CAPE TOWN, South Africa – Aldes Business Brokers, the largest business brokerage in South Africa with more than forty franchises around the country, has held their annual conference in March to honor their most successful franchisees. Aldes Atlantic, a Cape Town based Aldes franchise, has walked away with the top franchisee honors for the second year running.

“We've had another great year in 2013” said Andrew Hubbard, the franchise principal. “When it comes to the sale of a business, we make extensive use of the internet to drive our marketing and it has really worked well for us.” Spending heavily on Google Ad words, Aldes Atlantic is in a league of their own when it comes to marketing businesses for sale on the internet.

Aldes Atlantic has developed a proprietary web-based software system to handle the thousands of inquiries they receive during the year. This enables them to match buyers and sellers in a well-structured way with no-one falling through the cracks of forgotten tasks. Their software caters for automated email responses with matched links to various businesses for sale.

Recently Aldes Atlantic employed the services of digital marketing specialists’ puzhr.com to increase their generic search results. Having experienced the power of Google through their Ad words campaign, the next milestone is to drive even more buyers and sellers to their website via generic search results. “We are really happy engaging with puzhr.com as they fully understand the place of digital marketing in the sales process. They are a top class digital marketing agency who has taken time to understand the intricacies business brokers deal with daily.

” Having recently moved to new upmarket offices in Century City, Aldes Atlantic is poised for another good year in 2014. “We believe that credit constraints will ease in 2014 making it easier for buyers to fund purchases and to grow acquired businesses. This in turn will drive employment growth, something very necessary for South Africa.

” To find out how Aldes Atlantic can help you buy or sell a business visit their website at www.aldesatlantic.co.za

The National Department of Tourism, in partnership with South African Tourism, created the Lilizela Awards, a premier award that gives recognition to the top tourism players in the sector. The awards reward and celebrate the highest levels of excellence across the tourism industry.  

Aquila Private Game Reserve has been honoured to be awarded second place for Service Excellence in the Accommodation category. The judging was largely based on guest feedback, as measurements were put in place to allow the public to cast their vote.  

Judges were comprised of the Tourism Grading Council assessors, trade partners, tour operators and independent auditors who oversaw the judging process. Judges considered the consumer feedback, site visits, TGCSA scores, accessibility and affordability, authenticity of the experience and the overall quality of the experience.  

Set in the pristine Southern Karoo Highlands against a backdrop of dramatic mountains, the Aquila Private Game Reserve offers an exciting taste of real Africa just two short hours from Cape Town by road.   Aquila is home to an enormous variety of game, including the Big 5 -- elephant, rhino, lion, buffalo and leopard -- giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, many different antelope, baboons, jackal, bat-eared foxes, hippos and crocodiles. And many migratory birds stop en route at Aquila's own wetland.  Two- to three-hour game drives are a perfect way to see the animals (in four-wheel-drive vehicles, quad bikes or on horseback).  

Aquila's four-star chalets are built largely from rock, thatch and wood to blend with the environment and offer every comfort like  roaring log fires, wooden viewing decks, air conditioning, crisp percale linen, rock bathrooms and, in some, alfresco rock showers. A luxurious honeymoon suite is perched on a hill for the ultimate romantic getaway.  Aquila also offers ideal facilities for conferences and business meetings and it's a perfect place for the wedding of a lifetime too.  

There are two swimming pools, a pool bar, a cosy cigar lounge and a large dining room where the executive chef presents a rich variety of authentic South African cuisine. Feast on a breakfast fit for a king and for lunch and dinner a range of meat dishes including springbok and roast lamb, a variety of beautifully prepared vegetables and other side dishes, and to round off your meal, an array of superb puddings created on the premises as well as local cheeses and biscuits. Superb South African wines are on offer with your meal.  

If you don't have a lot of time to spare, a daily shuttle service from Cape Town International airport and all major Cape Town hotels will take you to Aquila and back for a perfect day trip.  

Owner of Aquila Searl Derman has always been committed to uplifting the town of Touws River, ever since hearing about the withdrawal of the railway from the town in the 1980's. This left massive unemployment of approximately 97% of a town of 9000 people. Derman has been recognised as 'Champion of the Poor' by the press and has been featured on Carte Blanche and Fokus for his award winning social upliftment and conservation efforts that have sustained the town. These include; a soup kitchen that has swopped food for litter and feeds up to 12000 meals per month. By cleaning the town, the recycled litter is used to pay for the school teachers. Derman continues to support the old age home and developed youth by sponsoring the town's rugby, cricket and soccer teams. Furthermore, Derman has donated several thousand blankets over the past 10 years, providing at least 1 blanket to almost every person in the town.  

Aquila Private Game Reserve has always been proud to host all visitors to Cape Town, however it is always very exciting to have visits from both local and international celebrities.  

Over the years Aquila has welcomed very influential visitors like Baroness Margaret Thatcher and Dep. President Rodolfo Nin as well as socialites and celebrities like Paris Hilton, Sacha Baron Cohen,  members of Good Charlotte including front man Benji Madden, Rihanna, MC Hammer, Katie Holmes and Luke Perry to name a few. With quotes left by Luke Perry “I've been to San Francisco but I did not leave my heart there, and it is a damn good thing cause I'd rather leave it here…” and Paris Hilton “incredible experience .. had the best time”, Aquila hopes to see them back on the reserve soon. Watch www.facebook.com/aquilasafari  for updates.

www.aquilasafari.com

CleanC the NPO behind the Cape Town Beach Clean Up held its first inter-community beach soccer tournament on Saturday 6th September. Despite inclement weather, 100 young soccer players from Dunoon, Joe Slovo, Langa and Table View took part in a number of 5-a-side games on Blouberg Beach.

“The event was preceded by the monthly beach clean up” says Organiser and CleanC Founder Greg Player “and as much as playing soccer was the intention, education about the environment, litter and the importance of keeping beaches and communities clean was equally as important”

All players were winners in the tournament as the focus more on fun than winning. Each player was given cooldrink courtesy of Jive and were given a healthy meal. 

The Soccer tournament forms part of a larger Beach Soccer Festival that CleanC are planning to host during the summer months and for which sponsorship is currently being sought. A series of tournaments will be held on various beaches around Cape Town with each including a beach clean up.  “These will become part of the CleanC and Cape Town annual calendar” says Greg Player “The event will create employment as well as promote the work of CleanC and the Cape Town beach clean up in a fun way”. 

From the Soccer Tournaments potential community youth leaders are identified and encouraged and invited to attend the youth leadership imbizos run by CleanC. From here community upliftment projects are identified by the youth in their communities, and with assistance from the CleanC NPO these are supported, planned and executed. Encouraging a spirit of entrepreneurship and developing leadership skills that can be transposed into the workplace and beyond.    

Dates for the forthcoming soccer festival have yet to be finalized and anyone who wishes to consider supporting or sponsoring this event should contact Greg Player.

11,000 Pieces of Free Chicken Served on Heritage Day

Cape Town, 9th September, 2014 – As all of South Africa celebrates Heritage Day on 24th September, residents of Cape Town are invited to make history with Hungry Lion by breaking the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest serving of fried chicken. 

Over 11,000 pieces weighing over 1.1 tonnes (1,100kg’s) of King Sized chicken will be served from a mega 4 metre high version of the Hungry Lion’s iconic Pride Bucket at the Liberty Promenade Mall in Mitchell’s Plain. 

Participants will enjoy the delicious chicken with a free Coca-Cola and will be awarded throughout the day with spot prizes and entertainment provided by Coca-Cola and TopStars AllStars.

“The event is the culmination of our popular ‘Lucky Bucket’ campaign which has seen over 1.5-million digital voucher downloads and has resulted in double-digit sales growth for the brand,” says Tashalene Reid, Brand Marketing Manager at Hungry Lion.

“We have handed out over R6.9-million in prizes since the inception of the campaign and our R100,000 grand prize winner will be announced on the day.” She explains that the purpose of the event is to show how we live up to our brand promise of giving Mzansi MORE, we couldn’t think of a better way than to put smiles on the faces of at least 11,000 people on Heritage Day.

“We chose Cape Town as the destination to break the record because of the generosity of the people of the city but at the same time are ensuring that we give everyone the opportunity to participate by going into any Hungry Lion store and sharing our Heritage Day Feast with the whole family,” Reid adds.

Four years ago the the record was broken by KFC in Kentucky, Louisiana with a weight of 907kg in celebration of their 70th birthday. 

The most recent record was broken on the 23rd of September 2011 in Japan by the Qatar Food Company at the Karaage* Festival weighing in at 1,076kg. 

Join Hungry Lion in bringing together friends and family throughout Mzansi to celebrate the diversity of our proudly South African heritage.

For more information visit: www.hungrylion.co.za or join the conversation on https://www.facebook.com/hungrylion or Twitter: @HungryLionSA #LuckyBucket #HeritageDayFeast *Karaage is a Japanese fried chicken dish that uses boneless chicken and a potato starch batter. It is becoming increasingly popular in some parts of the Western United States where it is colloquially referred to as 'JFC' (Japanese Fried Chicken).

The second development phase at Somerset Lakes, a 42-hectare residential estate in Somerset West, will be released to the market in mid September. The first phase sold out rapidly, with 114 sales being recorded within just six weeks of the launch. Construction of the first phase is well under way and occupation is expected to take place in mid 2015.

The new phase, Waterford Green, comprises 48 freestanding double-storey houses, selling from R1,3 million including VAT, no transfer duty. These two and three bedroom homes offer spacious, contemporary, open-plan living areas and private gardens. All homes include at least two bathrooms, one being en suite, and the three-bedroom design offers a garage and an optional guest toilet.

According to Dave Harris, Sales and Marketing Manager of Somerset Lakes, the new product has been specifically designed to help meet the growing demand for affordable, quality housing in the popular Somerset West area.

“We’ve been inundated with requests from buyers looking for houses,” Harris said. “People want freestanding homes with gardens, views and security, in close proximity to the centre of Somerset West, and that’s exactly what our latest product at Somerset Lakes has to offer.”

Designed by Schabort Associates Architects, the new development phase is located alongside the six-hectare lake that gives the estate its name.

“This unique feature is a huge attraction,” Harris commented. “It’s ideal for swimming, canoeing, sailing, windsurfing and fishing, and home to a rich variety of water birds. A magnificent community clubhouse on the shores of the lake, The Summer Club, will enhance the appeal of this fantastic recreational asset, providing residents with play areas, boat sheds, a sandy white beach, and a swimming pool and deck area with stunning views of False Bay and the Hottentots Holland mountains.”

The developers, Omwieco (Pty) Ltd, a consortium of highly experienced development professionals backed by financial giant Investec, have devoted no less than 40% of the estate’s total area to green, open space for the recreation of residents. This includes the lakes and other water features, a mature forest of stone pine trees, landscaped parks and gardens, and kilometres of walking trails and mountain biking tracks.

An indigenous fynbos nursery has been established on the estate, which was recently awarded the prized 2014 SALI Gold Award for landscape design by the South African Landscapers Institute.“No expense has been spared to implement the most technically advanced security system at Somerset Lakes,” said Harris. "These measures include electrified perimeter fencing with 70 high-definition surveillance cameras, which are monitored around the clock from the hi-tech guardhouse, 24-hour guarding and patrols, and an on-site rapid response team. Other advanced features include biometric fingerprint access control."

All homes in the estate will be hardwired with fibre-optic cabling for superfast internet access, DStv and VOIP telephone connectivity, which will allow free telephone calls within the estate.

A Curro Castle School is being constructed on the estate and is due to open its doors in 2015.

Convenient access to the Somerset West village has been provided by the developers through the R16 million construction of Reunion Drive, which links the main entrance of Somerset Lakes to Sir Lowry’s Pass Village Road under a specially constructed railway bridge. Just a few hundred metres from this entrance, an upmarket new shopping centre is now under construction, where Checkers, Woolworths Foods and Clicks will be the anchor tenants.The Vergelegen Mediclinic and the Somerset West CBD are less than two kilometres away, while popular Somerset Mall shopping centre is just 3,5 kilometres from the estate.

“When you consider the amazing lifestyle advantages Somerset Lakes offers, the security, the convenience of the surrounding amenities, and the incredible natural beauty of the estate, I have no doubt our second phase will sell as fast as the first one,” said Harris.“I strongly advise anyone interested to register online for an invitation to a pre-launch sales opportunity, ahead of our public launch in mid September, to avoid disappointment.”

For further information visit www.somersetlakes.co.za or phone 021 202 2200.

In anticipation of the Live Art Festival, the Gordon Institute for Performing and Creative Arts (GIPCA) presents two Pre-LIFE events, introducing some of the themes around which the 2014 Festival has been curated. The Pre-LIFE events will take place on Thursday 14 and 21 August at Hiddingh Hall, UCT Hiddingh Campus.

Pre-LIFE 1 comprises visual presentations and a panel discussion around one of the core themes in the Live Art Festival: The Periphery as Threshold. Speakers will consider notions of periphery and centre – what these mean as concepts in society and then for artists working outside the gallery system. Does the periphery exist by choice, by design, by force or tacit exclusion?  These ideas, as well as ideas around fringe art production and traditional gallery systems, how artists may resist definition by the legitimised space and the limitations of spaces defined as alternative and otherwise, will be pursued. Panelists include Loyiso Mkize, Astrid Gebhardt, Gavin Krastin,Nompumelelo Mamqwathi Rakabe, Kirsty Cockerill and Jarrett James Erasmus, chaired by Jay Pather.

Pre-LIFE1 will take place on Thursday 14 August at 17:30 at Hiddingh Hall, University of Cape Town (UCT) Hiddingh Campus, Orange Street, Cape Town; and is free. Refreshments will be served from 17:00; no booking is necessary. For more information, contact the GIPCA office on 021 480 7156 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or visit www.gipca.uct.ac.za.

NOTES TO EDITORS About the panellists: Kirsty Cockerill is currently Director of The New Church Museum, having been the Director of the AVA gallery and Collection Manager at Iziko South Africa National Gallery. Her passion for the development of cultural capital in South Africa motivates her involvement with projects that engage with public space, the development of emerging curators and professional practice in the visual arts arena.

Jarrett James Erasmus is a resident artist at Greatmore Studios and a member of Burning Museum collective. He graduated with a BFA from Rhodes University, was awarded the David Koloane Award from the Bag Factory Artist Studios and participated in a residency at Nafasi Art Space in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Erasmus’ work has social leanings that focus on the current state of society in a post-apartheid reality. He works mainly on a two-dimensional plane, but has recently moved towards performance, video and site specificity.

Nompumelelo Mamqwathi Rakabe is a multimedia artist, founder of BlackFossil Soul Creation and a curator. She is currently pursuing a post-graduate degree in Visual Art at the UNISA, and works in a freelance capacity for MOCCA Museum and Commune 1 Gallery. Her work has been showcased in various open spaces including the Greatmore Studios, Whizz ICT, Polokwane Art Gallery Women’s Journal Annual Exhibition, Limpopo Arts & Culture Association, UNISA, University of Limpopo and Haenertsburg Farm Gallery.

Gavin Krastin is an award-winning South African performance artist with an interest in the body’s representation, limitation and operation in alternative, layered spaces. His work is inspired by his immediate environment and the history embedded in its shifting socio-political climate. Apart from operating within conventional theatre, Krastin advocates the migration towards unconventional spaces where unknown risk factors are imminent. He has presented works at numerous festivals in South Africa and internationally, has lectured at Rhodes University (from where he obtained his MA) and UCT, and has worked with theFirst Physical Theatre Company.

Born in Butterworth, Loyiso Mkize is an artist and illustrator. After completing a diploma in graphic design, he launched a visual art company Loyiso Mkize Art (Pty). He illustrates the Supa Strikas monthly comic in You, Drum and Huisgenoot magazines.  Mkize’s subjects, generally African, explore the complex nature that makes up modern man, his environment, predisposition and culture. He has exhibited at The Framery and Avital galleries in Cape Town and in Johannesburg. In 2014, he travelled to New York and exhibited at a group exhibition funded by the Department of Trade and Industry.

Astrid Gebhardt graduated with a BA in Fine Arts and an Honours in Curatorship from UCT. She currently lives and works between Johannesburg and Cape Town, working predominantly with painting, but including sculptural installation and print media. She is particularly interested in the process of art making - makingeach work a celebration of obsessive compulsion and repetition.

About the Live Art Festival: The 2nd Live Art Festival runs from 27 August to 7 September 2014 and features over thirty-five works of innovation. The Festival brings together a range of artists from the fields of visual arts, dance, theatre, music, architecture and literature. Most works are collaborative and interdisciplinary, with artists from across South Africa as well as Switzerland, the United Kingdom, United States, Cameroon, Nigeria, Netherlands and Ghana. The Festival will take place in various spaces at UCT’s Hiddingh Campus, the Cape Town City Hall and several clubs in and around Green Point. Full programme available on www.gipca.uct.ac.za and bookings through www.webtickets.co.za.

About GIPCA: The University of Cape Town’s Gordon Institute for Performing and Creative Arts (GIPCA) facilitates new collaborative and interdisciplinary creative research projects in the disciplines of Music, Dance, Fine Art, Drama, Creative Writing, Film and Media Studies. Interdisciplinarity is a key theme of the institute and projects are imbuedwith innovation, collaboration and dialogue with urbanism and community. GIPCA was launched in December 2008 with a substantial grant from Sir Donald Gordon, founder of Liberty Life. An Advisory Board comprising Heads of Departments of all Performing and Creative Arts Departments at UCT helps to shape contexts for the instigation and development of projects by students and staff, as well as a wide range of institutions and individuals outside the University.

GIPCA Director: Associate Professor Jay Pather

Chair of the GIPCA Board: Professor Sakhela Buhlungu

ISSUED BY: The Gordon Institute For Performing And Creative Arts (GIPCA)

CONTACT:

Samantha Saevitzon
TEL: + 27 21 480 7156
EMAIL: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

StateoftheART is delighted to present 'Contra Natura' (Against Nature) by Werner Ungerer. This work consists of 18 loose sheets of calligraphy and text, contained in clamp-shell box.   Contra Natura is a short story hand-illuminated in a medieval calligraphic hand "gothic textura quadrata". The digital and the archaic worked hand in hand in the production of this work which took Ungerer two years to complete.

The story follows a modern day priest teaching at a Catholic school. He confiscates an image torn from a fashion magazine from one of his pupils. The image is of a semi-naked man. The Priest is completely taken over by this image and undergoes a crises of faith. He exiles himself to an island retreat in the hope of re-connecting with his faith. In complete isolation, the power of the image grows stronger and its hold over the Priest more intense. As the depression of the Priest escalates we are drawn deeper into his internal struggle and ultimate psychological collapse. In the end he confronts himself and the story takes on a more surreal turn. He survives a violent attack by an unknown assailant (The Devil?) on the beach. He has a near death experience during which he encounters mythical versions of his mother and father. His mother is the Veiled Woman in Black sitting in a dead cornfield in the heat. His father is Legion – a mad prophet sitting on a dune in the desert, overlooking a fallen city. They serve as the Priest’s guide as he travels through the underworld and moves closer to resolve and acceptance or farther away from it.

"The title “Contra Natura” or, Against Nature was selected not only for subversive reasons. It also had a more direct meaning in that I needed to invent a new work-process for myself. I normally work very much on an intuitive level, often abandoning works mid-way and going off on different tangents. With this work I wanted to go against my own nature and submit myself to severe processes of order, structure, tradition and discipline." - Werner Ungerer

Opens at 6pm on the 4th September

04.09.2014 till 20.09.2014

StateoftheART
61 Shortmarket Street (between Loop & Bree)
Cape Town

10am - 5pm week days
10am - 2pm Saturdays or by appointment  

For more information contact Jennifer on +27 (0)724709272 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

StateoftheART is proud to present 'Tell Me A Story' an exhibition of paintings by Mila Posthumus on the Exhibition Wall.

There is a sense, in this collection, of having stumbled upon a private moment. The moments captured are small and unposed, the subjects caught up in their own thoughts; distracted.  Although they are often painted looking directly at the viewer, drawing him in, there is detachment from the viewer; lending the work a voyeuristic quality. What is seen unmistakably forms part of a larger narrative and the subject's distraction opens up a space for the viewer to fill and weave a story of his/her own.

"My work is influenced, as any artist's will be, by my perception of my surroundings and reality. It covers many subject matters, from land- and cityscapes, to still lives to people. The ever changing and emotionally complex South African landscape offers endless inspiration as well as my more personal, immediate surroundings - children and home." - Mila Posthumus

Opening 4th September @6pm

04.09.2014 till 20.09.2014

61 Shortmarket Street,
(between Loop & Bree)
Cape Town.

Gallery hours: 10am-5pm weekdays, 10am-2pm Saturdays.

The exhibition will be available to preview  online through the StateoftheART website from the 1st of September.

For more information please contact Jennifer on 0724709272 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

PMHP at the Artscape 

Celebrating Women’s Day and Women’s Month, the 8th Women’s Humanity Arts Festival will take place at Artscape Theatre Centre from 6 - 9 August 2014. The theme of the 2014 festival is HUMANITY and the objective this year is to celebrate and salute those women who actively strive to better their own lives and the lives of countless other women in our society today.  The Perinatal Mental Health Project (PMHP) is honoured to take part in this very important event to highlight the impact of mental health on the well-being and development of women and their babies. The PMHP is a non-profit entity that has been operating for nearly 12 years, in partnership with the Departments of Health and Social Development. We provide mental health services for pregnant and postnatal women, train those who work with mothers to improve the quality of their care, form partnerships to promote the scale up of services and inform global interventions through robust research and advocacy. We envision mental health support for all mothers to promote their well-being, and that of their children and communities. Our mission is to develop and advocate for accessible maternal mental health care that can be delivered effectively at scale in low resource settings. On the 9th August, Dr. Simone Honikman, the PMHP founder and director will host a discussion together with one of the projects former clients, who works as a psychologist in the HIV sector.   Furthermore the PMHP will host a display table providing further information about the project.  

About the Discussion: Why Maternal Mental Health matters? Pregnancy and the postnatal period is a psychologically distressing period for many women, particularly those facing social challenges like poverty, gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS. The prevalence of common maternal mental disorders (including depression and anxiety) in low-income communities in South Africa is very high. One out of three women in South Africa suffers from depression during or after pregnancy. When left untreated, mental illness can contribute to maternal mortality, poor maternal and child health, and consequently, negative development outcomes. In response to this problem, the Perinatal Mental Health Project (PMHP) was started in 2002. The mission of the PMHP is to develop and advocate for accessible maternal mental health care that can be delivered effectively at scale in low resource settings. Simone Honikman, founder and director of the PMHP, will present on maternal mental health as an integral part of maternal health!

PRESS RELEASE
12 June 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

StateoftheART is proud to present 'A Reflection Of Us', an exhibition of mixed media, drawings and paintings by Lisette Forsyth on the Exhibition Wall.

"The present and the past meet by some divine intervention called art . A reflection of us. I work on found surfaces from 1860s Government Gazette pages to scrap pieces of wood. The surface dictates the subject: the people, their body language, unique style and characters all develop into a perfect match." - Lisette Forsyth

Lisette constantly experiments with media and subject matter. Her compulsion to recycle pushes her towards mixed media. The contrasts and contradictions of Cape Town and its people provide the inspiration for her work.

Opening 3rd July @ 6pm closes Saturday 19th July @2pm

61 Shortmarket Street, Cape Town.
Gallery hours: 10am-5pm weekdays, 10am-2pm Saturdays.

The exhibition will run concurrently online from the 2nd July - 19th of July.
For more information please contact Jennifer on 0724709272 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.