First of all the OHF (Owl House Foundation) has taken NO Decision - TopicsExpress

First of all the OHF (Owl House Foundation) has taken NO Decision of any nature what so ever. We are at the START of a 6 month to 1 year plus investigation to resolve some of the issues around the current setup at the Owl House. We are still in the conceptual stage and are in the process of forming a working panel of experts who will write an informed restoration and museum program outlining a visionary way forward. Please note that any issues relating to commercial activity will ALWAYS be secondary to the wellbeing of the Owl House. The mission statement of the OHF is to run, restore, protect and promote the Owl House and preserve Helen Martin and Koos Malgas’s legacy. These are our challenges and motivations: • The Lion’s Den. We would like to restore this room as close as possible to what it would have been like in Helen’s time. Her father was a major influence in her life and this room could give an impression to visitors of the negative and dark feelings surrounding this relationship. o We would like to remove the till point, video, wall posters and all items for sale. o We would like to repair the walls and floors that have taken heavy abuse over the years. (estimated 140 000 through this tiny room in the past 10 years). o We would like the room to symbolise Helen’s relationship with her father – dark heavy and foreboding – but will spend time researching this as much as possible – interviewing several people who saw the room, knew them both. o We have had many complaints from tourists and visitors over the years – as the room is in poor condition, it’s impossible to watch the video without interruption, the floor is badly damaged and it’s way too small. o At the time the OHF was formed they owned no other property and the only option was to ‘utilize’ one of the rooms in the house. This has been unsatisfactory since 1994. Currently we find ourselves in the happy position of owning buildings and having some funding to correct the past and enhance the future. o A possible plan to move the ticket office and restore the Lion’s Den has been in existence for the past 10 years. • Ticket Sales. o Our potential plan is to move the ticket sales to the Admin offices in Martin Street. We will remove all the commercialization from the Owl House and make it a ‘pure’ museum. o Having the ticket office in our Admin building allows us much more control and safety for our workers. • Video. o Currently people watch the video in the Lion’s Den – distracted by people entering and exiting the Owl House, distracted by ticket and merchandise sales. We have the facilities and space in the Admin offices to have a separate auditorium room. Our plan is to reshoot the infomercial on Helen and the Owl House and include more about the village and history to give a broader picture. We want to have proper audio visual facilities, comfortable chairs and no disturbances. • Shop. o Currently we sell books, tee shirts and merchandise from the Lion’s Den. o We have very little display space and once again wish to remove all commercial activities from the Owl House itself. o We have the space in the Admin Offices to have a large shop to sell related merchandise, books and tee shirts. o The proceeds from any sales are used for restoration, repair and admin costs. o Like most museums around the world we would like people to exit out through our shop. • Lockers. o Much damage is done in the camel yard by people carrying large back packs and handbags. o There is no space in the Lion’s Den for storage and safe keeping of visitor’s possessions. o We have the space in the Admin Offices to have lock-up facilities for all handbags and backpacks. o We would then be able to protect the Owl House by enforcing the ‘no bag’ rule. o This will also make it harder to steal smaller items from the Owl House by hiding them in bags. • Vendors. o We have already had several informal discussions with the Vendors as a possibility exists to build them lock up stalls on the OHF property. o This will be an on-going discussion. o The OHF will work with the vendors closely to provide some sort of facility – what it lands up to be is still not answered – it may be stalls outside, stalls inside, just lock up facilities and the current stalls. Much discussions with the vendors will still be done. o We have plenty of space adjacent to the Owl House and would love to house the vendors if they are willing. • Town and business information centre. o We realize that the Owl House is the economic powerhouse of the village. o We will have a dedicated area that provides information on ALL businesses in town. o We plan to have a light up map where you can press a button of a shop, restaurant, accommodation, tourist attraction and a light will show where that business is located. o We will allow all business to supply info and brochures (regardless if they are members of the OHF or not). o We are extremely sensitive to the business in the village but we believe most tourists explore the town and find shops and restaurants that are not located just outside the Owl House. o The aims to restore the Owl House and build a visitors centre shouldn’t be subjugated to the wishes of a few businesses. • Main road access. o The admin offices are located in the main access road into town. This will bring immediate visibility to the Owl House – will be easy for people to find and park. • Wheel Chair access. o Currently we have limited access for wheel chairs into the house and camel yard. o We have plans to allow wheel chair access from the Admin offices, perhaps through the back of the camel yard (behind Helens Compassberg) along a cement path. o This will allow limited access into the yard but still give wheel chair people an experience of the yard. o Unfortunately without moving statues we cannot gain wheelchair access into the house. o We are working with the relevant authorities on this and brain storming other ideas. No decision is in place yet. • Garden o We have a large amount of unused space. o We plan to build a beautiful Karoo garden (indigenous plants) where visitors can relax and contemplate their visit. o This will be a huge asset to the village as currently there is no shady place for visitors to sit and replace. This could be the tranquil heart of the village. o We are also considering a playground for children to relax. All the above are just ideas and the start of a concept. We have a dream of restoring the Owl House back to an authentic state. We plan to open a world class visitor’s centre – with wheel chair access, public toilets, lockup storage facilities, an auditorium room, galleries, shops, business information and ticket sales. We want to train our staff, have new uniforms, we want to incorporate the vendors and we want to represent every business in the village. The question of how and where people will actually enter and exit the Owl House is not yet answered and will take many more months of planning and discussions with various people and organizations. We are months away from any decision. Currently we are in investigation mode. When we have an idea of what the final picture looks like we will allow public participation as one of the project steps. At this stage it’s all just vapour ware, speculation and ideas. We will of course work with all the relevant authorities, departments and societies when we are getting to the planning stage. We will work extremely sensitively with all aspects of the Owl House – visually and historically. The OHF board members are all volunteers and have spent countless hours working to improve the Owl House and the village at tremendous cost to their own business, families and peace of mind. So please rest assured, the Owl House is in good hands. We will take measured, rational steps, following all necessary procedures. Everything we do and say will be for the good of the village and the Owl House. We will take 1 month, 6 months or a year to ensure that we do the proper thing. The end result will be an asset for the village, the Eastern Cape and the countries tourism as a whole. A win-win for everybody. Any questions or comments please feel free to contact the Owl House Foundation directly.