Casa Labia - Cultural Centre in Muizenberg, Cape Town, South Africa

Spring Newsletter – October 2011

Dear Friends of Casa labia

With the winds shifting direction slightly here in Muizenberg and heralding the much anticipated change of season, we shrug off our jumpers to embrace our shirt sleeves, welcoming the arrival of Spring with renewed energy and sense of fun.

On the 12th November we will be launching “Picnics on the Lawn” at Casa Labia. We are hugely excited about this, most especially as it ties in perfectly with the anniversary of the first ever event held at Casa Labia 81 years ago, in celebration of the King Of Italy’s birthday! Our picnics will surely be less grand but will provide a wonderful setting for a fun family day out, with the most magnificent mountain AND ocean view in Cape Town! Hampers are R285 per couple and include delicacies such as Vegetable and Bulgar Wheat salad, Judy’s Famous Chicken Liver Pate, Butternut Hummus, Home-made Foccaccia bread, Italian Prosciutto and Salami and decadent Chocolate Brownies and fruit skewers to end off with! To book a hamper please contact the café and look out for a surprise for the kids…

Also very exciting news in the café is our new menu which will be launching in early December, so please bring family and friends to sample our summer delights!

The Spring / Summer Casa Labia Cultural Programme expertly compiled by Jacky Folley has been released and promises yet another season of exciting events, lectures and other interesting activities. We have a special Christmas concert planned on the 9th December and Jacky is already hard at work with rehearsals.  The concert has added significance this year as we are hoping to raise some funds for the wonderful animal welfare organization TEARS, and will be full of Christmas spirit for the whole family including mince pies, festive wine and a wonderful performance by Barry Smith on the piano and the Intermediate group of Masque Theatre Drama School. Don’t miss out on Ed Saunder’s lecture series and visit the website www.casalabia.co.za for more…

In the gallery we are extremely excited to host Cheryl Rumbak from Kalk Bay Modern and her superb curated show entitled ‘Art on Paper’ open to the public on the 19th October. This is a very exciting opportunity for Casa Labia and we thank Cheryl for bringing her expertise to our gallery. Cheryl has carefully selected a fantastic line up of artworks for both the art lover as well as the investment buyer;

Artists featured include William Kentridge, Deborah Bell, Peter Clarke, Penny Siopis, Macomb Payne, Wilma Cruise, Cecil Skotnes, Anne Sassoon, Colbert Mashile, Judith Mason, Willem Boshoff, Bonwen Findlay, Nat Mokgosi, Diane Victor and David Koloane.  The exhibition also showcases some of our country’s rising starts such as Jane Eppel, Michele Tabor, Paul Molete, John Murray, Kate Gottgens, Fiona Pole and Conrad Botes.

In other gallery news, In Bloom 2 will be opening at the beginning of December and promises a visual feast for the eye, but more information on that to follow…

Our events business is also picking up nicely thanks to the dedicated efforts of our Events Manager Emma Vaughan who has ensured that we have a wedding booked every month from now until April – Well done Emma! New to the events calendar is the “Casa Labia Movie Night”, with surprise film showings every other month.  Our first screening went exceptionally well so stay tuned for news of the next film. We also have an extremely exciting musical event lined up in February 2012 with acclaimed International Opera singer John Treleaven performing in Cape Town, at Casa Labia, for one night only, brought to you in association with Citadel. We will bring you more information on this in January but let me just say now that this promises to be an extremely exciting event not only for Casa Labia but also for the musical community of Cape Town in general… so watch out for more information on how to book!

To ensure that we are all fit and healthy as we enter the sunny season, we have begun a few new initiatives that are proving very popular and great fun too.  On Monday and Wednesday evenings, Maya Pfaff leads a yoga class from one of the upstairs rooms with glorious views and relaxing ocean noises completing the soul-enriching experience and we have also introduced a Saturday morning exercise class on the lawn under the expert guidance of Casa Labia’s very own personal trainer, Catherine Priday.  Should either of these activities interest you, please contact the administration office.

The gardens are really showing superbly at the moment and all the original plantings have matured wonderfully thanks to the foresight of our horticultural advisor Hank Lith as well as the kind help and advice of our neighbour, Emily Dibb. The garden flourishes thanks to the generous care given by Clyford our estate manager.  The vines too are beginning to bud again and we have recently planted an olive grove on one of the terraces and look forward to harvesting some eating and oil olives in a few years time. Do remember to stroll in the garden the next time you visit us!

Our family has done some growing of its own and our baby daughter Amelie Ida Grace is now 3 months old!  She has already popped in on a few occasions with mom and dad and seems very approving of the Casa Labia.  Everyone’s favorite administrator, Sally-Anne Sole, has also had a little daughter Maddison Sophia join her family so we can look forward to lots of fun with the young ones in the years to come.

Finally, none of what we do here at Casa Labia would be at all possible were it not for you, our loyal supporter.  A very big thank you to all who attend the lectures and concerts, dabble in the art classes or peruse the art in our gallery, as well as to those of you who dine regularly in our café.

We are, as ever, hugely appreciative of your ongoing support.

Happy Spring time and see you soon!

Antonia

Winter Newsletter – July 2011

As I write this I am blessed by a huge change in my life; our two week old daughter is gurgling away next to me. Amelie Ida Grace was born safely on the 7th July 2011, the next generation of the Hardres-Williams/ Labia family entering the world and bringing immense joy with her!

And so winter 2011 marks a period of change for the staff of Casa Labia Cultural Centre. With Sally-Anne’s pregnancy coming to an end in August, and the birth of our baby girl in July, we have had to make a few staff adjustments.

For the next few months I will continue to take a back seat – not invisible altogether – but handing over the management reigns to my very capable husband to keep an eye on things. It’s not a strict maternity leave for me, but this sharing of responsibility gives me the time and flexibility to devote my energy to our daughter for the remainder of the year. No doubt Amelie and I will be visiting Casa Labia often, especially as the weather starts to get warmer and the garden begins to bloom in spring.

Gareth brings with him a wealth of experience in the hospitality industry, a keen marketing, PR and business mind, and complete commitment to the success of this family enterprise. I have no doubt that his input will be extremely valuable to Casa Labia and I join with the rest of the Casa Labia staff in welcoming him to the team.

From August until January we wish Sally-Anne a happy maternity leave and safe delivery of her baby. She will be much missed but I am sure this next chapter in her life will open up a whole new world to Sally and Geoff.   From the whole Casa Labia team – Good Luck Sal and enjoy!

Our excellent Programme’s Coordinator, Jacky Folley, has been hard at work as usual, planning interesting lectures and workshops. Please look at our website or notice board for a full list and all prices, but a few highlights include; continued tours of the house by Estelle Jacobs and Jacky Folley. These can be booked at any time for any number of people and provide a fascinating insight into the art collection, the history of the house and the Labia family as well as information on the current exhibition in the gallery.  June Botha will be lecturing on the 24th August again, her first lecture was very popular and this one promises to be equally so. Friend of Casa Labia, Lloyd Pollak, will be lecturing again on the 3rd August and on the 17th August Concert Pianist from New York, Kathleen Tagg, will be performing as part of our regular Cocktail Concert series. Stan and Van – the favourite artistic duo – are back and their workshops are on and filling up fast for September and October. As always, our Up and Coming concerts are popular on Saturday afternoons (no charge for these) and enjoy live piano music performed on our grand piano in the Ballroom, every Wednesday from 12h30, with Henry, our brilliant in-house pianist!

Despite the winter chill we have enjoyed being part of many wonderful celebrations and charity fundraisers at Casa Labia.  In April we were part of Kelly and Daryne‘s very special ‘movie’ themed wedding, complete with popcorn machine and photo booth! Our Ballroom, Drawing Room and Dining room remain a popular choice for private dinners and functions including a retirement party for the Cape Town Cycle Tour Trust ; an 18th century Venetian Ball birthday party and a 90th Birthday lunch.  In May the Safer Together Winter Soiree fundraiser took place.  It was a superb evening of musical performances from 11 artists, a show of ballroom gowns from Mystic Rose in Kalk Bay and delicious canapés prepared by our fantastic Cafe.  Safer Together is a volunteer organisation that works in support of community safety initiatives in the Greater Muizenberg area and we were pleased to be involved in this community event.  The rest of 2011 is set to be very busy with a wedding booked every month from November to April!  We will be launching our 2011 Gold and Platinum cocktail party packages in August, so give me a call to book your company’s end of year celebration.

Akojo to Lewa (A Beautiful Collection), our exhibition of Nigerian Textiles, has been very successful. Particularly special were the school visits from Muizenberg Junior School, hosted by Jacky Folley and Clare Graaf.

For the month of August we are hosting a special exhibition in the Conference Room called “Wild Within”. A collection of photographs by Liz Hardman, Wild Within is a photo essay recorded over a two year period showing episodes of baboon life. The majority were taken in the Miller’s Point area and portray the many challenges faced by these remarkable and complex primates. In contrast to the scenes of baboons at play or foraging for natural foods, are frames of car raiding and chaos as a result of negative human interaction. Through this exhibition the photographer hopes to engender an appreciation of these wild creatures as an integral part of our natural heritage. Also on exhibit are winning pictures of the local schools art competition sponsored by the photographer.
Guest speaker, Ms Tali Hoffman, will also be giving a series of talks on the Southern Peninsula’s baboon troops.

In the main gallery area, ‘ArtSideIn’, a new and innovative addition to the art world, will be curating an independent commercial art exhibition from Wednesday 17th August to Sunday 9th October 2011, styled “Intimate Spaces”. This exhibition will feature an exciting array of new artworks by; inter alia, Makiwa Mutomba, Nicole Susan Pletts, Daniel Novela and Sue Greeff.  The medium of the artworks will be oil on canvas, oil and mixed media on canvas, acrylic and mixed media on canvas & charcoal and mixed media on paper.  The artworks selected from each artist for this exhibition have been handpicked and will jointly make for an eclectic selection of art.  There will be something to appeal to everyone, no matter how diverse the taste.

In September, Sheryl from Kalk Bay Modern will be curating a show of ‘Works on Paper’… more information on this and Casa Labia in Bloom (2) to follow in the next newsletter!

And so, as we face exciting change we are also delighted to be able to say that, a year after opening, Casa Labia is growing from strength to strength. A wonderful support system of loyal visitors to the Cafe and our Cultural Centre is increasing, and despite quiet times in Cape Town in the winter months we are happily still busy in the Cafe, with the Event’s side also growing steadily. We are planning and preparing for a very exciting summer season and look forward to bringing you more exciting news of upcoming happenings then!

Until then, all the best…

Antonia