City Desired Exhibition

City Desired Exhibition at City Hall

From Thursday, 30 OCT til Wednesday, 10 DEC
2014. An interactive showcase that
unmasks the true Mother City. Entry is FREE!
 
+27 (0) 21 650 5903
City Hall | Cape Town
www.citydesired.com
tau.tavengwa@gmail.com
cityscapesMag
Urban Africa

City Desired Exhibition at City Hall

Contemporary Cape Town exposed: encounter the Mother City in a whole new light at this first-of-its-kind interactive showcase

The African Centre for Cities (ACC) invites audiences from all walks of life to come face-to-face with real contemporary Cape Town at its groundbreaking City Desired exhibition at City Hall from Thursday, 30 October to Wednesday, 10 December 2014.

Using six years of research on key present-day themes (think food security and diversity), the first-of-its-kind, thought-provoking audio-visual display unmasks the true Mother City, throwing light on all her complex challenges and also bringing to the fore all of her inspiring possibilities, in a bid to get people thinking differently about the future of our metropolis.

Though based on information gleaned from the ACC’s city laboratories, the team has brought their data to life with various narratives – rather than arcane journals or mountains of statistics. Through the unique stories of 11 ordinary Capetonians, the intricacies of complex and usually abstract issues become tangible and accessible to the everyday person.

For instance, audiences can learn about the ravages of “tik” (crystal meth) and the pathology surrounding it through the eyes of John Parker, a part-time surfer and full-time physician at Lentegeur Psychiatric Hospital in the Cape Flats. They can follow the peaks and troughs of Thabang Molefe’s life to get insight into the issues surrounding mobility - the self-made man was a former taxi owner who sold his licences to acquire equity with MyCiTi and now stands at the nexus of the rapid transit and minibus industries. They can delve into the plight of our education system thanks to Alfonso Louw, the principal of St Agnes Primary School in Woodstock who hurdles the challenge of running a good school with too few resources every day. And they can investigate the idea of shelter with Gita Goven, one of the few black female architects in the Mother City.

And while the backbone of the project is a series of in-depth, evocative journalistic essays that will be available online, the exhibition at the City Hall invites audiences to interact with the stories and the issues via short film, poignant photography, abbreviated excerpts and tablet devices that use infographics, system techniques and maps to bring it all together.

It’s an invigorating chance for Capetonians to get to grips with our city at present, and beyond all else, it’s an opportunity to find out how we can think differently about issues worn ragged by the media and key stakeholders.

5 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ACC CITY DESIRED EXHIBITION AT CITY HALL

1. Interactive Light Table Display: This 4-m long platform illuminates the interconnectedness of the project’s key themes and stitches together a large part of the venture's research. For example, the display shows how issues surrounding diversity impacts the concepts of work, mobility and more. And it explains how climate change affects food security, education and vulnerability. Smaller touch screens accompany the various stations that delve into the various topics. 

2. Speculative Studio Proposals: Certainly one the most exciting manifestations of the project, the speculative studio proposals bring to life three reimagined Mother City spaces in wildly inventive ways. Multi-disciplinary teams were tasked with transforming The Two Rivers Urban Park and adjoining land parcels, Lotus Park informal settlement in Gugulethu and the Maitland piece of the Voortrekker Road Corridor into mixed income, transit-based and sustainable living spaces. This is what they came up with – and it will blow your mind to see what’s truly possible.

3. Audio - Future Perspectives: Teens give their take on the 10 key themes and the future in store for Cape Town via audio programming.

4. Interactive Maps: These painstakingly created guides shed some light on the relationship between geography and each of the respective themes according to certain categories (like age). For instance, exhibition-goers will be able to see how 18- to 24-year-olds who aren’t involved in education or employment opportunities are actually in areas that have the lowest density of schools.

5.  One Provocation: Each of the stories around the 10 themes will leave attendees with one question that’s designed to completely shift the terms of conversation. The idea is to push the envelope, get people thinking critically in a fresh way and to inspire them to contribute to shaping the future of the city.

TICKETS FOR THE ACC CITY DESIRED EXHIBITION AT CITY HALL

Entry to the City Desired exhibition at City Hall is completely FREE! On opening night (30 October), the exhibition opens at 6pm. Otherwise, the venue is open from Tuesday to Sunday between 10am and 6pm for the duration of the exhibition; though, City Hall will stay open until 9pm in celebration of First Thursday on 6 November and 4 December 2014.

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