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Inaugural Brave exhibition at Southern Guild Gallery
Over the last six years, Rock Girl has grown from a small grassroots art and education programme for girls to become the charity of choice for South African artists and designers committed to creating a safer South Africa for all. The Rock Girl Safe Spaces campaign, launched in August 2010, has seen designers like Laurie Wiid van Heerden, Atang Tshikare, Mokena Makeka, Lovell Friedman, and the late Paul du Toit create one-of-a-kind public benches around the city. Rock Girl has also successfully advocated for the construction of a new school in Manenberg for 800 learners, and, most recently, organised a 35km pan-community run from Khayelitsha to Cape Town to bridge the divide between communities and raise awareness about the need for safe spaces in every part of the Cape Town.
Picture: Supplied
Following the success of the Safe Spaces campaign, which saw the installation of 55 Safe Space public benches around Cape Town, in 2015 Rock Girl embarked on a series of road trips around South Africa. High school girls were trained as journalists and photographers, and travelled over 2,000km to document the stories of girls and women on radio and film and explore their own country, returning home with a new lens on their lives.
On 29 and 30 July the Southern Guild Gallery will host the inaugural Brave exhibition and auction and awards dinner, featuring photographs, artwork, poetry, and stories collected by Rock Girl youth reporters and photographers, who live on the front lines of some of the most dangerous, under-served communities in the country.
Auction dinner
At the auction dinner on Saturday, 30 July, artists and designers, along with luminaries from across South Africa, will come together to raise funds to support Rock Girl’s 2016 road trips and ongoing work to ensure safe spaces for girls, and everyone. At the event, the first Brave mobile studio will be unveiled (a partnership with Greenpop) and three Brave awards will be given to a teenage girl, a woman, and an organisation or business that demonstrates a commitment to creating a culture of non-violence.
After a dinner created by Karen Dudley and her team at The Kitchen, Southern Guild will host an auction of one-of-a-kind pieces created by well-known artists and designers, including Brave earrings by Kirsten Goss, a Brave bench by Lionel Smit and Laurie Wiid van Heerden, an exclusive Brave piece from Pichulik, bespoke safaris from Wilderness Safaris and Singita, and a weekend at a Perfect Hideaways retreat. In addition, a Brave pop-up shop will offer limited-edition necklaces, T-shirts, scarves and more by South African designers.
The highlight of the night will be the launch of the Brave accreditation for businesses. Criteria for Brave accreditation will be announced and at least two businesses will receive the first official accreditation, with invitations open to businesses across South Africa opening in late 2016.
Fundraising event
On Friday, 29 July, teenagers from across Cape Town will be invited to the Southern Guild Gallery for a fundraising event targeted at youths. Rock Girls from Manenberg, Gugulethu, Elsies River, Khayelitsha and Goodwood will mingle with learners from schools across the Western Cape, discussing strategies to end violence in general, and, specifically, to end gender-based violence.
To find out more about the event, go to www.rockgirlsa.org or contact India Baird on +27 (0) 82 734 4569 or indiaviva@earthlink.net or Ruby Schalit on +27 (0) 82 729 5336.
