Discover the Worldart Gallery

Minimalist inner-city gallery with hidden treasures for you to discover

Sometimes that easy stroll through a quirky-side street in the morning changes everything ...  this morning we discovered the Worldart gallery in Church Street.

The Worldart Gallery in Cape Town is crisp and wonderfully minimalist. Located on Cape Town’s picturesque Church Street – a quirky side street that forms a hub of Cape Town’s art and antique world - the gallery has a hidden secret for you to explore.

Church Street in Cape Town’s city centre is the perfect place for an art gallery like Worldart. The pedestrian lane between Burg and Long Street is an art and antique lover’s paradise. The shops, cafes, and quirky street stalls, selling everything from unique crafts and books to antique army medals, work together to create an intriguing market infused with Cape Town’s unique character.

In the middle of all this you will find Worldart gallery, which quite comfortable takes its place within the eccentric Church Street marketplace.Once inside Worldart, spend a few minutes chatting to gallery owner Charl Bezuidenhout and you will realise that Worldart is more than just simply an art gallery. 

The white walls and distinct ‘lack’ of interior design in the space put the focus purely on the art that adorn the walls of Worldart. Bezuidenhout’s desk, a small chest of drawers, and a white concrete bench - smack-bang in the middle of the gallery floor - are all that fills the gallery space. 

Exhibitions are a regular occurrence at the art gallery in Cape Town. Each month new works from the nine South African artists Bezuidenhout represents are on display at the gallery. 
But the displays on the Worldart gallery floor are simply the beginning. Above the gallery lays a collection of South African art that will tickle your art taste buds. Make sure you ask Charl Bezuidenhout for a sneak peek at the upstairs collection to get a much broader scope on the collection of South African artist’s work. 

Worldart’s upstairs collection is worlds apart from the ultra-minimalist feel of the gallery below which showcases a very small selection of the art collection at Worldart. 
Walking up the antique white stairs into the loft-like space above, you are greeted by a fantastic display of art. The upstairs loft space has an antique feel to it with wooden floors, a huge white-wash wooden desk, and faded blue and white plastic-nylon covered egg chairs filling the space. 

Standing in this space, surrounded by a collection of works from Bezuidenhout’s many artists, you cannot help but get the feeling that you are being let in on something quite special.
Charl Bezuidenhout founded Worldart in 2004 as a space to expose artists while supplying a unique service to those we love and acquire art as well as those that are simply looking for a fantastic piece of art to complement their interior. 

Bezuidenhout’s passion for art is obvious from the way Worldart operates; the gallery is solely run by Bezuidenhout – from finding the artists to marketing their work and the gallery, to working the gallery floor - he is involved in every aspect of the art gallery in Cape Town. 
“I’m passionate about the art in my gallery, explains Bezuidenhout. “I’m simply exposing you to painters that I’ve fallen in love with, and talking about it, discussing it with people who come in. It’s up to you to make the decision and find what you like. I’m not selling used cars here, you have to live with this painting and love it too.”

The fact that you interact directly with the gallery owner himself, who knows the artists well, makes Worldart gallery special. The space encourages everyone from art collectors to the ordinary person, looking for something special to add to their home, to go beyond the gallery floor downstairs and seek out that piece that speaks to you. 

Worldart isn’t about walking in and simply buying a piece of art for the sake of it, but rather it’s about spending an hour or two immersed in spectacular South African art and going home with something special from a special street in Cape Town.

“Art is as simple and extravagant as you want to make it,” concludes Charl. “At the end of the day you fall in love or not.”

We certainly did fall in love with Worldart on a simple Saturday morning stroll along Church Street and it is an experience that will definitely be enjoyed more often from now on. 

We’ve got our finger on the pulse of the Cape Town art scene; from gallery exhibitions to documentary film screenings, CapeTownMagazine.com keeps you updated. 

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