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Join Howard Booysen, Jurgen Gouws, Craig Hawkins and Johan Meyer as they present their wines at this unusual evening. None of these winemakers own their own vineyards, they each source grapes from the areas that have ignited their passion and are deftly crafting wines in borrowed spaces and using natural processes. We guarantee the wines will be full of surprises! Chef Roland has donned his bush hat to whip up a four course dinner with each course carefully paired with one of the outstanding wines these bright young winemakers have produced. The winemakers will also offer post dinner tastings of their additional wine labels. A journey of discovery with young winemakers who are making their mark with their innovative principles. Howard Booysen has been mentored by the finest and his approach to wine and his ideas place him firmly as a “guide” in this wine journey. Working with the more old fashioned varietals such as Riesling and Cinsault guests will enjoy his HB Riesling 2011. Howard sees these older varietals as opportunities for the modern wine drinker. Knowing the Riesling varietal well, and with his passion for food, aromas and age-able wines, he was convinced that Riesling was what he needed to make. His debut vintage saw him receiving accolades in Australia, South Africa and across the world, underlining his confidence in this varietal. “JH Meyer Signature Wines” sprang into existence in 2011. Using his extensive experience of producing some of the best wines in the world, Johan Meyer put his knowledge to the test by crafting 1000 bottles of Pinot Noir which achieved best in its class. Guests will enjoy the Pinot Noir 2011 vintage with the dinner. Now he has launched his own company and, as a small boutique wine producer of hand crafted natural wines he selects grapes from small vineyards in the south coast region of South Africa. Operating out of Meerhof Winery in Riebeek Casteel and part of the Swartland Revolution, Johan’s pedigree is enviable – …

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UCT Jazz Voices directed by Amanda Tiffin presents what promises to be a thrilling and unique concert for GIPCA’s Music in the City programme, on 24 October 2012. The highly acclaimed jazz vocal group will perform well-known jazz standards and South African favourites arranged for jazz choir. They will be joined by woodwind specialist Mike Rossi who has recently returned from two European tours that included performances in England, Austria and Italy. The programme will include items such as As Time Goes By, Don't Get Around Much Anymore, When I Fall In Love (featuring the vocal ensemble with rhythm section), and a choice of a cappella songs. They will also feature South African composers such as Themba Mkhize and Busi Mhlongo, and some surprises from the 21st century pop repertoire. The UCT Jazz Voices comprise five of the best Jazz Singing students at UCT, under the leadership of well-known jazz artist, Amanda Tiffin. This small vocal ensemble was established in 2010, primarily as a learning tool for students of Jazz Singing, but they far exceeded expectations and quickly become a top class jazz vocal group in the tradition of the Manhattan Transfer and the New York Voices. Offering an exciting blend of close harmony in the old jazz tradition, and youthful energy, the UCT Jazz Voices perform a range of repertoire from jazz classics, South African standards and re-imaginings of current radio hits. The ensemble was selected as the best UCT Jazz Ensemble in 2010, and they have continued to impress with their excellence an d professionalism in a variety of contexts. They performed for Symphonic Rocks in Cape Town and Johannesburg in 2011 and 2012, backing 12 top SA Artists, alongside a 60-piece orchestra. The group was invited to perform their own concert as part of the Jazz at the Nassau concert in 2011 and 2012, and appeared as special guests on the annual Jazz in The Park concert and at St George’s Cathedral as part of the Raise the Roof concert …

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Following appearances at venues and festivals in several parts of Europe this year, acclaimed South African pianist Justin Krawitz will present a program of contemporary piano music at Hiddingh Hall, as part of the Gordon Institute for Performing and Creative Arts’ Music in the City series. With his work as a 2011 Donald Gordon Creative Arts Fellow as a base, this concert presents a fascinating program of piano works, featuring both local and international composers, and drawing significantly on Krawitz’s experience working with living composers. Krawitz performs two works by South African composers, opening with Arnold Van Wyk’s Tristia – a seldom-heard gem of South African piano music; followed by Hendrik Hofmeyr’s new Piano Sonata, written for Krawtiz on commission by the South African Music Rights Organisation. Krawitz premiered Hofmeyr’s work earlier this year as part of the public art festival Infecting the City, but this Music in the City concert features the first performance of the work in a formal concert setting. In a sense, these composers represent opposite poles of composition in South Africa: Van Wyk (1916-1983) is widely considered the father of South African classical music, while Hofmeyr (b.1957) is among the younger generation of composers and is active on the contemporary musical scene. The concert will conclude with a performance of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Karel Husa’s Piano Sonata No.1. Born in Prague in 1921, Husa boasts an illustrious career which led him first to Paris and then on to the United States where he has lived since 1954. Krawitz worked with him on his Piano Sonata No.1 at his home in North Carolina in 2010, before going on to record the work for Czech Radio. The recording that emerged was enthusiastically endorsed by the composer and has been broadcast Europe-wide under the program Euradio. Justin Krawitz is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Cape Town where he lectures in Piano and …

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The year 2012 marks Standard Bank’s 150th year in banking. As the oldest name in banking in South Africa, Standard Bank is one of South Africa’s best known brands. The 150th anniversary will be marked with an exhibition which will take the form of a timeline, using fascinating works drawn from the Standard Bank Corporate Collection to illustrate the ideas and events – local and international - that have shaped South African history over the decades. A second display, mounted on the ground floor of the Gallery will make use of artefacts, photographs and other visuals, drawn from the institutions rich archival collections to highlight the history of the bank as the oldest name in banking in South Africa with deep roots in South Africa. More Info: http://www.standardbankarts.com Author: Fiona Gordon from The Famous Idea Trading Co. Originally distributed by MyPR.co.za. No of Images Uploaded: One To gain access to One image/s please Like, Tweet or +1 this article: [l2g] Images: Penny Siopis, Always Something New out of Africa (Diptych), 1990.Pastel and collage. 101 x 76cm and 17 x 76cm. Standard Bank Corporate Art Collection.[/l2g] …

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Literary icon Can Themba (widely known as writer for DRUM magazine) is remembered through Khayelihle Dom Gumede’s presentation of Themba’s Crepuscule. Gumede is the third 2012 winner of the Theatre Arts Admin Collective’s Emerging Theatre Director’s Bursary. Crepuscule is an adaptation of literary giant Can Themba’s short story of the same title. The play, much like the short story, charters a fictional interpretation of a real life love affair between Can and a white woman, ‘Janet’, in Sophiatown during the 1950’s. Set in the often revered and romanticised world of Sophiatown, the play uses Can and Janet’s relationship to ask whether we are products of our environment or if we choose who we want to be. A story about human connection and a search for freedom and humanity, this production is an ensemble-based treat; with poetry of language, movement and song forming its rich presentation. In the tradition of several recent revivals such as Farber’s Mies Julie and Kerfoot’s Statements after an Arrest under the Immorality Act; this high energy, fast-paced production takes a look at a time much closer to who and where we are today, than we would like to admit. Khayelihle Dom Gumede recently completed a BA in Dramatic Arts at Wits University, majoring in Directing, Performance and Writing. His directing credits include The Complete Works (2010), Can Themba's Crepuscule (2011/2012), the main production of the Highfield Theatre Festival, When We are Naked (2011), Finding Nemorena (2012), Tilt (due to premier at PopArt in 2012), Paul Slabolepszy's Over the Hill (2012) Gumede is the Festival Director and Co-ordinator of the WALE (Wits Art and Literature Experience) Festival 2012, as well as the curator and Festival Director of ‘Sneak Peeks Festival: The Jozi G-Town Experience’ at PopArt. Gumede is also the Artistic Director of Co-Lab Express, a new, young theatre company operating in association with UJ Arts Centre. He has written productions for Ipelegeng …

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Prof Adam Haupt discusses the Fanonian resonances in his new book Static: Race and Representation in Post-Apartheid Music, Media and Filmas part of the Gordon Institute for Performing and Creative Arts (GIPCA) Great Texts/Big Questions public lecture series on Thursday 4 October. Cutting across academic disciplines, the creative arts and the media, Haupt's interdisciplinary book forms the basis of his presentation; which critically examines music, cinema, social media and the politics of change after apartheid. Static explores some of the ambiguities of life in contemporary South Africa, providing key insights into recent media phenomena, such as Die Antwoord; the 2010 Soccer World Cup; Bok van Blerk; Tsotsi; Kuli Roberts’ Sunday World column on ‘coloureds’; revisionist film Afrikaaps; the University of the Free State’s Reitz video scandal; umShini Wami and The Spear. Playing with two different definitions of the term 'static', it poses two central questions: Is South Africa changing for the better, or are we static? Is there too much static for us to hear each other clearly? Haupt investigates the notion of creative and political agency in South Africa after apartheid, contending that although it is possible for a newer generation of South African artists to move beyond the confines of apartheid racial thinking, the challenges of the past have not all dissipated. By examining racial and gender politics in work by a range of artists, it would appear the legacy of a patriarchal, racialised system lingers on. Moreover, Haupt explains, South Africa’s neoliberal economic policies have perpetuated an order that protects uneven access to (cultural) resources. It is arguable that not much has changed for marginalized artists in South Africa, given the persistence of media monopolies, racialised class disparities and attitudes towards race. Adam Haupt is an Associate Professor in the Centre for Film and Media Studies at the University of Cape Town. Haupt is the …

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