Cape Town – Any person of colour visiting or living in Cape Town will be able to tell you about the constant microaggressions we face on a daily basis.
There are places we don’t feel welcome, where the casual racism is either implied or outrightly displayed. It’s the microaggressions that hurt most though.
That’s why it’s so important for inclusive spaces to be created and enjoyed by those who live in Cape Town, or those who visit often.
I find it’s in the “new” spaces that inclusivity thrives.
A few months back, my wife and I spent the weekend in the Century City precinct. We stayed at Urban Square just a few weeks after the launch of the Bridgewater complex, and it was delightful.
We felt welcome and shared the breakfast area with Miss Zambia contestants. The precinct feels every bit as cosmopolitan as a hub in Johannesburg.
We didn’t miss the “verkramp” feeling of other districts in Cape Town where there is a concentration of swanky hotels, conference facilities and wonderful restaurants.
We dined at Gusto, a modern Italian place that would not be out of place in Sandton, with a crowd of patrons as cosmopolitan as they come. Unlike many other fancy restaurants in Cape Town, POC were not in the minority.
There were young and old, a group of teens celebrating a birthday, a mixed group of businesswomen celebrating a deal they’d just closed, a young family like ours, a young couple in the early stages of their relationship, businesspeople having drinks after work, an elderly couple as in love as they must have been the day they wed … and no-one made anyone feel out of place.
It was a truly inclusive space, and I think it’s because it’s “new”. The Century City precinct is free from the shackles of our horrible Group Areas past. It’s an all-access zone where anyone can feel welcome.
Another area in Cape Town that is experiencing a revival is Culemborg, on the south side of the Foreshore.
Hotels and office blocks are mushrooming in this usually dark and gloomy part of town. It’s only a matter of time before gentrified Woodstock extends into rejuvenated Culemborg, providing an uninterrupted corridor of nightlife and light.
Nestled in the heart is Ryan Joffe’s new The Rockefeller, atop which sits the spectacular STUDIO Cape Town, a restaurant cum lounge curated by musician Zakes Bantwini and styled by famed interior designer Tristan Du Plesis.
At the launch, Zakes spoke about the importance of having spaces where everyone feels welcome and part of something greater than themselves, and if the launch event was anything to judge by, STUDIO certainly is going to be that space.
Cape Town is in desperate need of more places that feel inclusive, where all feel welcome, where the lines of race and the baggage of the past can momentarily be lifted so we can dance together.
My wife and I spent some time with Ryan’s parents at the launch event, and it’s clear his upbringing under their influence contributed to the development of such an inclusive space.
Our host, Bantwini, even played a set later in the evening, as music industry mavens rubbed shoulders with the doyens of media and fashion.
It’s spaces like STUDIO and Gusto that will help pave the way for a more inclusive society, where POC can walk in, socialise, eat, drink and be merry without the side-eye glares of those longing for the “good old days”.
Cape Town has a long way to go before its spaces can emulate the cosmopolitan night spots of Johannesburg, but as is usual in the Mother City, it’s just going to take a little longer.
IOL