About

What is Streetopia Obs?

It’s a FREE one-day community festival organised and funded by AfrikaBurn in collaboration with residents & civic organisations based in Observatory, Cape Town, where the streets are filled with art, sculpture, mutant vehicles, performances, music and market stalls. It doesn’t feature big-name acts or the heavily-branded big stages you might find at other festivals.

Instead, for one day, the streets of Obs are turned into a blank canvas where artists, performers, buskers, residents and kids can enjoy the open spaces and do their thing. The aim is to keep it villagey, intimate, spontaneous, open to collaboration, a space for causes and social activism – and completely free.

What is Streetopia Obs?

It’s a FREE one-day community festival organised and funded by AfrikaBurn in collaboration with residents & civic organisations based in Observatory, Cape Town, where the streets are filled with art, sculpture, mutant vehicles, performances, music and market stalls. It doesn’t feature big-name acts or the heavily-branded big stages you might find at other festivals.

Instead, for one day, the streets of Obs are turned into a blank canvas where artists, performers, buskers, residents and kids can enjoy the open spaces and do their thing. The aim is to keep it villagey, intimate, spontaneous, open to collaboration, a space for causes and social activism – and completely free.

What is Streetopia Obs?

It’s a FREE one-day community festival organised and funded by AfrikaBurn in collaboration with residents & civic organisations based in Observatory, Cape Town, where the streets are filled with art, sculpture, mutant vehicles, performances, music and market stalls. It doesn’t feature big-name acts or the heavily-branded big stages you might find at other festivals.

 

Instead, for one day, the streets of Obs are turned into a blank canvas where artists, performers, buskers, residents and kids can enjoy the open spaces and do their thing. The aim is to keep it villagey, intimate, spontaneous, open to collaboration, a space for causes and social activism – and completely free.

Where does the event take place?

The event is based in Observatory, Cape Town, where many activities usually take place along Lower Main Road, including venues such as participating art studios, cafés and restaurants throughout Obs. To get info on these, check out our Event Guide, released one day before our event date and available throughout the event area for free.

When is it?

25 November, from 10 am to 6 pm.

Image by: Brent Webber

Image by: Nicky Newman

Why just one day? And why finish so early?

Streetopia intends to benefit and be part of the community it happens in, so the reason for an early close (and the lack of large stages with ‘big name headline acts’ and performers) is to ensure that Streetopia remains a family-friendly event which benefits the neighbourhood and so that its schedule provides enough time for the crew and volunteers to clean the area and remove all decor and installations, leaving it in a better state than it was found.

How much does it cost?

The event is free – and always will be – but it costs a lot to keep it free. As a non-profit community-based event that relies heavily on community participation and the spirit of volunteering, nobody’s looking to make any money from the event – but there are always hard costs involved in staging the event.

How Is It Funded?​

In 2015, AfrikaBurn provided seed funding to the tune of R106 000. Since 2016 the model for funding has been to request support from businesses in Observatory that benefit directly from increased sales on the day of the event and donations from interested parties such as civic organisations. In addition, a portion of funding is raised each year from rentals for market stalls at the event.

In 2016, the City of Cape Town provided baseline support for event essentials that was in addition to the R100 000 provided by AfrikaBurn and funds collected from supporting businesses in and around Observatory. 2017’s event again saw support from the City of Cape Town, and for the 2018 event, the National Lottery Commission has provided a portion of funding. The event is looking forward to strengthening relations with all stakeholders as it grows and becomes an integrated feature of Observatory’s annual calendar of highlights.


As of November 2019 the event has cost R508 000, give or take a few cable ties. In 2020, the event has been fortunate enough to secure funding from the National Arts Council to enable Streetopia to be held online, with a wide range of streamed content to be featured from Obs, as well as participating artists and musicians from other parts of South Africa.

How Is It Funded?​

In 2015, AfrikaBurn provided seed funding to the tune of R106 000. Since 2016 the model for funding has been to request support from businesses in Observatory that benefit directly from increased sales on the day of the event and donations from interested parties such as civic organisations. In addition, a portion of funding is raised each year from rentals for market stalls at the event.

In 2016, the City of Cape Town provided baseline support for event essentials that was in addition to the R100 000 provided by AfrikaBurn and funds collected from supporting businesses in and around Observatory. 2017’s event again saw support from the City of Cape Town, and for the 2018 event, the National Lottery Commission has provided a portion of funding. The event is looking forward to strengthening relations with all stakeholders as it grows and becomes an integrated feature of Observatory’s annual calendar of highlights.

As of November 2019 the event has cost R508 000, give or take a few cable ties. In 2020, the event has been fortunate enough to secure funding from the National Arts Council to enable Streetopia to be held online, with a wide range of streamed content to be featured from Obs, as well as participating artists and musicians from other parts of South Africa.