“Portrait of a Village”
Photo Exhibition opening in Amsterdam, NL. Written by Frederik Groos (Groos and co Architects, NL).
Stanford, Portrait of a Village is the name of a travelling exhibition of 22 photographic works by Annalize Mouton, South African photographer and publisher. It is a selection of photos published to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Stanford, a small village, some 2 hours drive from Cape Town. The exhibition is currently on show in Podium Mozaiek in Amsterdam Bos en Lommer (www.podiummozaiek.nl) a stage dedicated to cultural diversity, and in the Scagon theatre in Schagen. In January 2009 the full selection will be on show in the Suid Afrika Huis on Keizersgracht in Amsterdam, starting the 6th of January 2009.
The exhibition is part of a larger design and research project, the Stanford Housing Project, organised by Jan Frederik and Sakina Groos of Groos & co architects in close collaboration with Citythoughts architects from Amsterdam and Tina Muwanga and Andreas Werner of TMA architects from Cape Town. Part of this project is the recent establishment of a local Housing Cooperative which is supported by Elemental Africa, Cape Town (www.elementalafrica.co.za)
Stanford: Portrait of a Village is the name of a travelling exhibition of 22 photographic works by Annalize Mouton, South African photographer and publisher. It is a selection of photos published to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Stanford, a small village, some 2 hours drive from Cape Town. The exhibition is currently on show in Podium Mozaiek in Amsterdam Bos en Lommer (www.podiummozaiek.nl) a stage dedicated to cultural diversity, and in the Scagon theatre in Schagen. In January 2009 the full selection will be on show in the Suid Afrika Huis on Keizersgracht in Amsterdam, starting the 6th of January 2009.
The exhibition is part of a larger design and research project, the Stanford Housing Project, organised by Jan Frederik and Sakina Groos of Groos & co architects in close collaboration with Citythoughts architects from Amsterdam and Tina Muwanga and Andreas Werner of TMA architects from Cape Town. Part of this project is the recent establishment of a local Housing Cooperative which is supported by Elemental Africa, Cape Town (www.elementalafrica.co.za).
The initiative originates in the strong conviction that Housing for the (formerly) disenfranchised communities in South Africa will have to involve the stakeholders themselves as active participants. Housing for the masses lags behind schedule partly because of a culture of passive anticipation which is itself a legacy of Apartheid politics. RDP Housing, the official vehicle of Mass Housing in SA resembles the housing schemes for migrant workers (for exclusively male households) that were prevalent under Apartheid rule and does not address the typical domestic situation of people in poor communities; nor does it in any way contribute to the healing of the scars left by Apartheid, since it tends to perpetuate the very visible segregation of the communities.
The Stanford Housing initiative aims at a small scale reversal of this tendency by bringing together design and organisational skills with the resilience and survival skills of the people involved. The project entails educational exchange and technical research as well as the contribution of academic governance expertise. Without any material results as yet, it already created tremendous optimism and orientation within the Stanford community. The next step, a small scale building pilot project, is scheduled for next year and anticipated with great expectation.
The exhibition shows the dynamics of a small and diverse community in transformation: the reluctant approach between individuals belonging to communities that were forcefully separated for decades by an oppressive government. These pictures paint the people of Stanford in their diverse domestic realities, which will not change overnight. The honesty of these pictures though, bears witness to a changing mentality amongst the denizens of this beautiful valley and points towards a brighter future.
If you want more detailed information, please contact Sakina Groos at Sakina@Groosco.com
www.elementalafrica.org.za
www.citythoughtsarchitects.nl
www.villagelife.co.za
