Exhibition: Timbuktu Script &
Scholarship
Venue: Granary, Iziko at the Castle of Good Hope, Cape Town
Dates: 8 August – 3 September 2008
Timbuktu Script & Scholarship is an exhibition of manuscripts from
the holdings of the Ahmed Baba Institute (IHERI-AB) in Timbuktu,
Mali. The manuscripts are evidence of an African written and
intellectual tradition dating back hundreds of years. Displaying
several styles of fine Arabic calligraphy, the most beautiful
examples have gold illumination and finely tooled leather covers.
The exhibition is a joint project
between Iziko Museums of Cape Town and the Department of Arts and
Culture. It is part of a larger Presidential Project involving South
Africa and Mali on the preservation of the manuscripts and the
construction of a new library in Timbuktu to house the collection of
the Ahmed Baba Institute.
The aim of the exhibition is to
reclaim the scholarship and written legacy of Africa. The
manuscripts on display show a diversity of subject matter, ranging
from religion and literature, to astronomy and mathematics, while
also giving a sense of daily life as reflected in legal opinions and
commercial transactions in Timbuktu.
The exhibition will present the
manuscripts in the historical and cultural context of scholarship in
West Africa. By celebrating the manuscripts as cultural treasures of
Africa, the exhibition will promote the values and objectives of the
African Renaissance, and the continuation of cultural ties between
South Africa and the rest of the African continent.
Timbuktu script & scholarship opens
at the Granary at the Castle of Good Hope, Cape Town, running from 8
August – 3 September 2008, and is complemented by a catalogue. The
exhibition then travels to Grahamstown, Pretoria Bloemfontein,
Durban and Johannesburg. Its tour of the country ends in early
December 2008.
The exhibition is funded by the
national Department of Arts and Culture and supported by Standard
Bank.
Granary, Iziko at the Castle
of Good Hope, Darling Street, Cape Town
Tel: 021 4641264
Opening hours: Daily 09:30-16:00 and also until 19:00 on some days
of the week
Admission:
Adults: R20 (Sundays R10)
Pensioners with SA pensioner cards: R10
Students with SA student cards: R10
Children: (5-16 yrs) R10 (Sundays R5)
Booked School Groups: R5 per learner
High Resolution images available
on request.
Issued by The Heritage Agency on behalf of Iziko Museums of Cape
Town
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