I reside in Stellenbosch, a university town in South Africa’s preeminent winemaking region, within an hour’s drive from Cape Town. As the country’s first inland European village, it’s full of history and historical buildings. The home sits on a leafy shaded street with an H-shaped nucleus of the original Cape Dutch home that was constructed by Dr. Jacob Versveld, the first South African-trained physician. In 1890, the region’s district surgeon, Dr. J.H. Neethling, acquired the home and is credited with adding the upper story, the balcony, and the Victorian embellishments, where his daughter lived up until the early 1980s. Today, the home has been subdivided into four separate apartments—all occupied by successful women—making it a female dormitory of sorts, with a central dining room that the residents use communally for group dinners. I serve as the artist in residence, and my work peppers the public areas.
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