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TAIL OF
THE DOG

Small Town Surprises

ravelling locally has unearthed gallery with an extension of the hotel’s the title deeds, found he owned the
many surprises in small towns collection, and around the corner is whole block, plus one or two other
Taround the country. the famous Harrie’s Pancakes, full to buildings in the town. He has now
bursting with tourists passing through. created the Modern Art Project South
Graskop, Mpumalanga, on the edge Africa (MAPSA) in Richmond, notable
of the Sabie forestation area, close to Harrie Sietsema, architect, collector, on an international level. Richmond
the Blyde River Canyon and the Mac lover of small towns, bought a small also hosts an annual Book Fair, so it
Mac Falls, on the tour bus route to the pancake business in Graskop in 1986. is appropriate that one of the major
Kruger National Park, is very much an He then bought the hotel, upgraded it, gallery exhibits is a work by word-
en route town. It has a hotel, which I and housed part of his collection in obsessed Willem Boshoff. This is a
always dismissed as inconsequential. it. Today it is a beautiful small hotel, wall of locally made bricks, each with
How wrong I was. with garden rooms, dining room, bar, a letter of the alphabet, put together
meeting facilities, deserving a ‘worth in words that mean something in both
Travelling nearby, I was persuaded the detour’ star. English and Afrikaans - called Word
by my art-savvy companion to stop Woes (word sorrows/become crazy).
and go into the hotel to look at the art Harrie did not stop there – he opened
collection. What a delightful surprise. Harrie’s Pancake franchises in Next time I am near Graskop, I want
The hotel has been immaculately Dullstroom, in Pretoria, and even to sleep in the gallery, and Richmond
upgraded, with beautiful art deco in Dubai. The art story carries on will definitely merit a stopover.
furniture and a huge collection of further. Harrie was driving through
contemporary African art, sculpture Richmond in the Northern Cape,
and carvings. It fully earns its and liked the look of an old run-down Gill Butler
sobriquet ‘the art gallery you can sleep building on the main road. He put
in’. Across the road is a proper art in an offer, and when he collected