Since 2015, our team and community have come together to collaborate on Streetopia events in Observatory, Cape Town – and in 2019, the event was held in both Observatory and Johannesburg for the first time. Of course, as with everything else, 2020 presented our team with a fresh challenge – with large public gatherings not a possibility, the big question for us was ‘Can we even pull off a Streetopia, and if so, how?’. And the solution we’ve come up with is e-Topia – and the result is that while we will not be welcoming thousands of people to the streets as usual, we will nevertheless still host an event, online.
How will it work?
Whilst we’re not able to close roads and erect stages in the usual manner of a Streetopia event, our team are co-ordinating a range of collaborations between musicians, performers and artists that will see activities taking place within businesses and art studios in Observatory, and also further afield in the Northern Cape and Gauteng. All of the activities will then be scheduled on live streams that you’d be able to watch and interact with on the Streetopia website.
On the day, the streams will run over our usual event period, from 10am to 6pm, on Saturday November 28th.
Can you still attend events taking place in Obs and elsewhere?
You’re still welcome to visit any of the venues that are participating, but please be aware that each of these will have a limit to the number of people that can gather within the venue, and each will be subject to the necessary Covid-19 protocols (masks would need to be worn, hand sanitiser used on entry and your details recorded on arrival). What is not possible are the usual road closures that make Lower Main Road into a pedestrian zone for the day, meaning that in terms of public spaces, it would be a ‘normal’ day on the streets of Obs.
Can you add a stream of activity to our scheduled broadcast of events and activities?
Absolutely – if you have an activity you’d like to contribute, and you have the tech and bandwidth to set up a live stream from your home or business, you’re welcome to contact our team on [email protected] to discuss how and when your stream could be added to one of the stream rooms on the day.
Keep an eye on our social media channels, and also on the Streetopia website – both will announce a Participation Form soon, which will enable you to submit info on what kind of art, music or performance you’d like to submit as part of the scheduled live streams. On the day, you’d be able to have your activity streamed live or have pre-recorded content sent through and added to the rolling schedule.