The Actual Date Change Press Release
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Here's the official press release for the Cape thing:
Change of date
TRANS CAPE: 24 March – 30 April 2007
Over 60 Artists from 19 African Countries in 24 Venues in Cape Town.
CAPE Africa Platform has taken a strategic decision to change the dates for the TRANS CAPE and X-CAPE exhibition programme.
TRANS CAPE, set to open on 23 September and close on 22 October 2006, will now take place from 24 March to 02 May 2007.
Chairman of the Board of Directors, Cape Africa Platform, Ian Bartes comments, “after careful examination of the difficult fundraising climate we are facing, and the current delays in funding from key stake holders, the Board has made the strategic decision to allow for some of our partners to match their verbal commitments with concrete support. This decision has been made in conjunction with the City of Cape Town, and the respective Provincial departments who are excited about the impact TRANS CAPE will make to the 2007 creative calendar.
This extended period will improve and enhance the exhibition to exceed all expectations next year.”
CAPE Africa Platform CEO, Susan Glanville- Zini says that the date change was further prompted by enormous interest from corporate sector to support the project in the new financial year. “Although this decision raises new challenges, ultimately it also provides many new opportunities. In just over six months CAPE has managed to put in place the TRANS CAPE exhibition, its publications, logistics, the X-CAPE programme and secured key partnerships. Without the financial guarantees to meet our commitments this benchmark event must be delayed.”
Artistic Director Gavin Jantjes says, “The Board of Cape Africa Platform’s decision to postpone TRANS CAPE has been taken to secure the proper delivery of the exhibition to the people of Cape Town and in the best interest of the artists. South Africa has to wait just a little while longer for its first large-scale exhibition of African contemporary art and I am certain that the local public and international visitors will not lose their desire to experience at first hand, some of the best art Africa can offer. The curatorial team will continue to work on the project over the coming months and liaise with all the artists and venues to strengthen what we set out to do and create an excellent exhibition.”
“The change of date will also be of value to local artists participating in X-CAPE, the artist-led component of the exhibition. The extension will insure enough time for greater national participation,” says X-CAPE coordinator Storm van Rensburg.
Any further changes to the list of TRANS CAPE artists or venues will be announced on the website, www.capeafrica.org. Apart from delivering the exhibition in 2007, the full CAPE team will be engaged with implementing an ongoing programme of cultural events, arts awareness activities, lectures and workshops.
CAPE Africa Platform would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused to funders, venue and media partners, as well as members of the arts community and public and calls for their ongoing support.
Change of date
TRANS CAPE: 24 March – 30 April 2007
Over 60 Artists from 19 African Countries in 24 Venues in Cape Town.
CAPE Africa Platform has taken a strategic decision to change the dates for the TRANS CAPE and X-CAPE exhibition programme.
TRANS CAPE, set to open on 23 September and close on 22 October 2006, will now take place from 24 March to 02 May 2007.
Chairman of the Board of Directors, Cape Africa Platform, Ian Bartes comments, “after careful examination of the difficult fundraising climate we are facing, and the current delays in funding from key stake holders, the Board has made the strategic decision to allow for some of our partners to match their verbal commitments with concrete support. This decision has been made in conjunction with the City of Cape Town, and the respective Provincial departments who are excited about the impact TRANS CAPE will make to the 2007 creative calendar.
This extended period will improve and enhance the exhibition to exceed all expectations next year.”
CAPE Africa Platform CEO, Susan Glanville- Zini says that the date change was further prompted by enormous interest from corporate sector to support the project in the new financial year. “Although this decision raises new challenges, ultimately it also provides many new opportunities. In just over six months CAPE has managed to put in place the TRANS CAPE exhibition, its publications, logistics, the X-CAPE programme and secured key partnerships. Without the financial guarantees to meet our commitments this benchmark event must be delayed.”
Artistic Director Gavin Jantjes says, “The Board of Cape Africa Platform’s decision to postpone TRANS CAPE has been taken to secure the proper delivery of the exhibition to the people of Cape Town and in the best interest of the artists. South Africa has to wait just a little while longer for its first large-scale exhibition of African contemporary art and I am certain that the local public and international visitors will not lose their desire to experience at first hand, some of the best art Africa can offer. The curatorial team will continue to work on the project over the coming months and liaise with all the artists and venues to strengthen what we set out to do and create an excellent exhibition.”
“The change of date will also be of value to local artists participating in X-CAPE, the artist-led component of the exhibition. The extension will insure enough time for greater national participation,” says X-CAPE coordinator Storm van Rensburg.
Any further changes to the list of TRANS CAPE artists or venues will be announced on the website, www.capeafrica.org. Apart from delivering the exhibition in 2007, the full CAPE team will be engaged with implementing an ongoing programme of cultural events, arts awareness activities, lectures and workshops.
CAPE Africa Platform would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused to funders, venue and media partners, as well as members of the arts community and public and calls for their ongoing support.
posted by Robert Sloon at 1:45 PM
7 Comments:
Barely two weeks after CAPE Africa Platform finally released the list
of the 64 artists participating on the main programme of TRANS CAPE
main event and little more than a month to opening date, a CAPE
press release announced that the event scheduled to open in 24 venues
in and around Cape Town on September 23 has been postponed for six
months.
Citing business partners who had failed to fulfil promises of
funding, the artistic director of TRANS CAPE, Gavin Jantjes, said
that with the funding on hand, TRANS CAPE would have run out of money
in the opening weeks. Shades of the 2nd Johannesburg Biennale, which
did not run full term for similar reasons.
While one is always sympathetic to funding difficulties, one has to
ask if this last minute postponement is really serving the best cause
of art in this country. Thousands of visitors were expected, many
senior figures in the artworld had already booked air flights,
artists had been working flatout to meet the opening date.
Surely it was crystal clear right from the start (last December when
the event was announced at the CAPE conference) that nine months was
far too short a time to plan a complex and expensive programme like
TRANS CAPE. A lead time of eighteen months would have been more
realistic. Alternatively, if it really had to open in September
2006, that a manageable programme should be planned.
Regrettably, it is not just the TRANS CAPE people who have been left
with a severe credibility gap, but the entire South African
art world will suffer from residual damage.
Sue Williamson
FOUNDING EDITOR
Do the Cape honchos keep paying themselves a nice salary, now that it's off?? How about a deep-throat artheat investigation????
Maybe cape should be banned???
Where is all the support for Cape???
is brett kebble behind cape??
I presume you mean founding editor of ArtThrob?
I always knew Sue Williamson was Robert Sloon! Now your secret's out. Ha! Ha!
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