Art in the winelands
by Tavish McIntosh
With the Gallery at Grande Provence opening a 'sculpture garden' and Spier Wine Estate launching the Beam Gallery, it all seems set for the winelands to take over the Cape art market. Other additions to the art route in the winelands are Bell-Roberts' recently launched gallery space at Lourensford Wine Estate and the SMAC Gallery in Stellenbosch. Hot on the heels of the international art boom, this move out from the inner city into the popular winelands routes shows how our art market is capitalising on the growing tourist market.
Cape Town city centre has seen its fair share of new galleries in recent months, but this recent growth into the winelands is unprecedented. The gallery circuit has traditionally been thoroughly town-bound, but recent trends have seen galleries moving outwards into suburbs like Woodstock (Goodman Gallery Cape and whatiftheworld/Gallery), Salt River (Salt) and even the townships (the Gugulective). Now, as far afield as Somerset West and Franschhoek, galleries have started to spring up. Galleries are linked to the movement of capital and this expansion can be no exception. The international boom in the art market has been fuelled by the development of many new investors worldwide. By marketing local art along the tourist routes, galleries are exploiting this international growth in the art market and providing more opportunities for visitors to the country to latch onto their products.
Beam Gallery at Spier is linked with the Africa Centre, which will host the inaugural Spier Contemporary art awards later this year. The Beam Gallery is a small space, part of the original estate, and appears eager to showcase cutting edge artists, debuting with Anton Kannemeyer. The Spier Estate has been a vital contributor to the dramatic arts in recent years and looks determined to extend this patronage into the visual arts. Artist residencies on the estate will hopefully feed into the gallery space, providing visitors with a dynamic example of local avant-gardism.
The Gallery at Grande Provence's 'sculpture garden' is more resolutely commercial, and will revolve sculptures at will, providing visitors an opportunity to view the installed products. Nonetheless, with artists like Jacques Dhont in the line-up, there might be a few interesting pieces worth strolling the lawns for. The Gallery at Grande Provence prides itself on its aesthetic acumen, catering for the tasteful homeowner.
Somewhere in-between the two, the Bell-Roberts at Lourensford aims at a less resolutely intellectual viewer than its city counterpart, encouraging the development of a new art market with shows that combine education with stimulation. The shows are organised to give visitors an entry point into the local scene. The gallery is situated in the rarefied surroundings of the Lourensford Wine Estate, making it easily accessible for the nervous tourist who can sip their way through the vintages before facing the challenges posed by the local artists.
The SMAC Gallery in Stellenbosch concentrates on local examples of modern and contemporary work. The gallery is a vast network of interlinking rooms, providing ample space for artists to let loose. The gallery produces a catalogue to accompany each exhibition, also pointing to an important level of professionalism in the winelands circuit.
All in all, this is enough to make even born-and-bred Capetonians consider venturing out of the safety of the mountain's shadow.
