A fire in our (he)art
The University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Works of Art Collection (WOAC) in collaboration with its Institute for Creative Arts (ICA) launched a collection of four live works of art on upper campus on 15 September. The event turned the Sarah Baartman precinct into a gallery of performative art, reading, discussion and film.
At the foot of the steps in front of the Sarah Baartman Hall, against the backdrop of a sprawling city, stands a figure draped in black robes that billow in the afternoon breeze. The contrast against the hazy twilight view and the power of the words she speaks rendering her statuesque.
“I stand here with you today with grief in my heart, but with love as a faithful companion. I can sense beneath my feet a rumbling of things falling. Calling for new things to rise. I listen to the ground to feel the rhythms of its demands and I’m happy to learn that my body remembers the song of this land. A charge of history telling us to be brave. Moving us to dream the greatest dream yet.”
With these words, Dr Uhuru Phalafala opened Umsebenzi, the evening’s programme of presentation, conversation, reading and music that preceded the premier of The Fire This Time, a collection of short films focused on artworks that were installed around the Sarah Baartman precinct in early 2022.
Read the full article on the UCT News website here.
