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Bumper line-up at
Iziko Museums Of Cape Town for first quarter of 2009
Mother City residents and visitors
alike can look forward to a bumper line-up of exhibits at Iziko
Museums of Cape Town throughout 2009.
"Our job here at Iziko Museums
of Cape Town is primarily about sharing knowledge and providing
access to our museums. It is also important that we forge new
partnerships and shift existing audiences towards a wider
interpretation of our natural history, art history and social
history collections," says Professor H.C. (Jatti) Bredekamp, CEO of
Iziko Museums of Cape Town.
A mere glance at Iziko Museums of
Cape Town’s quarterly ‘what’s on @ iziko’ events guide reveals the
following intellectually and creatively stimulating treasure chest.
To name but a few of the forthcoming events:
… and that is only the beginning!
As for the jam-packed Iziko Summer School 2009 line-up, this
includes:
A star gazer’s delight: Join a
Sutherland excursion to view the night sky with Professor Brian
Warner; alternatively listen in on astronomers in conversation at a
lunch-time discussion on indigenous astronomy in southern Africa. As
2009 marks the International Year of Astronomy and also coincides
with the quadricentennial (400 years) since the first use of an
astronomical telescope by Galileo Galilei, a symposium will also
occur, titled ‘Revealing the mysteries of the universe.’ Topics
under the telescopic lens will include ‘The Xhosa Understanding of
the Night Sky’;
Something special for fossil and
rock painting fundis! A Cedarberg retreat led by Dr Roger Smith, Dr
Sarah Wurz and Dr Simon van Noort will explore the fossils, rock
paintings, rocks, insects, birds and plants of the Cedarberg, whose
rocks were formed under the oceans 400 million years ago, which
through continental collision 200 million years later lifted and
folded the rock to form a mountain chain;
Something for those interested in
global warming is a Climate Change Symposium, which seeks to explore
‘A Youth Perspective on the Global Crisis’;
A Soccer Indaba, which seeks to
explore museums as spaces for creative tourism and interaction: 2010
and beyond, will be Chaired by Dr Laurine Platzky. This will include
an address by Western Cape Provincial Co-ordinator, 2010 World Cup,
with MEC for Sports, Cultural Affairs and Recreation Cameron Dugmore;
meanwhile a public dialogue titled ‘Engaging our Collective Heritage
and Democracy’ will explore ‘Performing Democracy, National Identity
and Citizenship: Museums as spaces for creative performance’ (Mike
van Graan, Playwright and Executive Director of the Africa Centre);
‘Remapping the Catastrophe’ (Myer Taub, PhD Candidate, UCT);
Art Lovers will be intellectually
stimulated through the Art Next symposium which looks at ways in
which South African artists choose to express themselves in the
current context of globalization, digitalization, global warming and
worldwide political and economic restructuring;
The Wednesday 4 February official
opening of Iziko Summer School 2009 will explore the role of museums
in the 21st Century as spaces for socio-cultural interaction, with Pumla Madiba, CEO of the Commission for the Promotion and Protection
of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities.
Costs, registration forms and programmes can be viewed at
www.iziko.org.za, or book
through Wandile Goozen Kasibe on telephone (021) 481 3804 / 13 or
e-mail
publicprogs@iziko.org.za or
wkasibe@iziko.org.za.
Iziko Summer School 2009 runs between 4 February and 14 March.
As for the Iziko Planetarium, the
following activities are presently on offer:
Davy Dragon goes to the Moon
(until
20 January – Mondays to Fridays: 12h00 and 13h00; Saturdays and
Sundays 12h00; Plus 24, 25 and 31 January and 1 February) – Davy
Dragon finds a strange bug that seems to be lost. He thinks it is a
moon bug and decides to take the bug back to the Moon. But is the
Moon the bug’s home? For children aged 5-12
Davy Dragon’s Guide to the Night
Sky (7 February – 29 March – Saturday and Sunday 12h00) – Join Davy
Dragon as he learns all about the sky above so that he can fulfil
his dream of becoming the world’s best flying dragon! A playful
introduction to astronomy. For children aged 5-10
The Sky Tonight (Saturday and
Sunday – 13h00) – An interesting live lecture on the current night
sky. You will receive a star map and be shown where to find the
constellations and planets that are visible this month. Suitable for
teenagers and adults
A Basic Guide to Stargazing (Monday
to Friday – 14h00, excluding 2 February and 2 March; Tuesday –
20h00, including sky talk; Saturday and Sunday – 14h30) – This
45-minute presentation offers a basic understanding of the night sky
and how it changes throughout the year. We introduce some easily
recognizable constellations, explain the nature of stars and the
galaxy in which we live and give basic information on using
binoculars and small telescopes. Suitable for teenagers and adults.
Iziko Museums of Cape Town
is a
public entity organisation partially funded by the National
Department of Arts and Culture. Funding support from individual,
corporate and donor sponsors enables the organisation to ensure the
widest possible public access to
Iziko Museums of Cape Town
collections and sites. Plans in the pipeline include the imminent
2009 opening of the
Iziko Social History Centre, to be located at
the former National Mutual Building on Church Square, Cape Town. The
twelve Iziko Museums, each with their own history and character,
are:
Natural History :
Iziko South African Museum;
Iziko Planetarium
Art
History:
Iziko South African National Gallery;
Iziko Michaelis Collection
Social History: Iziko
Slave Lodge ;
Iziko at the Castle of Good Hope;
Iziko Groot Constantia;
Iziko Bo-Kaap Museum;
Iziko Koopmans-De Wet House;
Iziko Bertram House;
Iziko Rust en Vreugd;
Iziko Maritime Centre.
Entrance to Iziko Museums is
FREE to children under 16 – and free to everyone on
certain
commemorative days.
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