I was fortunate to have 12 incredible art lovers visit South Africa for the super-famous Cape Town Art Fair!
We had whale of a time exploring this wonderful event however, more excitingly, my dear friend Louise the owner of M.Contemporary and I curated an amazing pre-Fair Tour, visiting the homes and galleries of some of South Africa’s foremost contemporary artists.
The Investec Cape Town Art Fair is the biggest event of its kind in Africa.
It boasted over 100 exhibitors, 20,000 visitors, and 6000 VIPs, of which we were counted in!
The show is a platform for galleries, artists, collectors, curators, journalists, buyers, and just lovers of art to come from around the world and see who is at the helm of contemporary art.
This was a trip we curated of art, food, and culture in both Johannesburg and Cape Town and we were invited to a behind-the-scenes tour ad VIP access to museums and galleries, and studio visits to artists such as Lionel Smit, Roger Ballen, Michael Taylor, Lyndi Sales and more.
My guests stayed at the best boutique hotels and we ate our way around the most fabulous famed and underground restaurants alongside other art lovers and like-minded travelers. Starting in Johannesburg at The Residence Hotel, we had 4 days here at my favorite boutique hotel… with dinners at this award-winning restaurant as well as Marble, Marabai Club, and Kolonaki (best Greek resto!). We were fortunate to eat our way through the city and we visited with the amazing Roger Ballan, Justin Dingwall, saw the amazingly curated Everard Read Gallery and visited Tiaan Nagel. In and amongst this we had time to visit The Residence Spa and indulge as well as hit the gym and enjoy the gorgeous hotel!
Our next stop was Cape Town
We stayed between the famous Silo Hotel and the very well-located and wonderful One and Only, both extremely perfectly appointed at The Waterfront so walkable to many sights sounds, and the Fair.
Of course, the Silo is a pinnacle hotel in Cape Town – The Silo is an architectural wonder based right in the heart of the city of Cape Town.. and it celebrates art, style, and design! This incredible hotel is based inside the V&A Waterfront and one can notice it by its pillowed-glass windows. From the inside, these offer the most amazing panoramic views starting from Table Mountain to the Table Bay harbor. The hotel has six floors above the famous Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA) which boasts Africa’s largest collection of contemporary African art.
Over our time in Cape Town which was 6 days.. we got into the swing of the art scene and shopping and foodie scene all that CT is famous for! A visit to Galia Gluckman (amazing) and her studio, Lionel Smit and his sprawling estate filled with magic, Michael Taylor and Lindi Sales (her home is her studio) all the while being able to eat at some of the best Cape Town have to offer. The Art Lovers munched at Harbour House, Asoka, Babylonstoren, Delaire Graff in the gorgeous winelands, Kloof street house, and Thali. WE ATE!! And we loved it! And they bought ART! Most of the group carried on with Sikeleli and went on safari at Londolozi, Sabi Sabi, Royal Malewane, and various camps in Botswana and Zimbabwe.
For me personally, it was an incredible way to share the curation of a culturally rich, exploratory, art and history-laden itinerary. As well as the safaris that followed. And for my repeat guest Louise to come back to me and Sikeleli to ask for more and more in an itinerary, specialize it, detail it, make it unique.. and that’s just what we do 😊
We are now curating trips to Japan and Mexico for this same group. I hope to join them again on these trips to spend time with my repeats and visit countries afar. Thanks to Louise for always coming back to us!
If you are in Sydney you should visit our friends at M. Contemporary – a most amazing gallery! If you want us to curate your ART or FOODIE tour worldwide, in Africa and beyond, contact danni@sikelelitravel.com or fungai@sikelelitravel.com
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