Guiding Spirit
It was Friday frenzy in Cape Town. Roads were jammed, the wind swirled and 50,000 people descended at the Cape Town stadium. Two of tennis’ greatest, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Bill Gates, and stand-up artist and daily show host Trevor Noah, were playing at the Match for Africa, a charity event to raise funds for Federer’s foundation. Next day, Federer was to be part of a discussion on the arts in times of polarisation, part of the Rolex Arts Weekend held at the cultural centre Baxter Theatre. But Federer wasn’t the only talent that weekend at Baxter—the venue for the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. Some of the mentor sightings included) as his protégé, where Tamhane got to observe Cuaron on the sets of , which went on to win three Oscars. For the first time since its inception in 2002, the Initiative saw two protégés from Africa in one cycle, which explains why the 2018-19 edition was held in South Africa. Here, two protégés, Senegalese hip hop dancer Khoudia Toure and Nigerien architect Mariam Kamara, stood out for their ingenuity and commitment to highlight their roots. Both Toure and Kamara had renowned experts in Canadian contemporary choreographer Crystal Pite and British architect Sir David Adjaye respectively.
