New artists' residency at Kwa Mamli
by Tavish McIntosh
One important spin-off of the Cape '07 programme was its outreach programme, which has resulted in some of the most interesting and provocative performances and installations. It also resulted in the search for new spaces to make and display art. Critics and curators all noted the importance of the Khayelitsha display. One of the other locations to have emerged from this was the Kwa Mamli shebeen in Guguletu.
Having played host to various informal exhibitions associated with Cape '07, the shebeen was recently the counterpart to Bettina Malcomess' 'Upstairs/Downstairs' at the AVA. Obviously the dynamics of the two partnered shows were very different - with one taking place in the historic AVA space at the centre of the CBD and the other at the physical and ideological periphery of the township. With kids hanging over the walls to stare at the strange gathering of outlandish artsy folk, 'Downstairs/Upstairs' was not only an inversion of the hierarchies associated with space, it was also an inversion of the viewing politics.
An uneasy, but highly productive tension existed between the four walls of the yard. It is this productive tension that is going to be explored further as the Kwa Mamli shebeen opens itself as an artists' residency. The first artists to take up the residency initiated by the Gugulective will be Doug Gimberg and Christian Nerf. The duo will be working on enlarging their previous installation at Kwa Mamli, by creating a life-size boat to travel to Robben Island with. Let's hope the residency lasts longer than Gimberg and Nerf's boat is likely to.
