Art Month at Welgemeend

Satire & Irony | 1–31 August 2019

Robert Hodgins | Stanley Pinker | Alexander Podlashuc
from the Kilbourn, Bloch and Podlashuc Collections

 

To quote the artist Marcel Duchamp: “You cannot define electricity. The same can be said of art. It is a kind of inner current in a human being, or something which needs no definition.”

This winter we hope to warm hearts with a strong electrical art current in the form of the sixth annual Art Month at Welgemeend exhibition.

The exhibition, with the scintillating theme Satire and Irony, offers the opportunity to view works by Robert Hodgins, Stanley Pinker and Alexander Podlashuc. This ‘electrical art current’ promises not only to recharge art lovers’ batteries, but also to let sparks fly on the Cape Town art scene. There will also be a presentation of historical bronzes by modernist sculptor Peter Haden comprising various figurative and abstract pieces. Look out for a few surprise works by other renowned artists that will also feature.

The 2019 Art Month at Welgemeend is a collaboration between the Friends of Welgemeend, Frank and Lizelle Kilbourn, Jonathan and Marion Bloch, Strauss & Co, Leo and Erin Podlashuc, Delaire Graff Estate and others, with the support of Hoërskool Jan van Riebeeck.

Welgemeend, a historic Cape Dutch Manor house from the late 1600s, is situated in the Cape Town City Bowl. The art collection and books of the South African poet and linguist Boerneef (the late Prof IW van der Merwe) are housed here. Hoërskool Jan van Riebeeck is the custodian of the homestead and the collection, supported by the volunteer organisation Friends of Welgemeend. Together they are committed to the preservation and administration of this significant cultural heritage.

Art Month at Welgemeend is aimed at promoting this cultural gem, making artworks from private collections available for public viewing, and raising funds for restoration and essential maintenance of Welgemeend. Funds raised this year will go towards the extensive overhaul of the manor house’s roof structure. Our goal is to raise R300 000.  A masterplan provides for the prioritising of specific areas of Welgemeend that need restoration or structural maintenance. We also aim to make the space more user friendly.

Work done over the past six years include overhauling Welgemeend’s lighting and electricity installations, extensive dampproofing, painting the interior of the house, restoration of certain art works from the Boerneef collection, installing a professional art hanging system throughout, and restoring the centuries’ old floors and windows of three reception rooms and two collection rooms. However there still remains a lot of work to be done.