Cape Town - evolving beyond World Design Capital 2014

World Design Capital yellow frame at the V&A Waterfront. Image courtesy of Cape Town Tourism.

Cape Town has always been a creative city but now amongst its citizens, there has been a fundamental shift from thinking to doing. Creativity has spilled over from the design studio into the streets.

Cape Town Tourism CEO, Enver Duminy, believes there is a strong legacy behind World Design Capital. "The journey to redesign Cape Town continues in 2015 and beyond, as we overcome our past challenges to create a new city landscape that every citizen can be proud of. Our hope is that every ?visitor can experience this transformation first hand during their stay, never forgetting it as they leave our shores to return home."

The design experience of Cape Town is a quintessential facet to any visit. From exploring the abundant street art and clever recycle-wares to the bespoke and interesting art, furniture, street art, fashion, clothing, pop-up bars and restaurants - design is key to unlocking the Mother City - edgy, inventive, self-searching - and often - beautifully unexpected.

The City of Cape Town's Mayco Member for Tourism, Cllr Garreth Bloor, adds, "World Design Capital has been an instrument for change locally, opening up opportunities in the design sector for many talented and creative young people and, more importantly, encouraging those outside the traditional design arena to use design to transform their lives. It has ignited a process whereby we look to new innovative ways of doing things, improving service delivery and using that creativity to transform the lives of Capetonians - this is the real legacy of World Design Capital: that we now encourage innovative solutions that will transform the daily lives of those living in Cape Town."

The Watershed at the V&A Waterfront. Image courtesy of Leani Jansen van Vuuren

Design in Action

Cape Town's annual events calendar is now crammed with creative events - some of which launched in the World Design Capital year.

Design Indaba continues to draw global sway with its annual conference and expo of design from the African continent. Last year, Guild entered the playing field - bringing absorbing international work to Cape Town, whilst also showcasing local work and connecting creatives globally. The city's annual Open Design adds great energy and creativity to the mix, whilst other events celebrate public art (Infecting the City), multimedia, paint and sculpture (Cape Town Art Fair) and the city's ever-expanding gallery and fringe scene (First Thursdays and Thursday Late - a monthly evening event in the City Centre and Woodstock).

Key projects of the World Design Capital with lasting tourism legacy include The Watershed in the V&A Waterfront - a warehouse of carefully curated South African designed and manufactured wares. The Watershed will open its Workshop 17 co-working/innovation hub in April 2015. Another legacy project is the Langa Township Arts Gallery Tour - an art tour that takes visitors through the homes of talented residents in the culturally historic Langa township.

A game-changer for Cape Town will be the 2016 completion of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA). The extraordinary architecture by Thomas Heatherwick will reimagine the city's waterfront area, connecting it to the central city through a cultural precinct. Zeitz's collection, under the curatorship of Mark Coetzee, will be definitive in telling the contemporary art story for the African continent.

From the everyday unexpected discoveries to the extraordinary cultural adventures that are unfolding, tune in to Cape Town's ongoing design evolution.