An outside-in view on Kaapstad by Nikita Maheshwary
What would you preach, if you were the voice of Donald Trump, Geert Wilders or Boris Johnson? What secrets would you whisper to a blind-folded girl through a huge pink velvet funnel? On your way to work, would you join in the new mad ways of crossing a red light with a group of yellow-clad strangers?
As Kaapstad took over the city of Tilburg for three days, it pushed you to think, speak-up and imagine new ways to access and engage in the public space. In a league of its own, Kaapstad is unlike any other festival of its kind. In a world where we are quick to interact with strangers and give opinions online; the festival makes for a good case study in the purpose how such initiatives can create opportunities for the public of a city to come in dialogue face to face.
In works such as Het Institute voor de Loslopende Mens by Oscar Prinsen (NL), De Nutmeting by Boy Jonkergouw (NL) and Het Feedback Spel by Feedback; unique settings were fabricated to catalyse discussions and conversations between strangers. The newly crafted and fun game of Feedback built by a team of young artists from FHK made one reflect on either side of the coin and engage with different perspectives on social standpoints such as – Should public transport be free of charge? or Should people be restricted to give opinions online?
Throughout the weekend, it was interesting to notice how passersby interact and engage with these aesthetic public space disruptions. While children whole-heartedly joined in to play on the Pitch of Coloured Sand by Adam Kalinowski (PL), control & meander through the eight barriers of Prohibido el Paso by Gijs van Bon (NL) and said a loud yes!yes!yes! to ice cream for breakfast & pancakes at night at the JA Betoging by Tilburg Cowboys (NL); most adults used the social shield of cameras and smartphones to justify their involvement.
That said, one of the star attraction of the festival and presumably the work which got the goat of few people was The Royal Kiss by unknown artist B.Murky supported by Tilburg Cowboys. A giant staircase leads you to kiss the regal statue of the famous King Willem II, known and evidently blackmailed for his bisexual nature. Simple, hilarious and radical; it was a great re-contextualization of the historic sculpture.
Juxtaposing these forthright, dynamic and you-can’t-miss-it installations, the festival showcased a myriad of subtle and ephemeral works. While the Chewing Gum Man (Ben Wilson, UK) made a comeback again this year beautifying Tilburg streets with his miniature artworks; you had to leisurely flâneur in the city to find gems like Stadsklimmers by Niels Mud (NL), the ten brilliant artworks of Streetart Frankey (NL), De Stad als Canvas by On-Site Poetry (NL) and the symphony of constantly shifting robotic Woodpeckers of Marco Barotti (IT).
Curated by Sander van Bussel and Anja Reinhardt, this year’s edition included multiple pop-up performances and live-art works. The shifting performances of Swarming by Vloeistof (NL) & Ruitenwisser by Ulrike Doszmann (NL) kept the festival astir and constantly effervescent as the performers moved through the city centre. What was also gratifying to watch was how a performance adapts itself onto the street when taken out of the proscenium space and the pre- premiere of Pan~//Catwalk by Zwermers (NL) did just that – effortlessly and with quite some grandiose.
But for me as an onlooker, the most crucial part of the festival is how it forged ways to build a global community of artists. International artists collaborated with local artists from Tilburg and entrusted them with their works to present it at the festival.
“Being a choreographer of Vloeistof for almost 20 years has given me the opportunity to travel, meet and collaborate with artists from all over the world. But over time, I felt a growing urge to create a space for artists to share vocabularies & insights through each others practices; to find an alternative beyond the choice of only travelling and learning.” says Anja Reinhardt.
“I found an opportunity to experiment this way of connection in Kaapstad and proposed to Martina Gunkel, a Tilburg performer to ‘adopt’ the performance Secret Funnel by Audrey Baldwin (NZ). Similarly, to catalyse another collaboration, I scouted local dancers for the durational performance work The Water, The Soil, The Jungle by Müge Yilmaz (TR). Of course, such collaboration requires the programmer’s understanding of the ground realities – the situation, location, weather, etc. But most importantly, it requires – a curious open mind and eagerness to experiment – from all the three parties involved.”
To analyse the festival from a macroscopic viewpoint; there is a growing debate on the ecological impact of art production both in academia and in-between artists over the last decade. Concurrently, there is also a dialogue on investigating different facets of internationalization of arts and diversity of representation; something which the province and the city are also deeply invested in. Incorporating both of the above, it’s pivotal to observe the ethics the festival team & its partnering institutions advocate and invest in in order to contribute towards a richer cultural ecosystem of the city.
“Kaapstad is supported by the entrepreneurs of the city centre which is quite unique compared to other cultural events. It’s a real invitation for the art to do what art should do: shake up the ‘status quo’ and inspire. Not only for the culturally orientated, but for each city dweller.” says Reinhardt.
It is always difficult to judge if such a festival is a huge success – if the currency is the number of people eagerly participating. But, does silently nudging someone to contemplate, also counts? By introducing new ways to access public space, would this initiative help build a sense of belonging and ownership towards the city amongst its culturally diverse locals? It is perhaps too soon to answer this; but if continued year after year with the same zeal and vision, one positively hopes it will sprout tangible outcomes.
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Nikita is a performance practitioner with over a decade of experience in choreography, dance pedagogy and art administration. Born and raised in New Delhi; now adopted by Tilburg, she likes exploring and unraveling the vibrant cultural ecology of Brabant.