An Arts Enclave In Cape Town

URFACING
An Arts Enclave in Cape Town

Pieter Bauermeister for The New York Times
Karen Dudley, who owns a cafe and catering company, moved her business to a larger space in Woodstock.


By JOSEY MILLER
Published: May 23, 2010
JUST southeast of downtown, Woodstock was one of few Cape Town communities to, in part, avoid South Africa’s Group Areas Act. That strict apartheid policy demarcated regions by race, forcefully removing residents; Woodstock, however, managed to maintain aspects of its multiethnic character. While it’s still shedding the coarse complexities of an impoverished past, Woodstock is evolving into the media hub of the country’s “Mother City.”



Map
Woodstock, South Africa
Home to production studios and advertising agencies — as well as to Manhattan-inspired mint apartments that share the streets with historic Victorian architecture — Woodstock is a coveted location for movie and magazine shoots. Some of the most highly regarded structures, once threatened by demolition, are being restored instead.

The revamped Old Biscuit Mill, built in the late 1800s, now hosts the effervescent Saturday morning Neighbourgoods Market (373-375 Albert Road; 27-21-448-1438; neighbourgoodsmarket.co.za). Hipsters, retirees and couples with double-wide strollers sample local bites and beverages, from Brie to ginger beer, at more than 100 booths, many specializing in organic products.

“I’ve always believed in Woodstock,” said Karen Dudley, owner of the Kitchen (111 Sir Lowry Road; 27-21-462-2201; karendudley.co.za), which celebrates its first anniversary this month. Ms. Dudley, who has lived in the neighborhood for nearly a decade, found that her catering company had outgrown her home kitchen. So she moved the business into a space formerly occupied by a fish market, where, she said, “the stench was heinous,” and added a cafe. Now it smells more like her secret Love Potion, the creamy, garlicky dressing that graces her famous Love Sandwiches (starting at 35 rand, or about $4.75 at 7.34 rand to the dollar). Copper cake molds and antique teapots, many used to cook for and serve her celebrity and corporate clients, line the shelves.

“It used to be where you’d come for drugs," Ms. Dudley said of Woodstock. "Now you come for galleries and a delicious lunch.”

A few doors down, stop by South African Print Gallery (107 Sir Lowry Road; 27-21-462-6851; printgallery.co.za), which Gabriel Clark-Brown, the editor of The South African Art Times, opened in 2009; his mission is to showcase printmaking as a fine art. Why Woodstock? “Proximity to city center, low rent and a focus on the arts were paramount,” he said. With an unadorned décor of Cretan stone and bleached wood, the shop lets the work on the walls do the talking; pieces are hung without frames. Prints by, among others, the late, beloved Gabisile Nkosi and the award-winning township artist Linga Diko start at 3,500 rand.

Wind down your day at Woodstock Lounge & Bar (70 Roodebloem Road; 27-21-448-4448), where media professionals pack the place, affectionately known as Wooders, to watch local rugby games. “We’re mostly a bottles bar,” said the bartender, Robin Hesketh. “But I make a mean margarita.” (A Hansa Pilsener goes for 11 rand; margaritas are 25.) This homey spot, filled with picnic benches, love seats and a fireplace, conducts monthly wine tastings and live music weekly, plus a full menu. Try the Blue Fig Pizza, with fig preserves, blue cheese and bacon (62 rand).