College of Magic - The Magical Arts Centre

The Magical Arts Centre

The College of Magic is currently resident in its own premises situated on Lansdowne Road in Claremont Cape Town. These premises were officially opened as the "Magical Arts Centre" (MAC) on 24 February 1995 by the then Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology.

The MAC consists of a double-story Victorian house with a wrap-around porch upstairs and downstairs, and is situated on 1840m2 of property. The building has a very homely feel with a large entrance foyer and a mini-theatre that can comfortably seat forty people. Five rooms are used for teaching purposes and two further rooms are available for tutorials when required. One of the teaching rooms is a fully equipped video studio which provides an excellent medium for training. There are sound and recording facilities available, as well as limited lighting equipment that is used to provide students with an all-round knowledge of show business. There is a kitchen-come-staff room and four offices, one of which doubles as a reception area. There is a library-come-social room where students can socialise and take out books and videos. This library is one of the largest magic museums in South Africa and houses five collections of books: the Museum library, the Cape Magician’s Circle Library, the Junior Library, the Senior Library and the extensive Staff Library. There is also a collection of videotapes and DVDs, which form an integral part of the teaching process.

The building has a courtyard in which the College’s animals are kept and two large shipping containers in the back garden. One stores the extensive collection of stage illusions, magical props and costumes; the second is a fully equipped workshop for the students, and was developed through the sponsorship of the Old Mutual Foundation.