay Klein (curator of Beryl Gallery in Cape Town), according to Clara Babette, creative manager at Oude Leeskamer. PHOTO: Kyla Laing
Making galleries open to everyone
Marné Volschenk, gallery manager at Stellenbosch Modern and Contemporary (SMAC) gallery, wants people to enjoy art within a curated space and not be afraid to ask questions.
“People don’t want to go into galleries because, one, they feel a little bit intimidated by the space; or two, they’ve never seen or heard about the place,” said Volschenk. “It’s time for people to go to places that they normally feel intimidated to go to.”
Volschenk said that if organisers continue to do their part and work with galleries and other participants to promote First Thursdays in Stellenbosch, it will last.
“If they could think of very different ways of making it more enticing, for instance, adding film or some sort of show at some gallery, I think that would bring people to go to the spaces,” said Volschenk.
Marné Volschenk, gallery manager at Stellenbosch Modern and Contemporary (SMAC) gallery, said that their current exhibition ‘slow burn’, which looks at contemporary Namibian artists, was curated for the Cape Town art fair. Volchenk thought that First Thursdays would be a good way to give the exhibit a last showing. “After next week, it will probably go down for the new show,” said Volschenk. “It will be a good way for people to come into the gallery and enjoy the art, and by the time they come back, there will be a new show.” PHOTO: Kyla Laing
First Thursdays Organisation is continuing to work with participants to grow and develop the Stellenbosch edition, according to Pearson.
“Our challenge is to ensure that there are enough new things to see each month to get people coming back,” said Pearson. “Between access to spaces and a wealth of cultural production in the town and university, we’re confident that a healthy cultural programme will develop over time.”
“Stellenbosch is a great place to have First Thursdays,” said Keenan Gilbert (25), PhD student in Physiological Sciences at Stellenbosch University. “They do have the galleries. They do have the wine and the culture. So it does fit.”