18 - 24 August 2008

LOTS of good talks on this week – I'm going to the one on the Magaliesberg. Follow LUCILLE DAVIE'S selection of the most interesting city activities.

Madiba's birthday concert
Celebrate Madiba's birthday this weekend by attending a concert at the Johannesburg Stadium on Saturday, 23 August. South African artists include Jonas Gwangwa, Jimmy Dludlu, Danny K, Karen Zoid, Jae, Jozi and Gang of Instrumentals, and South Africa's youngest rising star, violinist In-Cha. International artists include Senegalese singer and guitarist Baaba Maal, jazz singer Dorothy Masuka from Zimbabwe and Congolese singer Kampi Moto. All proceeds will go the Nelson Mandela Foundation and its charities. The concert begins at 11am. Tickets, from R40, are available from Computicket. Read more.

Digging for the truth
Get to the annual AJ Orenstein Memorial Lecture by Dr Hendrik Scholtz entitled "Digging for the truth: lessons from my book". Dr Scholtz is the former professor and chief specialist of Forensic Pathology Services in the Gauteng department of health and head of the division of forensic pathology in the School of Pathology, Wits Faculty of Health Sciences. He will talk about some of the important forensic and life lessons he has learnt from the array of cases he has dealt with in 17 years of forensic pathology practice, dealing with such cases such as homicidal deaths, ritual murders, accidental deaths including mine-related deaths and mass disasters as the 2004 South East Asian tsunami. This happens on Thursday, 21 August at 6pm at the Lecture Theatre, 5th Floor, Wits Medical School, 7 York Road, Parktown. RSVP to 011 717 2067.

Power and powerlessness
The 2008 Ruth First Journalism Fellows are Hilary Joffe, financial journalist and senior associate editor of Business Day and award winning Times photographer Alon Skuy, who will present his photographic exhibition "Power and powerlessness: life under the bridge". Skuy spent six weeks living inside a Johannesburg concrete highway bridge and will exhibit photographs of a community living there. Joffe has undertaken substantial research behind the scenes of South Africa's current power crisis and will speak on "Power and powerlessness: the South African energy crisis". Special guest will be Bobby Peek (environmental activist and director of groundWork) who will speak on "The elite energy crisis and environmental justice". The exhibition and lecture will be held at Atlas Studios, 33 Frost Avenue, Milpark at 6pm on Monday, 18 August. Skuy will lead a walk-around through his photographic exhibition at 5.15pm and again after the programme. RSVP via email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or fax to 011 717 4694.

Joburg jol
Go on a Joburg jol with the Parktown & Westcliff Heritage Trust, on Saturday night, 23 August. You'll take in several pub stops, enjoy a buffet meal, and have a spooky ending to the evening. You'll need to dress warmly and bring along a torch. Tickets are R450, available from Computicket. The tour lasts around 5 hours. Meet at 7pm at the Pound & Penny pub at the Sunnyside Park in Parktown. For more info phone Eira (mornings only) on 011 482 3349.

Walk at Klipriviersberg
Go on a walk at the Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve walk on Sunday, 24 August at 9am. Meet at the end of Frandaph Road, Mondeor.

Sundowners at UJ
Take in a Sundowner Concert this week at the Kingsway campus of the University of Johannesburg in Auckland Park. They take place every Monday, and are free. This week you can enjoy a concert by American pianist Gustavo Romero, playing Beethoven's Sonata in E-flat Major, Opus 7, Sonata in G minor, Opus 49, No 1, Sonata in F Major, Opus 10, No 2  and Sonata in A-flat Major, Opus 26 Sonata in E-flat Major, Opus 81a ("Les Adieux"). The show starts at 5.30pm. The concert takes place at the UJ Art Centre, Entrance 1 on Kingsway Road, Auckland Park. For more info call 011 559 3058.

Rendezvous 2008
"Rendezvous 2008, focus wearable art" is not a conventional fashion show but an expression of art that can be worn, coupled with an exhibition of original sketches and preparatory works. The fashion show takes place on Friday, 22 August at 7pm at the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture (FADA) at UJ's Bunting Road campus. Tickets are R150 for VIP seats, or R50 for standing places, available at the door, or from Musha at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Diane Victor, Michelle Harris, Clive Rundle, Strangelove, Musha Neluheni, Nerupa Sing, Cara Snyman and many others will be exhibiting. Each artist has agreed to donate 20% of their sales to a fund set up for disadvantaged student organisations. The exhibition will be held in the FADA Gallery at from Saturday, 23 August to Friday, 5 September. The gallery is open from 9am to 4pm weekdays. Phone Lauren on 011 559 1006 for more details.

The Battle of Square Hill
The SA National Museum of Military History has display that commemorates the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Square Hill on 19 September 1918, during WW1. The battle was fought by the 1st Battalion Cape Corps, a battalion raised from the coloured community which formed part of the British forces fighting in Palestine in the campaign against Turkey. The Cape Corps has its origins in the Khoikhoi regiments raised by both the Dutch and the British during the colonial periods of the 18th and 19th centuries. Through the years it was known by various names such as the Hottentot Corps, the Cape Regiment and the Cape Mounted Riflemen. Square Hill, along with the sinking of the SS Mendi (21 February 1917) and the Battle of Delville Wood (14-20 July 1916), was a defining moment for SA during the war. When the Battalion attacked and took Square Hill, they justified the faith that the coloured community had placed in them and gave new life to a military tradition that began in the 1780s. The display will run until October 2008. The museum is located in Erlswold Way, Saxonwold and is open every day between 9am and 4.30pm. Entrance is R22.

Big-screen rugby
Kit-up in your green and gold and get to the Hillfox Market from 2.30pm on Saturday, 23 August to see the Springboks take on the Wallabies live on the big screen in the Hillfox Sports Zone. Join Bok celeb André Pretorius for 80 minutes of guts and glory as SA tackles Australia in the home leg of the 2008 Tri-Nations series. Draft beer, biltong, boerewors and spot prizes complete the perfect rugby Saturday. Enjoy the Hillfox Market while there, with 250 stalls, a good court, kids' entertainment, and a sports zone, open from 9am to 5pm. It's on Hendrik Potgieter Drive in Weltevreden Park.

Kader Asmal to talk
Catch the tail-end of a colloquium entitled "The Bonfire of 1908: passive resistance then and now" on Monday, 18 August with a lecture by prof Kader Asmal at the Constitutional Court Foyer at 6pm. For more info contact prof Isabel Hofmeyr on 011 717 4140/2 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Kagiso Pat Mautloa at the Goodman
Get to the Goodman Gallery for an exhibition of Kagiso Pat Mautloa's work, entitled "Other presences", from Friday, 22 August. The exhibition consists of large paintings, collaged works and abstract landscapes depicting Joburg city life, including mine shafts and townships. The exhibition will run until 13 September. The gallery is open Tuesdays to Fridays 9.30am to 5.30pm, and Saturdays 9.30am to 4pm.

Health sciences expo
The annual Wits Faculty of Health Sciences research day and postgraduate expo will be held on Wednesday, 20 August. Invited speakers include Lenore Manderson (research professor in the School of Psychology, Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine at Monash University, Australia) renowned for her work as a medical anthropologist and social historian and also for her work in sociology and public health; and prof Tim Noakes (Discovery Health Professor of Exercise and Sports Science and Director of the UCT/MRC Research Unit for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine), a world leader in sports and exercise science. Registration starts at 7am at the faculty at 7 York Road, Parktown.

HIV-positive motherhood
The Emthonjeni Centre invites you to a seminar presentation entitled "Trauma and HIV-positive motherhood" by Dr Carol Long. The seminar will explore the themes and challenges of trauma and HIV-positive motherhood through the voices of HIV-positive mothers, and aims to offer an in-depth understanding of the contradictory experiences both motherhood and HIV introduce, the traumatic aspects of each identity, as well as the possibilities and hopes they entail. This takes place on Friday, 22 August at 2pm in the Small Lecture Theatre, Emthonjeni Centre (the old Education building on East Campus). Cost is R50. For more info contact Leoni Futter on 011 717 8677 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Children's art at Spaza Gallery
Twenty pre-school children from the Lapeng Creche in Joubert Park took part in a two-day workshop at the Keleketla Library, where music and art was explored as part of neurological development in early childhood development. The children's artwork has been used to create 5 pieces for the Joburg Art Bank. These works plus selected drawings by the children will be exhibited Wednesday, 20 August at the Spaza Gallery at 6pm. In addition, work from a sculpture workshop, hosted by the gallery and facilitated by the rural sculptor Zamokwakhe Gumed, will also be exhibited. The gallery is at 19 Wilhelmina Street, Troyeville. Phone 011 614 9354 for more details.

Hominids and the odd tool
On Thursday 21 August the SA Society for Amateur Palaeontologists will present a talk by Christine Steininger entitled "Hominids, the odd tool and strange new species from Cooper's Cave ". The talk is free and takes place at 7pm at the Origins Centre. Phone Tinus on 083 628 2372 for more info.

JPO's third season
The third season of our wonderful Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra is upon us. On Wednesday and Thursday, 20 and 21 August enjoy the JPO's rendition of Borodin's In the steppes of central Asia; Prokofiev's Violin Concerto no 2, op 63 in G minor; and Rachmaninov's Symphony no 2, op 27 in E minor. The soloist is violinist Daniel Rowland; the conductor is Bernhard Gueller. Tickets from Computicket. The concert takes place at the Linder Auditorium, Parktown, at 8pm. There will be a pre-concert talk at 7.15pm.

Magaliesberg talk
Environmentalist and the author of The Magaliesberg Vincent Carruthers will be talking about the Magaliesberg on Thursday, 21 August at 7.30pm at the Delta Park Environmental Centre, Victory Park. His talk is entitled "The Magaliesberg – proposed biosphere". Cost is R30. Bring along his book if you have it, for signing.

Note: the events are subject to change.