Art Month at Welgemeend is about much more than just the curated thought-provoking exhibition Satire and Irony – running for the duration of August, it’s a month-long celebration of art which extends to art talks by thought leaders in the art world and an educational programme featuring art films and masterclasses.
 
A highlight on Cape Town’s winter art calendar, this year’s feature exhibition, Satire and Irony, showcases a selection of paintings by Robert Hodgins, Stanley Pinker and Alexander Podlashuc and sculptures by Peter Haden, from the collections of the Kilbourns, Marion and Jonathan Bloch, Erin and Leo Podlashuc, Caro Wiese and other private collectors.
 
This charity initiative, founded by collectors Lizelle and Frank Kilbourn in 2014, grew out of a conversation between Frank and Stephan Welz, Strauss & Co’s founding managing director about hosting a charity event to support the preservation of the illustrious manor home and cultural heritage Welgemeend, anno 1693, which was declared a monument in 1944.
 
Frank Kilbourn, who is Strauss & Co’s chairperson, says: “Art Month at Welgemeend is an important passion project for Strauss & Co and for us as a family. Over the past six years Art Month at Welgemeend has established itself as a powerful platform for private collectors to show their work to an art-interested public. I am particularly excited this year to be collaborating with long-time friends from the art community and business.”
 
As is custom, Art Month at Welgemeend will also include an exciting social and educational programme. The educational committee has selected two art-themed films. On Monday 12 August, Herb & Dorothy (2008), about collectors Dorothy and Herb Vogel, will screen, and on Monday 18 August, Art Month at Welgemeend will premiere a new documentary about Cape Town-based painter, Simon Stone.
 
This year’s Art Month at Welgemeend includes powerful masterclasses. On 17 August Lizelle Kilbourn will be in discussion with art critic Amanda Botha, their talk offering a helpful introduction to art evaluation. On 28 August, Hayden Proud, a curator at Iziko South African National Gallery, will deliver a lecture on Alexander Podlashuc. He is joined by Strauss & Co’s Dr Alastair Meredith who will reflect upon the work of sculptor Peter Haden.
 
Art Month at Welgemeend runs from 1 to 31 August and is a joint initiative between the Friends of Welgemeend, Lizelle and Frank Kilbourn, Marion and Jonathan Bloch, Erin and Leo Podlashuc, Strauss & Co, Delaire Graff Estate and others, with the support of Hoërskool Jan van Riebeeck.
 
To book your tickets to Art Month at Welgemeend in Gardens, Cape Town featuring masterclasses and art films ranging in price from R50 to R150 and a wine masterclass at R350, please visit https://www.welgemeendart.co.za/event-calendar/ or enquire via email info@welgemeendart.co.za