Angelo John Kalmeyer

Simphony way pavement dwellers
The housing crisis in Symphony Way, Delft reached boiling point when City officials evicted former backyard dwellers who have been on the Council’s waiting list for years. Out of desperation, the backyard dwellers occupied newly built Council houses, as a way of drawing attention to their plight.This group, after being evicted, continued their passive resistance campaign by camping on the pavement in front of the houses they had occupied. The story dominated newspaper front pages for months, with images of violent clashes between the police and the pavement people.

Click on the thumbnails to view the larger image and description

Kalmeyer spent a month living on the pavement and documented their protests. The Council evicted the group, almost eighteen months later, after the courts ruled that they be moved and that the Council provide them with accommodation in a transit camp in Blikkiesdorp until proper housing is built for them.

Power to the pedal
The Road Masters is a group of young BMX bikers in Eureka Estate, Elsies River, a poor working class area dominated by drug gangs. In 2001, Angelo John Kalmeyer started documenting a small, highly motivated group of youngsters who are passionate about biking.

Click on the thumbnails to view the larger image and description

They assemble their own bicycles and roamed the area performing the latest bicycle stunts. For them, biking is their ticket to fame and fortune and they are willing to risk life and limb to get there. The group travel 30 kilometres, on their bikes, to Durbanville to get to a proper bike park. This has proved to be dangerous, given that two youngsters were knocked down and killed while on their way to the bike park. The Road Masters have inspired new groups of very young boys to take up biking.


Tango in Manenberg
Former professional dancer, Leon Phillips, a ballroom and Latin-American dance instructor, runs classes for young people at Red River Primary School in Manenberg, Cape Town. Leon started out with borrowed sound equipment, and a strong commitment to use dance to make a difference to the lives of young people of Manenberg, one of the many poor working class and gang infested communities on the Cape Flats.

Click on the thumbnails to view the larger image and description

His aim had always been to use dance as a means to uplift and inspire people. No stranger to overcoming difficulties, Leon started out with borrowed sound equipment, no proper venue and relying on blind faith. However, his classes attracted much interest in the community and large crowds turned up for lessons. Since then he has been offered use of a facility outside the area. Getting people to dance, he says, is not the problem. It’s getting to the venue.

Angelo John Kalmeyer
Born: 1973, Cape Town. Has worked on newspapers and is presently working as a freelance photographer.