Participants in Christian Nerf’s Polite Force pay attention to their environment, seeing where they can offer assistance and provide small kindnesses. The late artist Barend de Wet performed Polite Force at the World Trade Center in Johannesburg (2002), and a sample of subsequent iterations include performances at Tufts University in Massachusetts (2004), in Central Park, New York City, with Kate Fowle (2005), and on Buitenkant Street, Cape Town, by children (2019). Its most recent iteration (2021) saw Dan Halter take Polite Force to the Beitbridge border crossing between Zimbabwe and South Africa, offering cool-drinks, shade, pleasantries and conversation to migrant workers, traders, border officials, smugglers, and citizens of both countries.

Since its first performance in 2002, Christian has collected an archive of gear and ephemera related to the project. Unpacking the archive reveals photo negatives, a signed Polite Force Enrolment Form, a loan agreement, bulletproof vest and visor.

It is possible to become ‘Polite’ and enact the Force’s values anywhere, at any time. Visitors to the booth at the fair can purchase Polite Force caps and T-shirts, and, after a brief induction, embody Polite Force, should they choose to do so.

Unpacking the archive at Cape Town Art Fair 2022 marks twenty years of Polite Force. The fair is the city’s largest art event, marketplace and exchange. A4 interacts with it as a curious participant, offering the public a space to engage with art.