Creative Connection

The New Zeitz Museum Of Contemporary Art Africa Is As Much About Cultural Philanthropy As It Is About The Very Best In Contemporary Art.

- Elana Brundyn

Standing where I am today is a good place to look back to where it all began, and at the golden thread of a desire for philanthropy that connects the now to the then.

I started out as an avid acquirer of contemporary art, and soon became increasingly interested in researching – sometimes the word ‘searching’ seems more appropriate – that art. I was drawn in deeper and deeper, eventually becoming an advisor to many collectors and spending 13 years as a commercial gallerist.

My first gallery was established 17 years ago, when I converted an old milking shed into a white ‘cube’ on our family farm located just outside Durbanville. It was my platform – and it was gorgeous. No one expected to find a contemporary space that exhibited work by some of the best and most sought-after artists at that time on a farm in the Western Cape.