salon hecate at noordhoek art point gallery

Noordhoek art point

Salon Hecate

Salon Hecate is a joint project between Noordhoek Art Point gallery and author-editor Helen Moffett.

Our Vision

We share a vision of synergy between poetry and other forms of creative writing, and the visual arts — in which “the whole is greater than the sum of the parts” (our mantra). The gallery offers a beautiful space for book and poetry readings/events that reflect the themes of the art exhibited. It’s also a site where we can explore the connections between words and images in very immediate ways. In the past year, we’ve also discovered the potential for overlap between the visual arts and other art forms and creative projects as well: poetry, music, dance, photography, wine-making, recipe-and-plant exchanges, environmental projects, and more. We’re particularly interested in supporting local artists, writers, teachers, causes and enthusiasms, and green projects. We’re always interested in hearing from small businesses, libraries, schools and NPOs in the Deep South about ideas for mutual support.

Our Events

Once a month, Helen curates a reading, usually featuring two or more readers/poets/creatives, that speaks (quite literally!) to the art hanging on the walls that month. During 2023, this was the first Monday evening of each month, but we’ve changed this to a more user-friendly Tuesday. This will also give those who travel quite a distance to get here to try our local restaurants after events. Time is always 5.30 for 6, to end at 7pm.

Attendance is free, with small snacks and wine/juice served. Donations are welcome, but absolutely not obligatory. Vegetarians/vegans always catered for.

 

We run extra pop-up book events and workshops alongside our regular calendar, depending on demand, and in response to local needs and special events. View the latest happenings via our News section.

Accessibility notes

The gallery itself is wheelchair accessible — parking, ramp and no steps into the gallery itself. BUT, very much to our regret (we rent the premises), we do not have a wheelchair-friendly toilet. You can certainly use the toilet if you have a companion to assist you — you will need to lock the outer door of the bathroom while you use it.

If you are visually impaired, some of our sculptural and three-dimensional works are designed to be felt and stroked. Please feel free to ask for guidance, or make an appointment so our friendly galleristas can help you to let your fingers do the walking.

In response to FAQs: how things work

Salon Hecate events/readings are carefully curated to create an overlap between the art/exhibitions in the gallery (commissioned up to a year in advance). We aim to fill a niche market; we don’t provide a space for individual poets to read from their work, or offer open mics. This is because these needs are beautifully met by other poetry platforms in Cape Town, notably The Red Wheelbarrow and Off The Wall. We offer something very different – otherwise we might as well ask to join forces with them. Plus, the dedicated volunteers and poets who run these events are our friends: we have no intention of competing with them for the small audiences that exist for solo poetry performances.

The gallery sets the theme and commissions art for an exhibition for most months of the year. I consider the theme, look at the art/artists, then choose poems/prose by local and hopefully available writers that echo or “speak” to the exhibited work. Our topics are very specific: for World Ocean Month, for example, we invite surfers who have also published creative prose and poetry about surfing to read for us.

With very rare exceptions, we don’t feature single poets – we choose a line-up of up to five readers whose work can be “in conversation” with each other. For this reason, I’m the one who picks what gets read, not the author. You can immediately see the “problem” here – I need to read your work before I can invite you to an event, and there is only one of me. I read local collections and poetry journals, and consult all the time with poetry publishers, marketing and PR people, reviewers and readers about what’s coming out, but this is the main reason we’re unable to include self-published authors at the moment – it’s not possible to keep up with the volume of work.

We also specialise in creating “overlaps” with other creative mediums: for instance, the poet Fiona Zerbst did a reading in which she was accompanied by classical musicians who performed/composed work inspired by her poems. This has widened to include local NPOs and community initiatives: so far we’ve been able to support the Roxy Davis Foundation (surf therapy for people with disabilities), TEARS, Project Noordhoeked, Eseltjiesrus and Toadnuts. If we can help your local organisation, even if it’s just by providing you with a platform to speak about the work you do, and we can find a way to thread you in into our thematic programme, please get in touch.

Practical stuff:

* Before asking/offering to read, if you’re local, please attend at least one of our events so you can get a feel for what we do. Sign up for the newsletter at the bottom of the post or via the contact button so you can keep up to date with our events (we promise not to spam you).

* Authors/readers/poets must have a book/books published (in case of poets, a single collection; not a poem in an anthology or journal).

* Regretfully, no self-published titles (see above).

* We are promoting only local authors for now (in theory, from anywhere in the SADC community, if they’re coming to Cape Town), but with the focus on published and active authors in the Deep South and further afield in Cape Town.

* We can’t offer authors/readers any remuneration (travel, accommodation, etc — although if you’ve come a long way, you’re welcome to a bowl of soup at mine afterwards). Really sorry. My Art Point colleagues and and I offer time and venue for free. We share the costs of the events (wine, modest snacks, wages for intern who sets out chairs, serves drinks, clears up afterwards, payment to car guard), so we’re very grateful to anyone who can bring a bottle of wine or a plate of snacks.

Book launches:

* We do NOT want to compete with the existing bookshops in the South, especially the indies. We know these people and like them. This is why we don’t launch brand-new books or self-published titles; we do offer “top-up/pop-up” niche launches for books that were eaten by the pandemic or that don’t fit the conventional launch profile.

* We will sometimes offer launches for special occasions (so far, we’ve had one as a fundraiser for TEARS, and another to celebrate the birthday and Order of Ikhamanga for veteran supporter of poetry and poets, Keith Gottschalk).

* We feature books that are beautiful as objects: they must have attractive covers that fit the ambience of the gallery. Titles that have an overt visual art focus or green theme are actively sought.

* Non-fiction titles: the gallery is interested in events/titles with environmental/ green themes, especially ocean-related.

Sales:

The gallery does not have suitable storage space for books, but we do feature very small amounts of stock on a sale and return basis, with preference given to backlisted poetry, chapbooks, novellas and short story collections, by local authors. We focus on BACKLIST titles or OP (out-of-print) titles. Please get in touch with me directly if you’re interested: don’t show up at the gallery with your books! Books at low prices move; pricier items gather dust. The gallery puts on a 20% mark-up to cover their costs (I don’t profit) — bear this in mind when setting a price.

Need to get in touch with Hecate?

For specific Salon-related enquiries, please contact me via my website: helenmoffett.com

Our News

Coming home to land

Coming home to land

It’s August, which is turning into the Salon’s winter-warmer-comforter month. Come and celebrate women’s writing and publishing as we launch Shari Daya’s debut poetry collection, Land/Lines.

 Catching the wave at Salon Hecate

 Catching the wave at Salon Hecate

Salon Hecate is returning with another fabulous line-up we’re fondly referring to as “Catching the wave at Salon Hecate”, happening the first Tuesday evening in June. We’ll be launching the re-issue of Byron Loker’s short story collection, New Swell, and getting a teaser taste of his brand-new collection, Heavy Water.

CONTACT US:

Email: info@noordhoekartpoint.co.za

Phone: +27 83 564 2493

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16 Noordhoek Main Road, Sunnydale

Cape Town

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