Public Eye staged the second Spier Outdoor Sculpture Biennale in collaboration with the Spier Arts Trust, in January 2004.
YDesire
After more than year’s hiatus, the 4th Softserve took place on 22 February 2003. Following in the footsteps of its predecessor YDETAG, it’s called YDESIRE after the event’s main sponsor Young Designer’s Emporium (YDE). No less a Public Eye event than the previous three, it was curated by artist and Public Eye member James Webb, who played a major role in YDETAG. He was been joined by Kim Stern, a Michaelis graduate responsible for ‘Aisle 5’, the art/ shopping event which took place in Cape Town in 2002. The event moved from its usual home, the South African National Gallery, to the Castle of Good Hope. This much larger venue was certainly more loaded, both ideologically and aesthetically, and provided a variety of spaces from its tranquil courtyards to its damp dungeons…
Read an article about the event on ArtThrob
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Voices in Transit
‘Voices in Transit’ opened on 16 March 2002 in Cape Town. It consisted of a range of cultural activities addressing issues of displacement, belonging and identity. Participants were mostly African refugees and exiles now resident in Cape Town, and, amongst other things, the project included a writers’ publication, dramatic performances and a visual art installation at the Cape Town Central Station. Various organisations such as the Cape Town Refugee Centre and the Community Arts Project were involved. Public Eye member Roger van Wyk was one of the chief organisers of the event and some funding was obtained through Public Eye.
Read a review on ArtThrob.
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Spier Outdoor Sculpture Biennale I
The first of these bi-annual events took place in January 2002 at two locations. Largely sponsored by the Spier Arts and Culture Trust, a number of well- and lesser known artists were invited to produce and exhibit outdoor works on the grounds of Spier Estate outside Stellenbosch. In addition, Pro Helvetia sponsored Swiss artist Urs Twellmann to take part in the project. A satellite exhibition opened shortly afterwards at the Jan Marais Nature Reserve in Stellenbosch. Here, a number of artists were commissioned to produce long lasting, site-specific outdoor work. Participating were Sanell Aggenbach, Bruce Arnott, Deborah Bell, Willie Bester, David Brown, Danny Carstens, Hettie de Klerk, Terry de Vries, Jacques Dhont, Randolph Hartzenberg, David Jones, Jacobus Kloppers, Nicole Meyer, Jo OÕConnor, Susan Reid, Sean Slemon, Urs Twellmann and Elmarie van der Merwe. This project was initiated by Kevin Brand and curated with Strijdom van der Merwe.
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YDETAG
YDETAG was the third incarnation of Softserve, staged on 7 September 2001. It took its name from main sponsor Young Designers’ Emporium (YDE) a clothing retailer marketing only the work of young independent designers. Specifically designed to foster collaborative productions, the event saw participants investigating issues of branding and advertising. YDETAG once again drew capacity crowds and raised a significant sum of money for the SANG’s acquisition fund.
This was curated by Andrew Putter along with James Webb, who at this stage, was not yet a member of Public Eye.
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One City Many Cultures II
Public Eye’s contribution to the festival in September 2000 took the form of two visual art exhibitions and one performance. Public Eye intern Mara Verna worked with Sheila Mahloane of Langa on ‘Good Times and Hard Times in Travelling’, a photo documentation of the journeys of a group of women from Langa. Artist Gregg Smith presented ‘Lovephones’, an interactive audio piece utilising the city’s public telephone system. Mark O’Donovan and performance group The Odd Enjinears took part in a street parade that formed part of the festival. Roger van Wyk and Robert Weinek co-ordinated these projects.
Public Eye facilitated funding by the Cape Town City Council of ‘Returning the Gaze’, a billboard and postcard project. This was initiated and run by cultural activist Zayd Minty of the arts organisation BLAC.
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Soft Serve II
Following the success of Soft Serve I, the South African National Gallery was host to a second multimedia event produced by Public Eye on 5 May 2000. Approximately 60 artists and performers were accommodated and more than 4000 people attended the event. Again, money raised at the door was donated to the gallery’s acquisition fund.
The event was curated by Zayd Minty, Heath Nash and Colin Payne with considerable assistance and input from Robert Weinek and Andrew Putter.
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Soft Serve I
In order to attract a younger and broader audience to the South Africa National Gallery, Public Eye initiated Softserve, a multi-media event which first took place on the evening of 5 November 1999. More than 30 young artists were invited to install and produce temporary works and performances in the gallery. Participants came from as far afield as Johannesburg, Grahamstown and Durban. The evening’s audience numbered 1500 and R15,000 of the door takings went to the SANG’s acquisition fund. It was curated by Andrew Putter with assistance from Sue Williamson.
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One City Many Cultures
The One City Many Cultures Festival, still running in 2018 as the Cape Town Festival, was first launched on 1 March 1999. The five day festival took place under the auspices of the Cape Town City Council who approached Public Eye to co-ordinate a number of visual art components. Working with Isaac Makeleni, director of Masivuke Ma-Afrika, six artists painted street signs in Gugulethu, indicating points of interest for tourists. Also, a group of art students painted posters and murals at the Cape Town Station and other venues around the city.
At the request of the Cape Town City Department of Health, Public Eye undertook the design and manufacture of a number of pamphlets and large banners for a campaign aimed at raising awareness of AIDS amongst young people. Vinyl panels, promoting the use of condoms, were also displayed on the city’s rubbish removal trucks.
Andrew Putter represented Public Eye on the discussion panel entitled ‘Revitalising and Democratising Public Spaces in Cape Town’, organised by Zayd Minty for the Mail & Guardian newspaper.
The Mayor of Cape Town Nomaindia Mfeketo made a speech at the opening:
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PTO, also part of the One City, Many Cultures Festival, was initiated by Public Eye who invited more than 20 artists to engage with national monuments. These temporary ‘re-considerations’ were unveiled on Heritage Day. Artists in Durban and Johannesburg participated in their respective cities. This was co-ordinated by Brett Murray and Kevin Brand.
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