Welcome to the streets of Cape Town's oldest township, where the art world is being shaken up. Let yourself be surprised by this very special platform at 16 On Lerotholi Street in Langa.
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00:00This is the oldest township in Cape Town, hard to believe, but right here in Langa,
00:09in the 16 On Lerotoli Art Gallery, life is buzzing with joy.
00:14For us it's been lovely to see young students from all over Langa coming in and not being
00:21afraid to come into the gallery and come experience the show that we've put on.
00:2616 On Lerotoli has given the street in Langa a facelift.
00:32Built in 1923, Langa is considered as Cape Town's first township and was intended to
00:38surrogate the black community.
00:42Designed to maintain maximum visibility and control over residents, Langa in the 1960s
00:48became a centre of struggle for young people.
00:53What inspired Mpilong Kunkka and his brother to open a gallery in the township where they
00:58grew up?
00:59There were no galleries of this stature in this community when there are artists of a
01:05very high stature that come from this community.
01:08So we always felt there was a disconnect between where some of the artists are coming from
01:13and the areas that they're inspired by to where those works are being displayed and
01:18where they're being enjoyed.
01:23Before we find out what the neighbours actually think of these artsy party people, let's start
01:28with why he and his brother raised millions to transform this old home into this happening
01:34gallery.
01:39We really wanted to contribute to artists that come from areas like Langa who potentially
01:44wouldn't have opportunities to exhibit in other galleries in more affluent areas.
01:50With eight exhibitions in the last two years and over 1,800 visitors a month, Mpilong has
01:57made the gallery a hotspot in the township.
02:00And yet, why art?
02:02We come from a very artistic family.
02:05It's our father's side with the Ngunna brothers being amazing jazz musicians, our great-grandfather
02:10also being a legendary jazz musician.
02:13And from our mother's side too, we have a lot of musicians.
02:17So we really grew up around the arts, especially in the community.
02:21And for example, an artist that we work quite closely with, Munge Zikom, he grew up in the
02:26same road as I did.
02:31Munge Zikom is one of the local artists they created a platform for.
02:37You know when they say charity begins at home, to start it there.
02:42Because before, I never show other people in my location where I was born.
02:54One can see that Munge Zikom used to be a dancer.
02:59The joy and energy reflected in his art has an international hit.
03:05There's too much ups and downs in my location.
03:11So it's difficult for the artists.
03:13Like to have even a studio to do your own things, sometimes you need your own space.
03:19It's that time they found me in my location and then we started to work together.
03:25And then things have changed now.
03:31Mbilo has sold six of Munge Zikom's artwork at the International Art Fair earlier this year.
03:37Finally, he can afford the space to work.
03:43Mr Munge Zikom had an amazing fair.
03:46I mean, he's got a lot of commissioned works that were a result of that.
03:50And there's kind of a waiting list that is being developed for his works.
03:57What impact has the gallery had on the rest of the community?
04:05A new business centre has developed around the gallery.
04:09They've got like a lot of people that are coming through to want to see the gallery.
04:13And we're sitting right opposite them.
04:15So that's the first point of call.
04:18From there, the guys will point out that these guys are also selling clothing.
04:21And that's converted into sales for us, you know.
04:28Also born in Langa, Unatim Tuda opened an imported clothing store,
04:33making online fashion accessible to people who live here.
04:38We're investing in our own space and we know the traditional way of doing things.
04:42It's, you know, all sorts of things that are what the future is about, right?
04:47People want convenience.
04:49And that is exactly what the gallery team and us have done.
04:53We've brought convenience into the streets.
05:01So what does the future hold?
05:03The vision is to really transform this community
05:08and make this community turn the word township on its head
05:12and redefine what township even means.
05:24We've got plans of making Langa a smart city.
05:28So we really kind of want to aim high.
05:29And then within the arts, we want to really take African arts global.
05:34And we want to represent artists that come from areas like Langa,
05:39who would not normally get the opportunity and represent them globally
05:43so that the world can see how much amazing talent this content brings.
05:48It may be an unusual place for an art gallery,
05:51and yet Mpilo has achieved the feat of making his township more livable and lovable.