Make a point of checking out this fascinating photographic exhibition in November which portrays in images, video and interviews the life and times of young Cape Town Creatives - here and now.
Swimming Upstream - Not Just Another Photography Project
Swimming Upstream is a new project by Dutch photographer Kathalijne van Zutphen, capturing both the visages and the insights of young Cape Town creatives. In a series of portraits coupled with one-on-one interviews, Kathalijne speaks to emerging and established DJs, musicians, filmmakers, actors, authors and illustrators about how they got started, perennial challenges within the creative industry, experiences in marketing themselves, and thorny issues like file sharing and copyright – all in an attempt to discover what drives them, and the difficulties they face in the current digital age. All the artists in the series were photographed in locations specifically chosen to complement their unique identities, cumulatively sketching Kathalijne’s own interpretation of the Cape Town landscape.
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As one of the most popular haunts of artistically inclined Capetonians, the Grand Daddy Hotel provides an ideal locale for Kathalijne´s work. The Swimming Upstream exhibition features ten exquisite Diasec framed archival prints, as well as video and stills on digital screens throughout the Grand Daddy Hotel. Opening night will include a video by Cait Pansegrouw and Pierre de Villiers, introduction by Verity Price and DJ Akio will be on the decks.
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The list of artists taking part include:
- Toby Atwell
- Lauren Beukes
- Donovan Copley
- Guy Buttery
- Lauren Fowler
- Twanji Kalula
- Akio Kawahito
- Miss Texas 1977
- Tshepo Moche
- Maloti Mothobi
- S.A. Partridge
- Verity Price
- Monishia Schoeman
- Neil John Smith
- Hendrik Vermeulen
- Tristan Waterkeyn
- Sam Wilson.
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About Kathalijne van Zutphen
Born in The Netherlands, Kathalijne was given her first camera when she was 11 years old. It wasn''t until she began studying at the University of Utrecht that she got seriously interested in music photography and soon landed a position at a local music magazine. After graduating with an M.A in American Studies she worked as a project manager at a graphic design company for seven years, simultaneously taking courses in Copywriting at the School of Journalism and Copyright Law. Digital photography and photo-sharing websites like Flickr reignited her interested in photography. After starting her own company in May 2009, she left the design company in July and came to Cape Town a month later. She''s still here.
Connect with Kathalijne:
Kathalijne Photography
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Artist’s Statement
"Starting your own company and moving countries in these times can either be smartest or the stupidest thing you can do. And the first couple of months were tough. I struggled to make friends, to find work; I was constantly putting myself out there and getting nothing back. I ran into copyright issues when I had one of my photos "stolen". But after being here for about 6 months, something changed. I started meeting people – people who do really cool things; people I like, and people whose work I admire. While talking to them it was such a relief to learn that they''ve faced similar problems along their own journeys; that it wasn''t just me, and that there are different ways of going about or looking at things. Swimming upstream is actually a good thing, since that’s how you grow and become stronger. I learned a lot from talking to them, and profiling them is the best way to show that."
Please join us for the opening reception on
11 November at 6pm
Opening night will include a video by Cait Pansegrouw and Pierre de Villiers, introduction by Verity Price and DJ Akio will be on the decks.
Need to Know:
- Dates: 11 - 30 November 2010
- Opening night: 11 November 2010 from 18h00 - Open invitation
- Venue: Grand Daddy Hotel, 38 Long Street, Cape Town - 021 424 7247
- More info: www.kathalijne.wordpress.com
All images, ideas and text are copyrighted by Kathalijne van Zutphen and can not be used without the written permission of the author/photographer