Arts and Humanities

Clarke's Bookshop

A bastion of political, art and current affairs information, books and catalogues, this Long Street shop is both library and retail set-up, with owner Henrietta Dax and her enthusiastic team pointing visitors in the right direction. Wander upstairs and ask to see the Africans collectibles. Hours: 9.00am-5.00pm Mon-Fri; 9.00am-1.00pm Sat.

The Book Lounge

Book lovers and literati agree: this underground- though -accessible bookstore is deserving of all its accolades. From the period building exterior to the wood-clad interiors and downstairs lounge complete with coffee machine, comfy chairs and an owner and staff complement who're madly, gladly in love with books, this one is a winner. A great stop for South African...

Little Theatre & Arena Theatre

Part of the University of Cape Town's Department of Drama — these two campus performance spaces offer a mix of student and professional works. The Little Theatre has seating for 240 while the smaller Arena Theatre is an experimental space with 70 seats. Hours: Box office 9.00am-4.30pm Mon-Fri. No-Credit Cards are accepted.

Intimate Theatre

Housed on the campus of the University of Cape Town's Drama department, this petite spot was originally a student working space but nowadays it plies a host of professional productions. The Intimate was created in 2002 by theatre makers Christopher Weare and Patrick Curtis - their vision was to create a theatre that would afford professionals room to experiment, something...

The Fugard

The Fugard is a relative newcomer, but has become one of the Mother City's top theatre spots since opening in 2009. Named after internationally renowned South African playwright Athol Fugard, the theatre provides a home for the award-winning Isango Portobello Theatre Company. The theatre's first year saw works like the world premier of Fugard’s play, The Train Driver, and...

Artscape Theatre Centre

This imposing grey edifice might not be the prettiest building around, but it's played host to some impressive productions over the years. Situated in the heart of Cape Town's financial district, the city's premier theatre venue has been around since 1971. Behind the revolving glass doors lie a regal opera house, a 540-seater theatre and a tiny arena for more intimate...

Misael SA Art and Design

In 2009 Misaels opened in an historic building in Cape Town. The result of a collaboration between Italian architect Arrigo Cora and South African architect Y Tsai, the contemporary chic interior is a cool white space that focuses the senses. Experience once-off art, design, fashion, ceramics, accessories, furniture, and photography along with a quick drink. It is a...

YoungBlackman

Created by artist Ed Young and Matthew Black man, this project room facilitates dialogue between the artist and the visitor. Kendall Geers's most recent show, entitled 1993, perhaps best encapsulates the ethos of this space. In short, Geers lobbed a couple of bricks through the entrance window, thus commenting on his 1993 work Title Withheld (Brick). And that was it. The...

Worldart

Charl Bezuidenhout owns curates and runs this stamp-sized nook in Church Street. Since its inception in 2004, the gallery has become associated with a small stable of respected SA artists of the pop persuasion, including international best-sellers Gavin Rain and Richard Scott, as well as Alex Hamilton, Michael Taylor and Ayanda Mabulu. Hours: 10am-5pm Mon-Fri; 10am-1pm...

Wessel Snyman Creative

In a quiet section of Bree Street is Snyman's ubercool corner gallery. Now opening nights see the city's scenesters spilling onto the pavement as the (often controversial) work of just-graduated unknowns are put in the limelight Perhaps the most ambitious show to date was the aptly titled Smorgasbord, where Snyman utilised every square centimetre of the space to its...

Johans Borman Fine Art Gallery

This grown-up gallery is heaven for art investors, and houses a treasure chest of paintings, prints and sculptures by South African masters, as well as a smaller collection of contemporary work. Iconic local modernist artists on the inventory include Pierneef, Boonzaaier, Stern, Laubser, Sekoto and Battiss, whilst present-day names include Philip Barlow and Marlene von...

Joao Ferreira

This tiny exhibition space has been adorned by the works of prominent local and international artists, including Araminta de Clermont's arresting Matric farewell pics, Louise binder's nostalgic oil paintings, Warren Edition's invest-worthy prints and Jessica Hilltout's photography depicting African-style soccer. Hours: 10am-5.00pm Tue-Fri; 10am-2pm Sat.

iArt

The cavernous main section of this sophisticated locale is chiefly dedicated to the display of large works, with Matthew Hindley's full-length portraits, Zwelethu Mthetwa's blown-up pics of Mozambique, Paula Louw's found-object collages and Jan van der Merwe's rusted sheet-metal 'paper' jets all having vied for attention at one time or another. Photorealist works by...

G2 Art

This chic side street gallery, under the eye of Di Smith, encompasses a range of commercial offerings covering all media. The permanent showroom highlights the whimsical oil-paint illustrations of Roelie van Heerden, large-scale abstracts by Jenny Merritt, the photography of Grada Djeri and Anthony Gadd's figure studies. The adjacent exhibition space features a miscellany...

Focus Contemporary

Facas has moved premises to the Loop Street art strip in town, and now boasts a cosier two-roomed outfit. Under the curation of co-director Gernot Achleitner, recent exhibitions have included a collection of dramatic celluloid-star pics by lauded theatre photographer Simon Annand, playful-with-a-bite pop collages by Karin Miller Christiaan Die-dericks's unsettling etches...