It can be a mistake to take biographical information which appears on the internet as accurate. I recently visited struggle veteran Vesta Smith (above) in her Noordgesig, Soweto home. On her wall, was a powerful and moving poem especially commissioned by the Legal Resources Centre to honour Vesta for her enormous contribution to the struggle in South Africa. The poem was given to Vesta at a special ceremony in August this year, and lauds her courage and tenacity.
The mistake? The poem hails Vesta as a ‘resilient daughter of Sophiatown’ - (probably the most famous Johannesburg area to undergo forced removals) but in fact, Vesta was not born or ever lived in Sophiatown.
The Alps float behind the city of Bern
From Johannesburg, I went on to Bern, in Switzerland. I have been appointed guest curator for next year’s Sommerakademie at the Paul Klee Zentrum, and this was a planning session for next August. Artists and curators under the age of 35 are eligible for selection, and can either be nominated by one of the designated nominators … or can nominate themselves. Twelve will be chosen for the two week event. So if you want to know more, check out the website, www.zpk.org
Sigmar Polke’s agate windows
My last day in Switzerland was spent in Zurich with Jacqueline Burckhardt, director of the Sommerakademie, and co-editor of Parkett magazine. One of her past curatorial projects was to find an artist to design new windows for the Grossmunster Church in Zurich, a project completed in 2009. German painter Sigmar Polke chose sliced agate to make this glowing window, one of the series of 12. A remarkable solution to classic stained glass. It was his last project before his death.
