Exhibition Type: Outdoor Exhibition

Curator:
Heidi Erdmann

Artist: Melany Ismail

Venue: Company Gardens, Cape Town 

Description:
Cape Rhythm: Goema, Klopse & Memory is a public photographic exhibition celebrating one of Cape Town’s most enduring cultural traditions. Presented in the Company’s Garden during Heritage Month, the exhibition explores Goema and the Kaapse Klopse as living expressions of memory, identity and resilience.

The collection of photographs are drawn from Cape Town filmmaker Melany Ismail’s archive and presents contemporary perspectives on a tradition rooted in centuries of cultural exchange across the Indian Ocean.

“My photographic practice is rooted in documenting the lived experiences of Cape Coloured communities. Born in Manenberg and working closely with the Cape Minstrels group Playaz Inc. in neighbouring Mitchells Plain I see my practice as an extension of my own lived experience. I am interested in the quieter moments of rehearsals, preparation and fellowship, where traditions are nurtured and passed from one generation to the next. Through photography and films, I seek to preserve a living culture while celebrating the dignity, resilience and humanity of my community”.

It is an exhibition about memory carried through rhythm. It is an exhibition about communities whose histories have often been excluded from official narratives, yet to preserve identity through performance, dress, ritual and celebration. Goema is one of Cape Town’s most distinctive cultural expressions. Emerging through histories of enslavement, migration and creolisation, it continues to evolve across generations while remaining deeply connected to place and community.

By bringing these photographs into the Company’s Garden, the exhibition invites audiences to encounter this living heritage in one of the city’s most historic public spaces.

This project was made possible with the support of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.