Norway 1, Bafana 0
Thursday, October 15, 2009
via SA Art Times
Steve Kretzmann: As from this afternoon, whether or not Cape Africa Platform is to be liquidated largely relies on the largesse of their former artistic director Gavin Jantjies. Cape Africa Platform ran the Cape07 and Cape09 biennales, and aims to create groundbreaking contemporary art events that connect Cape Town culturally with the rest of the continent and the diaspora.
But their existence is now precarious.
This follows an appearance in the Cape High Court today (subs: Wed) in which Jantjies sought to sue for more than R300 000 for breach of contract related to the Section 21 company’s ill-fated attempt to host the first biennale in 2006, a claim to which Cape Africa Platform (CAPE) this afternoon conceded judgement.
The litigation stems from CAPE’s inability to pay R155 000 of the R622 000 fee agreed to between the two parties.
Jantjies is suing for that amount, plus interest and legal costs.
According to CAPE CEO Mirjam Asmal-Dik, Norway-based Jantjies was contracted to curate the ambitious 2006 event and developed an exhibition which would have cost R11 million, a third of which involved paying for the transportation and insurance of international artist’s work.
“We couldn’t get that money…there was no chance,” said Asmal-Dik.
Instead, she said a counter offer was made for Jantjies to work within a R2 – R3 million budget, which he refused.
“We should have told him then that it (his refusal) was a breach of contract.”
Eventually a compromise was reached, and after the CAPE 06 event was first postponed and then cancelled, a reduced CAPE 07 event was held in which Jantjies worked with local and international artists who produced their work in situ rather than transporting finished works from galleries and studios – an approach which would have been contrary to CAPE’s ethos.
When the dust settled, Jantjies apparently still owed CAPE 25 days of work and he was owed R155 000, an amount CAPE agreed to settle in full as soon as outstanding funding – predominantly an amount for R2,85 million from the Lotto – came through.
But she said a week after the exhibit she received a summons from Jantjies for the money.
Asmal-Dik said she admitted CAPE, and the board of directors, made a number of mistakes regarding this issue. Acting on good faith was one of them, she said.
With a weak legal case – but a strong moral one, she argued – their legal representative Deneys van Reenen appeared in court this morning asking for a postponement in order to attempt to gather evidence and further legal ammunition.
Judge Lee Bozalek was not convinced, however, and his refusal to grant a postponement was the nail in the coffin for CAPE’s legal case, resulting in their decision to consent to judgement rather than drag out a losing case and incur further legal fees.
Asmal-Dik said CAPE simply did not have the money and should Jantjies insist on receiving the approximately R300 000 he’s asking for, they would have to go into liquidation, something she said he had already threatened them with.
Jantjies’s legal representative Riaan Meintjies, confirmed CAPE had, during the course of the afternoon, consented to judgement.
Regarding the possibility of forcing CAPE to liquidate, he said: “That is one of our options.”
He agreed that the matter was largely in Jantjies’s hands
(I don't think Jantjes actually had anything to do with Cape 07 in the end. Didn't he resign first?)
What is it with Cape, that everything just ends up tasting like ass? I like the Cape people, I know them and they're great. But somehow it always ends up in another problem. They're like Bafana Bafana, obsessed with defense but cannot break through at the front, suffering from chronic lack of imagination. Still, I hope Jantjes can cool his heels. Cape may be a fuck-up, plagued by unprofessionalism, good faith contracts and a lack of self-belief, but if they get liquidated everyone loses.
Or maybe it is time for euthanasia and time for a new shiny biennale style project, that can learn from Cape's failures, take on some of its experienced staff, think smaller and better. I live in hope.
posted by Robert Sloon at 11:32 AM
17 Comments:
I also like the people working with Cape, but I have yet to meet anyone who has interacted with Mirjam Dik who has found her to operate on the level. She appears, judging from a host of sources who feel the same way, to hijack both funding and ideas which were not her own, to assign work to people without consulting them first, to abuse generosity, to be rude, high-handed, aggressive, inappropriate and delusional, and overall to be doing more harm than good. Perhaps she is not as bad as this, but it seems unlikely that so wide a variety of people would be making up the same story, even people who have only been in the country a couple of days. So it seems that it might be better for Cape if, rather than go bankrupt completely, they replaced the person who seems to be the centre of the trouble.
I'm not sure that is entirely fair. After all, the whole mess with Jantjes started before Asmal-Dik was CEO.
I'm not sure that is entirely fair. After all, the whole mess with Jantjes started before Asmal-Dik was CEO.
Without wanting to defend Jantjes who seemed to piss off many people in a short time, my memory of events was that the 'idea' of Cape as an event where visiting artists would share process with locals ( and not be another Grand Prix of super world beater ( as in wife beater rather than panel beater) works flown in at huge expense) ONLY EMERGED AFTER THE CAPE PEOPLE (not Jantjes, but those who hired him) failed to raise their budgets.
Steve's account is incorrect. The developing 'in situ' was the emergency post-Gavin plan.
Mirjam is less than honest. If you contract someone on the basis of their proposal and assure them you'll raise the money then take responsibility. And as a founding Board member Mirjam must stop pretending she was not involved in appointing Gavin.
If I should be shopping at Mr Price and I fill my basket at the Sandton Mall, shouldn't I pay?
And how many people does Cape still owe money to? Whereas a lot of incompetent people got paid extravagant salaries.
The problem here is reconciling sympathy for Cape's vision and antipathy for its pathetic leadership.
Nice one, guys. Well played. Title of blog post, Norway 1 - Bafana 0 could easily read Personal Vendettas and Fucking Bullshit Political Malice 1 - Art (again) 0.
For art sake, we at arts community apeal to Kavin to drop these chargies (suing Cape0. From the inside (having worked with Cape before)I was not happy with a lot of things that happened in Cape,a lot of promises that were not fulfilled but it all depended on how much money was coming in and who was taking major decisions. If Cape gets liquidated a lot of young creratives will loose out. Cape needs a whole new approach and a review of it's management in terms of decision making and its policies on dealing with contracts, that's if it will carry on its existance...but, There is a lesson to be learnt here: Promise less...Delivery more!
the cape africa platform is a morally bankrupt organisation. we of the arts community appeal to gavin jantjes to put cape out of it"s misery. better a swift death than a long, protracted one (CAPE has actually been dying since 2007, or since it's inception, depending on your view).
the arts community has enough other meaningful projects and has the vitality to create more.
@Bongani: I agree with your point of view, and I think that it is vital beyond anything else that local creatives are nurtured and get the chance to work on this kind of thing so that it can be ongoing and get better. As a long-term plan, this is what our art scene needs the most, and its going to take a while to build the culture into a position of strength so we need to start now. If Jantjies does destroy Cape it would be great if a better organisation grew up in its place. Actually, it would be good if that organisation grew up anyway. I think the guys at Cape need to start strategising a way forward A-S-A-p, and start raising funds.
ps I like the pie chart at the end of the power 100.
mirjam needs better playing strategies or, even better, another job! gavin must go suck a lemon! and, we all owe it to ourselves to make sure that cape does not die, we do not need another heavy death, jhb biennale is enough lasting death effect!
Oh man, fuck CAPE so much.
I've got Gavin's back y'all - take this sinking ship for all its worth. Seriously. Euthanise CAPE. Kill it. End it. Send it into debt. Liquidate the motherfucker. How is it still going????? What good has come from the CAPE platform?
This wretched thing just hangs around forever and constantly fails. I'm glad someone is finally holding it to account.
Anonymous
Cape in its current form needs to fall away, the original idea behind Cape was a great one, but before it can go back to that they do need to get rid of Mirjam who lies to eveyone, she lies so much that she cant keep her story straight. They are many many people who are still owed monies from the Cape 09. Mirjam planned an expensive event against the advice of more experienced staff, wholes were pointed out, but she always knew best. For Cape to exist it has to employ people who are motivated to help the original vision become a reality and work at Cape as a means of getting the name out there so that their ego could be boosted so high they cant see the ground. And more importantly Cape needs to have board members who are passionate, involved as opposed to a bunch of people who could care less. And last the person managing the process should be a South African, actually a Cape Townian who understands the nuances and complexities and not some person from accross the waters with European ideas. We are African and plans should be put in motion to achieve and highlight the African identity.
And very lastly, if the company liquidates now, no-one will recieve their payments owed.
Miriam do Cape Town Arts a favour and go back to Holland, we dont need nor want you here. Go and mess up your birth country and let us make our own mistakes.
Needless to say, I'm livered at the behaviour of most of the board and the contantly lying MD
can someone say xenophobia?
Sheesh, yes Matthew Partridge.
Anger is good sometimes, but you have to ask yourself if a) your anger is productive and b) if it is directed at the right things.
Yo, MIRJAM here!
Thanks, Matthew and Robert, Xenophobic and racist comments I leave aside.
But being accused of lying by various anonymous people is rather serious. Some people who were only in the country for a couple of hours and found me lying?! Please can you reveal yourselves and tell me which lie I allegedly told you? Because there's one thing about being Dutch - we don't lie! We are brutally honest, call it blunt, but Dutch in their stereotype, and I in particular DON"T LIE.
So let's deal with these issues here and now?
Thanks,
xxx
Mirjam
Wow, that shut everyone up......!
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