The Silo, in the hub of Cape Town, is spearheading the city’s creative soul. A cosmopolitan, urban pocket on the southernmost region of Africa, it’s a place famous for its flora and fauna – from the penguins of Simon’s Town to the world-class hikes. In recent years, however, Cape Town has nurtured an exciting creative scene – from colourful street art in Woodstock, to the brightly coloured homes and cobble-stoned streets of the Bo-Kaap neighbourhood.
A luxury hotel from The Royal Portfolio, The Silo is one part of a collection of gorgeous properties that encapsulate the very best of South Africa. Opening in 2017, after being abandoned in the centre of the city for 16 years, today it is more than the empty industrial building it once was, having been transformed into a special place that fuses luxury hospitality with contemporary art. Six floors above Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art, its relationship with the gallery enables guests to see first-hand how Cape Town is a must visit destination for the art aficionado.
Leading private tours of the gallery, with which the hotel shares its home, and wider tours around Cape Town’s most eclectic areas is Irene Boaventura, the hotel’s art concierge. Irene’s passion comes from the belief that art allows her to reflect on life, whilst awakening her creative spirit and connecting her with others. I spoke with Irene on her role at The Silo and how she found herself in this professional artistic role.
Your role as The Silo’s art concierge sounds fascinating. What does it involve?
The purpose of my role as art concierge at The Silo Hotel is to create unique and enriching cultural experiences for our art-focused guests. Being located six floors above Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA), which houses Africa’s largest collection of contemporary African art, has attracted many art and design focused guests. My role involves taking guests on museum and art tours around the city, planning artist studio visits, managing gallery sales and the shipment of the artwork and many hours of crucial networking.
How does one become an art concierge? What’s your background?
My initial role at The Silo Hotel was that of duty manager. Let’s just say that I went a bit off the job description and invented my current role. To be honest, the art aspect of my job grew organically by the mere fact that I was surrounded by magnificent and inspiring art every day while working at The Silo Hotel.
I studied hotel management and therefore my in-depth art knowledge comes from self-study, a few gallery internships, workshop training sessions at spectacular museums and personally connecting with the many local artists through studio visits around the city. I guess one becomes an art concierge if a true passion for the arts exists and if you’re willing to pursue unpaid internships in exchange for the experience and amazing networking opportunities.
What are your hot tips for a gallery, restaurant and bar that LLM readers should try in Cape Town?
Cape Town is considered one of the top art destinations in Africa. Although the options on what you could see and experience in Cape Town are endless, I do have a few favourite spots. Norval Foundation houses some of the most prominent modern art pieces found in South Africa and their sculpture garden is simply beautiful. Lunch is served in the very trendy Skotnes restaurant with views stretching across the garden and scenic wet land.
Zeitz MOCAA is located beneath The Silo Hotel. I usually say one should simply come to experience the incredible art and the unique architecture – it’s a masterpiece. My top galleries are Goodman Gallery, Everard Read, WHATIFTHEWORLD and The South African National Gallery. Many people don’t know this, but one can visit an auction house to preview the art even when there is no scheduled auction taking place, this would be by appointment only, of course. The Aspire Art Auction are always welcoming to our guests.
What’s it like working in The Silo on top of the Zeitz MOCAA? Do you ever get used to the extraordinary building?
The Silo Hotel is one of the most iconic hotels, not only in Africa, but in the world. At times I have to remind myself of the cultural importance of being above Africa’s largest collection of contemporary African art. The Silo Hotel’s architecture is just so extraordinary with its pillowed-glass windows designed by Thomas Heatherwick. The artwork inside the hotel functions as a canvas for connections to be made among a diverse mix of interesting people.
How have the Silo and Zeitz MOCAA changed the Waterfront and Cape Town? Have they made the city more of a cultural destination?
Cape Town has had a vibrant art scene for a while now, driven mostly by its top galleries, its diverse cultural heritage and geographic beauty. The opening of Zeitz MOCAA gave the city institutional power and grew its awareness around the world. For any city that strives to be a compelling art destination, it is important to build institutions that speak to a public narrative both locally and internationally.
Irene offers guests of The Silo a variety of art tours in and beyond the hotel. These include the Zeitz Mocaa Private Tour through the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art, a Contemporary Art Tour of Cape Town and a bespoke Winelands and Art Tour which includes lunch at sister property La Residence.
Factbox
Address: Silo Square, Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa
Phone: +27 21 670 0500
Website: theroyalportfolio.com/the-silo-hotel
