Situated in central Cape Town, Welgemeend will be the destination of choice for art lovers. Strauss & Co in collaboration with art collectors and philanthropists Frank and Lizelle Kilbourn will host August Art Month at the manor house. Over the month of August, the manor house will host a boutique art exhibition featuring works from the Kilbourn family collection.
There are also lively social events scheduled. They include a ticketed gala dinner on Tuesday, 6 August and a classical music concert with Gerhard Joubert on Sunday, 25 August. A family day on Saturday, 24 August means children can also join in the festivities. There will also be informative public talks and a cocktail reception on Wednesday, 14 August. The month-long proceedings will conclude with a convivial art and wine festival on Saturday, 31 August 2024.
A joint initiative of the volunteer group Friends of Welgemeend and Kilbourn family, the eleventh edition of this boutique arts and culture event continues the cherishing and celebration of creativity. As is tradition, the 2024 edition of August Art Month at Welgemeend is anchored by a curated exhibition of modern and contemporary art from the Kilbourn family collection. This year’s exhibition is titled (On)bekend / (Un)known and will showcase lesser known and under-estimated artists as well as sometimes atypical examples of work by acclaimed artists like Cathy Abrahams, Norman Catherine, Willem Boshoff, Turiya Magadlela, Walter Meyer, Karel Nel, Berni Searle, Jarryd Ginsberg and Moses Tladi.
One of the event highlights is the Fundraising Gala Dinner where renowned chef Jacques Erasmus from Hemelhuijs Restaurant will delight guests with a scrumptious dinner. Delicious wines sponsored by Delaire Graff Estate will be the perfect way to toast an evening of art and good company. Aiming to support the restoration of Welgemeend, there’ll also be a fundraising auction. Tickets for the dinner can be booked here.
Frank Kilbourn will also be discussing the provocative questions sparked by the diverse works in (On)bekend / (Un)known at a series of ticketed public walkabouts. The much-loved artworks that Lizelle and I have selected for 2024 August Art Month at Welgemeend have been collected over many years and are very familiar to us,” says Frank Kilbourn, who is also chairperson of Strauss & Co. “But I’m fully aware that what is familiar and known to one person might be unknown and new to someone else. I thought this idea would be interesting to explore in an exhibition of unusual or lesser-known works by well-known artists together with works from artists that are not receiving the recognition they deserve.” Head to the website for more info.