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The production of grand opera, full scale ballets, dramas, choral concerts and arts festivals as well as the education of numerous singers, dancers and actors count among the wide range of cultural achievements of the Eoan Group from 1933 until the late 1970s. Situated in District Six and later in Athlone, the group played an important role in Cape Town’s cultural life. For many of those involved with the group in those days, it was their life’s calling, despite the difficult circumstances caused by Apartheid policies.
The publication of a book, celebrating the extraordinary history of the Group, became a prerequisite when the contract concerning the transfer or the Eoan Group Archive to Domus was negotiated. A series of public consultations with members of the Eoan Community followed in 2008 and a book committee was created consisting of individuals directly (and indirectly) related to the Eoan Group as well as DOMUS staff. |
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Photograph: Cloete Breytenbach
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In the course of 2009 our book team has been able to do 47 interviews with individuals who were involved with the Eoan Group at some stage of their lives and this book will endeavour to preserve the history of the Group through the direct quotation of the memories that have been shared. The interviews have again brought to our attention the enormous effort that people have invested into the arts through the group, the extraordinary circumstances in which they had to operate and the formative role that the group played in so many lives.
The process of the making of this aural history book is still underway. In 2010 the interviews have been transcribed and excerpts will be arranged in chapters guided by themes such as opera and ballet productions, the early years of the group, various individuals, training, dress making, touring and politics. If all goes according to plan the manuscript for the book should be ready for submission to a publisher by the end of the year. All interviews have also been filmed by the Cape-based film maker, Aryan Kaganof, and will be moulded into a documentary on the process of the making of the book. |
EOAN Blog
History of the EOAN Group more...
Transfer of the EOAN archive to DOMUS more...
SU remembers EOAN Group's history more...
EOAN Group's history conserved at SU more...
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Hilde Roos
(EOAN Book Project coordinator)
E-mail:
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Tel.: 083-660 1006
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Last Updated ( Monday, 23 August 2010 )
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