The 2017 Nirox winter exhibition, Open Laboratory, will be open to the public throughout the Winter Sculpture Fair. Visitors can wander the park and discover the artworks, or picnic amongst the sculpture with family and friends.
ABOUT THE WINTER EXHIBITION: OPEN LABRATORY
12 dynamic curators appointed by 6 South African universities appropriate the park, to express their own insights through the work of 50 alumni artists who experienced their adulthood after the fall of apartheid – with all its promises, hopes and challenges.
Historically the vanguard of change, universities and their relations with society could not be more relevant or center stage than they are today.
The exhibition brings the universities into conversation with the public and encourages discourse amongst themselves and their students through public walkabouts, workshops and talks before and during the exhibition.
Seldom do curators and artists have the opportunity to come together to express their concerns on this scale, with this latitude.
The participating universities, their selected curators and exhibition titles are:
UP: Johan Thom & Shenaz Mahomed ‘Mmarakas. The Free Noise Station at Nirox’
TUT: Philiswa Lila & Runette Kruger ‘Classes and Methods: objects to perform’
UCT: Dr Siona O’Connel & Jade Nair
‘FREE-DOM : Ways of Life in the Wake of Catastrophe’
Unisa: Dr Gwenneth Miller, Maaike Bakker & Prof Nombeko Mpako ‘Against the Surge’
UJ: Gordon Froud & Thabang Monoa
‘Materiality, liminality, impermanence, dissolution and the environment’
Wits: Dr Same Mdluli
‘INYALA Station: #Operation Occupy Nirox’
For a taste of exhibitors who will be travelling to the Fair from Franschhoek, see the below listings:
Babylonstoren
Location:
South Africa
www.babylonstoren.com
Babylonstoren’s wines are best exemplified by their logo, which consists of the pipe, representing the farmer; the flower, representing the garden; and the bird, representing nature. It’s a combination of the very essence of Babylonstoren, that is keeping things as simple and as true to the earth as possible.
Black Elephant Vintners
Location:
South Africa
www.bevintners.co.za
Black Elephant Vintners is a new independent wine company operating from the heart of the majestic Franschhoek Valley. We source and produce wines from grapes grown solely in this picturesque corner of our beautiful South Africa. Black Elephant Vintners wines are made with passion and a love for this art that we believe should and must be shared.
Boschendal
Location:
South Africa
www.boschendal.com
Agriculture and a simple farm lifestyle are at the heart of Boschendal. One of the oldest farms in South Africa, founded 1685, the farm has grown with the passing centuries into a cherished source of wholesome produce, great wines and happy memories. Both their restaurant and winery will be present at the Fair.
Bread & Wine Vineyard Restaurant
Location:
South Africa
www.moreson.co.za
Bread & Wine Vineyard Restaurant, on the Môreson farm, exudes an old world charm. It is a character-filled, rustic restaurant that has won numerous accolades for its honest food. Neil Jewell, the Charcuterie Guru, is the inspiration behind the perfectly balanced, seasonally influenced and surroundings inspired, menu. His passion lies in his homemade Charcuterie that he prepares with mountains of patience and bucket loads of love.
Café des Arts
Location:
South Africa
www.cafedesarts.co.za
Café des Arts is a simple, rustic, relaxed restaurant where all that matters is the food.
Their chalkboard menu consists of ten or so items, always including a meat, poultry, veg and fish dish. The menu changes regularly depending on availability, season, freshness of ingredients and Chef’s mood. All menu items are made from the freshest, finest, local ingredients.
Dutch East
Location:
South Africa
www.dutcheast.co.za
Dutch East’s food philosophy is about simplicity and preserving the integrity of the main ingredient. It easy to cook food that tastes nice by overpowering the dish with too many flavours but it is very difficult to simply cook the ingredient and combine it with flavours that complement the ingredient and not overpower it. At Dutch East the focus is always on the main ingredients, which is why they believe Fresh is Best.
Franschhoek Kitchen at Holden Manz
Location:
South Africa
www.holdenmanz.com
Franschhoek Kitchen’s standards are based on the best international cuisine but their heart lies in the simplicity and pureness of each and every ingredient. High dining is for others, they prefer to see guests enjoy a home-made dish, inspired by the country we live in and the farm we work on.
Franschhoek Station Pub
Location:
South Africa
www.franschhoekstationpub.co.za
At ‘The Station’ order a craft beer and enjoy it upon the former platform, where people have come and gone for the past century. Inside ‘The Station’ building, the walls are filled with laughter and great times with friends and family, a menu to satisfy all your senses and Franschhoek’s best craft beer.
Fromage de France
Location:
South Africa
www.lacotte.co.za
Husband and wife Ludwig and Lodine Maske are proprietors of the specialist wine and cheese store, La Cotte Inn, in Franschhoek. They visit markets and specialist cheese shops in France and will be bringing these wonderful finds to the Winter Sculpture Fair.
GlenWood
Location:
South Africa
www.glenwoodvineyards.co.za
GlenWood is situated in the beautiful Roberstvlei valley and is fully planted with 30 hectares of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Merlot and Shiraz. Semillon was a “romantic” choice given its traditional association with Franschhoek. The other cultivars were natural choices to suit the valley’s terroir. Both GlenWood’s winery and restaurant will be present at the Fair.
Grande Provence
Location:
South Africa
www.grandeprovence.co.za
Grande Provence Estate wears her 300-year history with dignity. Sitting in the magnificent Franschhoek Valley in South Africa’s Western Cape, her lush vines spread across 30 hectares with gentle vistas over the valley floor, at odds almost with the rugged mountains beyond. This is heartland South African wine country.
Haut Espoir
Location:
South Africa
www.hautespoir.com
Haut Espoir produces distinctive, handcrafted wines in harmony with nature. Their biodynamic viticultural practises and traditional winemaking techniques ensure their wines reflect the unique terroir where these grapes are grown. The vineyard consists of noble red cultivars: cabernet sauvignon, shiraz, merlot, petit verdot and cabernet franc.
Haute Cabrière
Location:
South Africa
www.cabriere.co.za
Comprised of two farms, situated on opposite ends of the breathtaking Franschhoek Wine Valley, Haute Cabrière is something extraordinary. A rich history, a whimsical setting, a seductive approach to wine and a magnetic proprietor ensure that it is a decadent affair for any visitor. The core belief that wine is grown not made makes the farm’s ethos incredibly real and intrinsically human.
Holden Manz
Location:
South Africa
www.holdenmanz.com
Situated within an array of Franschhoek wine farms at the top of the Franschhoek valley, Holden Manz wine estate is dominated by the spectacular mountains which stand guard over the scenic vineyards below. The wine farm lies between Franschhoek and the Stony Brook rivers. This 22 hectare winery benefits from wonderfully fertile, dark loam soils and state of the art wine making.
Huguenot Fine Chocolates
Location:
South Africa
www.huguenotchocolates.com
This boutique chocolaterie, in the main street of Franschhoek, offers a delicious range of chocolates, made from the finest imported Belgian chocolate. Partners, Danver Windvogel and Denver Adonis are Belgian-qualified chocolatiers and their chocolates are made in view of visitors to the chocolaterie.
L’Ermitage Franschhoek Chateau and Villas
Location:
South Africa
http://www.lermitage.co.za
The restaurant at L’ermitage offers visitors and hotel guests an elegant and hearty seasonal a la carte menu. The restaurant also boasts an impressive selection of local wines.
La Bri
Location:
South Africa
www.labri.co.za
The crux of the La Bri renaissance began with the 2008 harvest, the first to be crushed in the new modern 120-ton cellar on the Estate. Prior to that, because they used a nearby cellar, the La Bri winemaking team was inhibited in fulfilling its philosophy of using both traditional and modern winemaking methods.
La Couronne Wine Estate
Location:
South Africa
www.lacouronnewines.co.za
Nestled between towering mountains in the beautiful Cape Winelands lies the La Couronne Estate. The farm has breathtaking views of the majestic Franschhoek Mountains & vineyards, with the tranquillity of the constantly flowing Berg River that runs through it. La Couronne wine ranges includes a Merlot red, Portside red, Sauvignon Blanc, an unwooded Chardonnay and a Muscadel.
La Motte
Location:
South Africa
www.la-motte.com
Situated in the beautiful Franschhoek Valley in South Africa’s Cape Winelands, La Motte is home to some of South Africa’s finest wines, recognized internationally for their exceptional quality. Wine-tastings at La Motte have been a long-standing tradition, offering visitors a memorable experience in a relaxed atmosphere, with friendly, knowledgeable personnel in attendance.
Lynx Wines
Location:
South Africa
www.lynxwines.co.za
Our aim is to deliver a range of expressive wines that reflect our unique terroir as well as the passion of the winemaker and his small team. The red wines, which brought Lynx instant success, are fruit driven and are best known for their smooth and elegant tannin structure. At Lynx all wines are grown, produced and bottled on the Estate.
Maison Estate
Location:
South Africa
Maison Estate has a newly planted vineyard which produced its first crop in 2008, mainly Chenin Blanc and Shiraz, also small amounts of Chardonnay and Viognier. We also produce olive oil in very small quantities from the estate. Old fruit trees and paddocks complete the picture.
Môreson
Location:
South Africa
www.moreson.co.za
Môreson is a little slice of magic. A place where every minute of every day is spent either making, working on or dreaming about wine. There is an absolutely focused passion that underlies this small boutique farm. It is this energy that ensures that our award winning Môreson wine and Méthode Cap Classique is characterized by a soulfulness that transcends the senses.
Normandie EST. 1693
Location:
South Africa
www.normandie1693.com
Normandie EST. 1693 is one of the original twenty nine French Huguenot-settled farms in the Franschhoek region of the Cape Winelands. Our privileged location on the mid slopes of the majestic Groot Drakenstein Mountain peak is twenty-eight kilometres from the Atlantic Ocean. Set in a unique microclimate of hot days and cool nights, sixteen of our forty eight hectares are planted to vine with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot grape varieties.
Rickety Bridge
Location:
South Africa
www.ricketybridgewinery.com
Rickety Bridge wine estate is undoubtedly one of the most progressive boutique wineries in the Cape. The flagship range, Paulina’s Reserve, proudly bears the name of original owner, Paulina de Villiers. In particular the flagship, a king among South African red wines, the Paulina’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. These distinctive South African wines, as well as the renowned Rickety Bridge classic range, have received several accolades at South Africa wine shows and around the world.
Terbodore Coffee Roasters
Location:
South Africa
www.terbodorecoffee.co.za
The Terbodore coffee brand embodies a true passion for the craft – they are artisan roasters who value heritage and precision above all else. The love and care they put into every roast emanates from each perfectly brewed cup of Terbodore coffee enjoyed.
The Franschhoek Cellar
Location:
South Africa
www.thefranschhoekcellar.co.za
The Franschhoek Cellar is situated in the gateway to Franschhoek, and their beautiful wines include the tropical Statue de Femme Sauvignon Blanc, a rich and aromatic La Cotte Mill Chenin Blanc, the elegant and citrusy Our Town Hall Chardonnay, the soft and juicy Old Museum Merlot, the spicy Baker Station Shiraz, and a smooth Churchyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Both their restaurant and winery will be present at the Fair.
