This is the house my great grandfather, Oupa Jacky Bloemfontein built. He was an interpreter and translator who could speak multiple languages and worked in court. He came to Swellendam with some livestock and set up a life here, building this house by hand, brick by brick. This is the oldest house in Railton, the Coloured community of Swellendam, however he wasn’t Coloured. His story defies the way we think about race and “colouredness” in South Africa today. He was a Black African man, most likely of Xhosa descent: His mother’s name was Nonsie. He married a Jewish woman named Anna Adams, my great grandmother. Under apartheid classification my family became coloured so we never heard much about him or his background. I’m really grearful for my Aunt Dorothy who took us on a tour of the one~roomed house. Her father Pieter and my grandmother Leila (Louisa Bloemfontein) grew up here in this one room - kitchen living and bedroom all one room. It’s a heritage building now. I’m very happy to finally have seen it in person. Thank you to our ancestors for guiding us. Camagu. (With thanks to Daiyaan Petersen who helped me find Oupa Jacky’s death certificate)
First shots with my new #Retropia lens - similar to the Pocket Dispo. Cheap and cheerful - plastic and pleasurable- enjoying the simplicity of it in combination with the film emulators on my #fujixt4. Still not the same as shooting on film but not bad at all … what do y’all think.🤔 #justahobby #justahobbythatipickedupinthelobby
How do we navigate the politricks of art-making, identity, and space? This open conversation brings together Dr Joanne Peers, Dylan Valley, and Parusha Naidoo to explore how art and cultural expression are shaped by questions of access, representation and belonging.
Playing on the word politics, the session examines how artists and audiences continually negotiate identity, both to gain entry into creative spaces and to resist assimilation. We’ll think together about how these negotiations influence what art gets made, who it speaks for, and how space itself, relationally, socially and physically is produced.
In a time of shrinking venues and expanding creativity, this dialogue invites us to re-imagine and curate spaces that are community-driven, accessible, and alive with possibility.
#Capetownjazz
#livemusiccapetown
#WhatsoninCapeTown
#Thecommonsmuizenberg
#musicfestival
Last coffee of 2025.
I made this mug for myself just for kicks and been gifting them to friends and family. People seem to like them so I think I’ll start taking some pre orders soon in 2026. Happy New Year. Peace Love and Liberation to all… 🕯️
Next Thursday, 18 December, we’re launching ‘End of the Continent’ at One Park.
It’s a choose-your-own-adventure novel by M.H. Bottils set in an alternate-history of Cape Town with giant lizards and seething ghosts.
Arrive from 6:30pm and grab a drink.
At 7pm, historian Bongani Kona moderates a discussion with the author as well as illustrator Shannon van Schalkwyk about the process of creating this limited edition hardcover book featuring risograph printed cards.
Afterwards, Stanley Sibande and Bottils will perform a few political folk songs they’ve written together.
Then we roll into a South African jazz vinyl session for the rest of the night.
Come through.
