00:00This is the oldest township in Cape Town, hard to believe, but right here in Langa,
00:09in the 16 On Lerotoli Art Gallery, life is buzzing with joy.
00:14For us it's been lovely to see young students from all over Langa coming in and not being
00:21afraid to come into the gallery and come experience the show that we've put on.
00:2616 On Lerotoli has given the street in Langa a facelift.
00:32Built in 1923, Langa is considered as Cape Town's first township and was intended to
00:38surrogate the black community.
00:42Designed to maintain maximum visibility and control over residents, Langa in the 1960s
00:48became a centre of struggle for young people.
00:53What inspired Mpilong Kunkka and his brother to open a gallery in the township where they
00:58grew up?
00:59There were no galleries of this stature in this community when there are artists of a
01:05very high stature that come from this community.
01:08So we always felt there was a disconnect between where some of the artists are coming from
01:13and the areas that they're inspired by to where those works are being displayed and
01:18where they're being enjoyed.
01:23Before we find out what the neighbours actually think of these artsy party people, let's start
01:28with why he and his brother raised millions to transform this old home into this happening
01:34gallery.
01:39We really wanted to contribute to artists that come from areas like Langa who potentially
01:44wouldn't have opportunities to exhibit in other galleries in more affluent areas.
01:50With eight exhibitions in the last two years and over 1,800 visitors a month, Mpilong has
01:57made the gallery a hotspot in the township.
02:00And yet, why art?
02:02We come from a very artistic family.
02:05It's our father's side with the Ngunna brothers being amazing jazz musicians, our great-grandfather
02:10also being a legendary jazz musician.
02:13And from our mother's side too, we have a lot of musicians.
02:17So we really grew up around the arts, especially in the community.
02:21And for example, an artist that we work quite closely with, Munge Zikom, he grew up in the
02:26same road as I did.
02:31Munge Zikom is one of the local artists they created a platform for.
02:37You know when they say charity begins at home, to start it there.
02:42Because before, I never show other people in my location where I was born.
02:54One can see that Munge Zikom used to be a dancer.
02:59The joy and energy reflected in his art has an international hit.
03:05There's too much ups and downs in my location.
03:11So it's difficult for the artists.
03:13Like to have even a studio to do your own things, sometimes you need your own space.
03:19It's that time they found me in my location and then we started to work together.
03:25And then things have changed now.
03:31Mbilo has sold six of Munge Zikom's artwork at the International Art Fair earlier this year.
03:37Finally, he can afford the space to work.
03:43Mr Munge Zikom had an amazing fair.
03:46I mean, he's got a lot of commissioned works that were a result of that.
03:50And there's kind of a waiting list that is being developed for his works.
03:57What impact has the gallery had on the rest of the community?
04:05A new business centre has developed around the gallery.
04:09They've got like a lot of people that are coming through to want to see the gallery.
04:13And we're sitting right opposite them.
04:15So that's the first point of call.
04:18From there, the guys will point out that these guys are also selling clothing.
04:21And that's converted into sales for us, you know.
04:28Also born in Langa, Unatim Tuda opened an imported clothing store,
04:33making online fashion accessible to people who live here.
04:38We're investing in our own space and we know the traditional way of doing things.
04:42It's, you know, all sorts of things that are what the future is about, right?
04:47People want convenience.
04:49And that is exactly what the gallery team and us have done.
04:53We've brought convenience into the streets.
05:01So what does the future hold?
05:03The vision is to really transform this community
05:08and make this community turn the word township on its head
05:12and redefine what township even means.
05:24We've got plans of making Langa a smart city.
05:28So we really kind of want to aim high.
05:29And then within the arts, we want to really take African arts global.
05:34And we want to represent artists that come from areas like Langa,
05:39who would not normally get the opportunity and represent them globally
05:43so that the world can see how much amazing talent this content brings.
05:48It may be an unusual place for an art gallery,
05:51and yet Mpilo has achieved the feat of making his township more livable and lovable.
