David Krut Publishing,
Africa’s No 1 Arts Bookstore and Publisher

2008 has been another busy and eventful year for David Krut Publishing: Fine Art & Books, Cape Town. The quick growth of our Newlands location in 2007 allowed for the addition of staff to the relief of manager, Alastair Whitton!

PICS clockwise from left: Ryan Arenson, Book of Ruth (Oct 25 – Nov 20); Wilma Cruise, SPLIT/NY.LON.JHB (Sept 13 – Oct 4); Damon Hyland, Evanescent (Oct 9 – Oct 23); Blue Cityscape by David Koloane, in Prints and Monotypes (May 28 – June 28); Books on display; Andrzej Nowicki, Sleep Depot (March 12 – April 10).

Having joined DKCT in August 2007, Carla Hyland consistently made a valuable contribution towards our education focus by nurturing and developing ongoing relationships between David Krut Publishing (DKP) and secondary schools in the Western Cape and Kwa-Zulu Natal, while also strengthening our media links in the Mother City.  She left us in June for the higher calling of motherhood and, based on her dedication and hard work during her time with us, she will no doubt make a success of her new role.
Bongiwe Nocanda joined the Cape Town team in January 2008. A recent English graduate from UNISA, her primary role, besides working as the manager’s assistant, has been the running of the DKCT bookstore, in addition to which she has written book reviews and articles for the DKP website. 
June saw the addition of Jacqueline Nurse to the Cape Town team. A graduate of Rhodes University, she studied Literature and Art History & Visual Culture, specializing in contemporary literary theory. She joined us primarily in her capacity as a writer and was initially involved in web writing / editing and research. In addition to this, Jacqueline is now also responsible for various Cape Town based projects and media communications, notably TAXI Art Films (TAF), an exciting recent initiative by David Krut. 
With an increasing focus on design, 2008 saw the debut inclusion of DKP in the annual Design Indaba held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in February. This was followed in October by DKP’s first design publication, entitled Skill Set 1 Graphic Design: A Primer in South African Graphic Design, which will play a central role in our presentation at Design Indaba next February. In June, DKP again took part in the annual Cape Town Book Fair, a highlight on the local calendar, which once again did not disappoint and, in September, we were pleased to be able to attend the 24th Annual Conference of the South African Visual Arts Historians, held at Stellenbosch University.
On the exhibition front, David Krut Publishing: Fine Art & Books hosted no less than eleven shows, highlights of which included Andrzej Nowicki’s Sleep Depot, David Koloane’s Prints and Monotypes and Ryan Arenson’s Book of Ruth.  In October we took part, for the first time, in the Cape Town Month of Photography. Our inclusion in this biennial event took the form of an exhibition by local photographer Damon Hyland whose provocative portraits of South Africa’s post-apartheid youth prompted much discussion amongst local students and young photographers visiting our Cape Town location.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our loyal customers, David Krut and all the dedicated staff of DKArts for helping make 2008 another memorable year in Cape Town.

- Alastair Whitton

Keywords: David Krut Publishing: Fine Art and Books Cape Town