The Dalebrook Life Drawing Group’s exhibition will be opening at Nova Constantia at 12:30 on 20 February 2010. The exhibition will be opened by Peter Clarke and introduced by Liz Vels, two well-known South African artists who have both been members of the group.
The Dalebrook Life Drawing Group is a loose group of talented and eccentric artists who meet at the Kalk Bay Community Centre once a week to share the cost of employing models. Many of these artists are well-established names in the Cape Town area. The work consists of direct sketches, as well as work that has been extended into etchings, mono-prints, collages, paintings, including portraits, and sculptures.
The name of the group was taken from the Dalebrook Tidal Pool, across the way from the Community Centre. The Kalk Bay Community Centre is fascinating from an historical point of view – built in 1906 as a sewage pump-station for Kalk Bay, it has maintained its original outer facade. After decommissioning in 1935, it had a variety of occupants, functioning as an entertainment and dance centre during the 2nd World War, a municipal library and a council cash office. It was renovated in 1994 after a substantial donation from the Kaplan Kushlik Trust. Two Kalk Bay Municipal lamp posts with the original coat of arms grace the entrance.