It's a Wild West - Down South
by Kim Gurney
Perhaps Cape Town's popularity as a movie-making venue has gone a little to its head. Because, according to one commentator, the city is not the sleepy little hollow with which most South Africans equate it. In fact, it is more like the Wild West.
Zayd Minty, an arts consultant, told a Cape Town audience last week that the Mother City had a chaotic energy that was there for the taking. He said: "It is the Wild West out there - whoever wants to own it, owns it. So pull out your six guns and go out with confidence: you can take whatever you want."
But before packing a pistol and John Wayne gait and heading down south, Minty's comments were not a literal exhortation. They were made in response to a lunchtime lecture series debate at the Michaelis School of Fine Art on the topic of 'Who Owns the City?'.
Each city centre is a complex, cosmopolitan space with many different sectors claiming some ownership of it. But in terms of culture, who actually has claim to the city and in what form? Most panellists were in agreement: the city belonged to a broad spectrum of stakeholders. But they differed in their particular perspectives.
Minty acknowledged the role of the state and the increasing popularity of closed corporate parties in the Mother City. But he said a third element - the significant influence of gangs - was largely overlooked.
Carl Johnson, who organized the Cape Town Festival and 'Night Vision', said the city belonged to any people with initiative to express themselves. He emphasized the considerations of holding cultural events in public spaces. The complexity largely revolved around the number of stakeholders impacted.
Issues had to be resolved in a way that respected everyone's needs without jeopardizing the success of the event itself. Johnson said: "You need a sensitivity towards beliefs, philosophies and practices." Sponsorship is a major factor too and Johnson's message was clear: money comes with serious strings attached.
Yasmine Colley, co-ordinator of Arts and Culture for the Cape Town council, said politics had everything to do with art - although that notion was unpopular. As a result, funding bodies had to consider current concerns like equity, job creation, poverty alleviation, safety and youth development when selecting projects.
Questions from the audience then moved the debate into more tangential arguments about access, definitions of the city, and skewed perceptions. The general consensus, however, was that arts and culture were a powerful tool for reclaiming ownership and the opportunity for engagement was there for the taking.
