Century City Arts Trail

2 min read

In 2017 Century City launched its very own Arts Trail. It consists of 24 exhibitions, with most being in the open air and 4 exhibits inside Canal Walk Shopping Centre. We want to walk you through our favourite exhibits, as well as the ones easiest to reach from Colosseum Luxury Hotel. Ask for a Century City Arts Trail brochure at reception before setting off!

The first 7 exhibits on the brochure are within easy walking distance from Colosseum. Our favourites include the ‘Impromptu Pavilion’ at the Square (exhibition 1), which celebrates South Africa’s 11 official languages, each being represented by a column sized in accordance with the proportion of South Africans that speak the language; the Conference Centre Art Collection is a multi-medium exhibit that has an Afro-centric focus (exhibition 2); the ‘Sundial’ (exhibition 6), where one can determine the time of day (as long as the sun is out!); and the ‘MyCiTi Glass Wall’, which sees two artists each exploring, reading, and interpreting ‘city spaces’ in their own artistic manner (exhibition 7).

Next, we would like to point you to exhibition 12 on the map – the ‘Wind Turbine’. Placed at the foot of the Intaka Island bridge, Century City’s own nature reserve and bird sanctuary, the Wind Turbine was installed as a functional art piece and forms part of the Intaka Island Sustainability Exhibit. Along with photovoltaic panels on the roof of the EcoCentre, the turbine powers the Centre’s batteries and, by extension, the Centre itself.

The Arts Trail highlights one of South Africa’s most important cultural norms – community – and this is clear with exhibit 15, Painted Tiles. This piece was made with a practice called ‘Team Art’. It is unpredictable and exciting, as the end product remains a mystery until the completion of the piece. The tiles were painted by children and put together to form a framed mosaic. Exhibit 19, ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is’, further explores this theme of community. Placed in a traditional rural African scene, women are seen carrying water in the forms of hearts and sharing conversation. The hearts are symbolic of life-giving water, but also the connection and love formed in rural communities.

There are exhibits within Canal Walk Shopping Centre itself and these are sure to capture any shopper’s attention. Etienne de Kock’s ‘Cosmologic’ is a striking 14-metre high, 900-kilogram heavy sculpture that consists of 6 mythological winged animals. Elmarie van der Merwe’s ‘Glass Featherduster’ is South Africa’s largest glass sculpture, measuring at 13 metres in length. It reflects all the colours of the rainbow. Both sculptures hang from the ceiling of the Classical Mall, named such, as the walls are adorned with recreations of works by great Renaissance masters. Contrasting this, the Victorian Mall has its walls decorated with art by African artists.

Colosseum Luxury Hotel is proud to have these celebrations of diversity, community, culture, and sustainability on our doorstep! We love our Arts Trail, and we hope you do too.