A violinist adds to the vibrant atmosphere of art and culture in a Church Street gallery, Cape Town.
For June 2025’s First Thursday, I set out to visit a gallery on Church Street in Cape Town. As a first-timer, I hadn’t realised that several galleries open their doors on these monthly cultural evenings — not just the 1895 Gallery on the corner of Church and Burg Streets.
I had originally planned to visit the 1895 Gallery after receiving an invitation from a local artist holding his first exhibition. However, on the morning of the event, the gallery owner messaged me via WhatsApp to let me know the exhibition had been cancelled. Still, I decided to go anyway — I’d never experienced a First Thursday in the city before, and I’d never been to a modern art gallery in Cape Town.
Arriving in Burg Street brought a rush of thoughts and memories. I was suddenly a child again, standing outside the Cape Times building with my mother in the late 1960s. We used to walk down to the Company’s Garden with my brothers while my father worked at the newspaper. Years later, I would also spend time working at the Cape Times. I remember slipping into Café Royal or heading up to Millies restaurant to enjoy a beer with fellow reporters. Those were vivid, formative times.
Inside the 1895 Gallery, I found an impressive collection of works by emerging and established artists. One piece stood out — a series of large canvases with delicate line work, almost like chalk drawn in acrylic. The simplicity of the technique created a surprisingly powerful visual effect. It reminded me that drama in art doesn’t always come from complexity.
After that, I wandered up Church Street to explore some of the other open galleries. A particular highlight was a showcase of ornithological art — a feast for any bird lover, with beautifully rendered depictions of avian life. There was also an entire gallery dedicated to dogs in art, which was both charming and surprisingly varied.
One of the modern galleries had a film installation playing — abstract footage of a coffee cup and other ordinary objects projected on a wall. A nearby room featured something I had never encountered before: geological art. The textures and colours evoked the layers of earth and stone, reminding me how closely science and aesthetics can be linked.
A small A4-sized painting caught my attention — just two colours, priced at R10,000. On one level, it seemed absurd. But then again, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That’s part of the magic of contemporary art: it invites conversation, humour, and even a little disbelief.
Another piece that stayed with me was a life drawing done on rice paper using shoe polish. The medium might sound unconventional, but the result was a striking composition — raw, expressive, and unexpectedly beautiful.
First Thursdays are a brilliant initiative — a vibrant celebration of Cape Town’s cultural life, not just through visual art, but also music, food, performance, and shared experience. It’s more than just gallery-hopping; it’s a night where the city breathes creativity.
P.S. I was delighted to discover that Google Maps has been updated with enhanced visuals and new information. It made navigating to the gallery — and back home again — refreshingly easy.
