Fundraising dinner for BRAVE media road trip

8 Jul 2016

BRAVE, the new name of Rock Girl, is a grassroots female-led and female-oriented organisation, working in violent areas of the Cape Flats. It is collaborating with Southern Guild to host its upcoming relaunch in the Southern Guild gallery on 30 July 2016, where it hopes to raise enough funds for a road trip across South Africa to document the stories of other girls and inspirational female role models it meets along the way.

For the last six years, BRAVE has been working with girls in the gang-ridden areas of Cape Town, as an educational programme focusing on design and media, to introduce the girls to story-telling, documentary-making and media. It aims to invest in, inspire and encourage the next generation of bold and powerful females, regardless of their circumstances.

Rock Girls conducting an interview

It has grown from a small grassroots art and education programme for girls and now includes a number of 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 such as Laurie Wiid van Heerden, Atang Tshikare, Mokena Makeka, Lovell Friedman and the late Paul du Toit create public benches around the city.

It 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.

The display features photographs, artwork, poetry and stories collected by the group’s youth reporters and photographers, who live on the frontlines of some of the most dangerous, under-served communities in the country.

The auction features 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.

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 who demonstrate a commitment to creating a culture of non-violence.

The night will also see 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.

The road trip will allow the girls of BRAVE the opportunity to give a voice to their peers all over the country and learn invaluable lessons and confidence from the gift of travel. For more information, go to www.rockgirlsa.org. To purchase tickets, click here.