Kathy Grundlingh and Vuyile Voyiya
Towards a Democratic Museum
The South African National Gallery is in the Company's Garden in Cape Town in a precinct that houses a number of other museums, the National Library and the Houses of Parliament. The Company's Garden, laid out by the Dutch East India Company between 1652 and 1656 is situated at the top of Adderley Street, the central axis which runs from the harbour up through the city. The Gardens are ideally located to offer workers, residents and visitors a cool respite under tall shady trees or a sleep in the sun on its green lawns.
Even in this ideal setting the South African National Gallery has had much to overcome. It's architecture is neo-classical in design and echoes the imposing and official lines of the Houses of Parliament adjacent to it. The austere façade reinforced decades of public opinion built up as a result of the politics and policies of the past, of an elitist organisation catering to only a small percentage of the population. Since the 1980s, through its collection, exhibitions and public programmes and policies the staff at the SANG have fought to overcome this deeply entrenched perception by consistently aligning all activities to ensure that they were inclusive and representative of as many of the people and cultures of South Africa as possible. Through its mission the SANG defines itself as an art museum which holds in trust an historical and contemporary art collection on behalf of the people of South Africa. It provides a cultural and educational resource, encourages involvement in the visual arts and nurtures a culturally diverse but shared national heritage. Both the curatorial and education departments are central to the realisation and exploration of various ways of making the best use of the rich diversity of the museum collection that reflects the multi-cultural nature of our communities.
The museum's activities have included a vigorous exhibition and education programme; series of seminars, lectures and public discussion forums; film and video screenings; concerts and workshops. Programmes are supported by an extensive reference library which among other services, loans 'art boxes' to schools containing information on current exhibitions, South African artists and other themes of interest. The Friends of the National Gallery, volunteers and dedicated guides take an active interest and offer support in many ways and the website established in 1995 is available to those unable to visit the Gallery in person.
The dismantling of many decades of negative public opinion does not happen overnight and it was recognised that the most important tool with which to accomplish this was through constructive engagement with the many communities that had previously been excluded. It therefore became imperative to include in a very real way as many viewpoints, voices and ideas as possible in all activities. Underlying this strategy was the restructuring of the institution, which allowed for a more democratic approach to decision making and which saw more staff and public involvement in both the acquisition of works and the selection and curation of exhibitions. A three-language policy was adopted. The three languages most commonly spoken in the Western Cape are used, namely English, Afrikaans and Xhosa. The goals of the RDP (Reconstruction and Development Policy) as put forward by the government in 1995 also became central to all planning and activities. These goals were to affirm and promote the rich and diverse expression of South African culture; to promote the development of a unifying national culture, representative of the aspirations of all South Africa's people; to ensure that resources and facilities for the production and appreciation of arts and culture were available and accessible to all; to conserve, promote and revitalise South Africa's national cultural heritage ensuring that it is accessible to all and to link culture firmly to areas of national priority, such as health, housing, tourism and HIV/Aids.
The other tools that were available to implement these agendas were the collections and the exhibition and education programmes. Links established between museums and schools over many years have provided enhanced access to museum resources and possibilities of first hand experiences. One of the major vehicles for accessing the collection not only for schools but the general public, is the continual provision of guided tours thereby narrowing the gap between the exhibitions/artworks and the viewers. This stimulates interest and debate as well as bringing human warmth into the building. The potential of these educational resources which include workshops and resource booklets can only be realised when they are fully integrated into the educational experience of all learners at their respective schools. To a significant degree, this is happening in the former white schools, which have better resources and qualified art teachers. The scenario is completely different in township/black schools.
While art education is part of the curriculum, there are no art teachers in most of the primary township schools. Faced with inadequate resources, art education is non-existent or has been on the verge of collapse at these schools. It was against this backdrop that the SANG education department devised an in-service art training programme for teachers at primary school level. The training places dual focus on the need to give trainee art teachers the skills, techniques and appropriate knowledge central to art education in spheres of both practical art making and art appreciation. This training empowers the trainees to appropriately transfer and evaluate these skills in practical teaching situations on an ongoing basis. The process-oriented approach to art making is promoted more than the emphasis on the final product. In addition to learners, the education department is involved with tours and workshops for adult visitors. Aided by a team of committed volunteer guides, SANG is succeeding in expanding its constituency while consolidating its current pool of visitors and participants.
Having a vigorous programme averaging twenty five to thirty exhibitions and related education activities a year it is impossible to describe the breadth and scope of them all. However, a few examples from the past decade will give some idea of the commitment and energy that has been employed.
As a means of engaging a broader constituency, exhibitions are used to build bridges with local communities thereby instilling a sense of
ownership particularly with groups of people who would not usually visit the museum. In 1992 a public project titled Where we live was established
as a forum for community participation. It encouraged community involvement as well as providing a platform for expressing ideas and feelings about living in Cape Town. The participants included crafters' guilds, literacy
groups, hospital patients, self-help co-operatives and women's groups.
Using techniques of beading, embroidery and applique amongst other, the groups created fabric panels around the theme of 'Cape Town, where we
live'. The project spanned many months and strong relationships were forged as was seen at the opening of the exhibition attended by many hundreds of
dancing and singing participants. After the exhibition the panels were returned to their communities with one panel being acquired for the Permanent Collection.
Other relationships were cemented through the Muslim art in the Western Cape exhibition where SANG staff worked closely with the Sheikh Yusuf
Tricentenary Commemoration Committee and invited artists from this
community to submit works for inclusion on the exhibition. The exhibition was extremely successful with the following appearing in the local press
'The result is an exhibition which highlights the multifaceted nature of Muslim culture in the Cape - a picture which differs remarkably from the
kind of Western media stereotypes which encourage the view that all Muslims are intolerant and unchanging fundamentalists'.
1
In order to attract and elicit direct participation from younger audiences, the multi-media art event SoftServe was first held in November 1999. This annual event is curated by an independent non-profit organisation dedicated to the promotion of public art. Staff at SANG relinquished all curatorial control over content and only set parameters to ensure that museological concerns are adhered to. The resulting events feature work by young up-and-coming artists in the form of installation, video work and performance pieces and are streamed live over the internet. The event is a huge success attracting an audience of over 3 000 visitors during a four-hour period.
As well as forging links with local communities, international collaborations are consistently being explored in exhibitions such as
Isintu: Ceremony, Identity and Community, the result of an exchange between institutions in Adelaide (Australia) and Cape Town, which included the
Flinders Art Museum, Sang and the Robben Island Museum. The project created an opportunity for dialogue between the indigenous people of both countries
around issues as the subtitle suggests of ceremony, identity and community.
Another example is the current project within the Visual Cultures in Dialogue exchange of skills and knowledge through constructive engagement
between staff at SANG and BildMuseet.
Apart from including previously unheard voices, many of the exhibitions and projects also contribute to SANG's participation in the rewriting of South African art history through the presentation and representation of cultural production. In exhibitions like iGgugu lamaNdebele: Pride of the Ndebele, six Ndebele women were invited to make sculpture and to collaborate on the installation of this exhibition, which showcased the art and architecture of the Ndebele people. The exhibition went beyond showcasing the depth, range and beauty of the art of this region but was also presented as integral to its people and to its cultural and historical contexts. Ezakwantu: Beadwork from the Eastern Cape brought to the fore the continuing art/craft debate as well as narrowing the perceived gap between Western and African artistic production.
Exhibitions also offered a way of redressing imbalances and an opportunity to re-write and reclaim displaced histories. A series of retrospective exhibitions by previously ostracised and marginalised artists was mounted, including artists such as Ernest and Sonja Mancoba, Gerard Sekoto, Azaria Mbatha and George Pemba. Land and Lives: Pioneer Black artists2 showcased works by pioneer black South African artists born in the 19th and early 20th centuries. A collaboration between the District Six Museum and SANG staff culminated in an exhibition of images solicited from this community forcibly removed from their land in the early 1960s. The exhibition provided an opportunity to uncover and critically engage the perceptions, attitudes and themes that were embedded in the images and the participants' individual histories and memories.
In South Africa, where colonial education has continually presented history and civilisation as beginning with the arrival of white settlers, exhibitions like Musuku: Golden Links with out Past challenge these assumptions by showcasing the artistic achievements of groups that go back centuries before the arrival of the colonising powers. The acknowledgement of indigenous history not only empowers visitors (especially the youth) with an alternative to previously entrenched ideas but serves to deconstruct these beliefs and gives impetus to calls for the re-writing of history.
Opportunities for redress and reconciliation were offered by the exhibition Miscast: Negotiating Khoisan History and Material Culture by guest curator Pippa Skotnes. Although fraught with problems and very controversial, this exhibition served as a catalyst, bringing together many different viewpoints and giving a voice to those who had largely gone unheard. Nine groups from the Khoisan community were brought to Cape Town and invited to participate in a public forum around issues raised by the exhibition. More than 1 700 people attended the forum and intense discussion ensued around issues such as land redistribution, the effects of colonialism and the politics of representation. On national Human Rights Day in 1997, the Griqua National Conference, in alliance with the East Griqualand pioneers, the Nama Representative Council and the Rehoboth Baster Community hosted a meeting at the Sang to discuss, among other issues the repatriation of Sara 'Saartjie' Baartman's body for burial.3 Over 1 000 people attended.
Skills, expertise and resources are exchanged through an ongoing series of Invited Artist programmes in which artists are encouraged to pass on skills to workshop participants during their residency period. The Artists Development Programme was designed to develop skills and expertise of artists who had not had access to formal art education. These programmes and workshops often resulted in small exhibitions and at times, work produced was sold in limited editions to sustain further activities.
Tolerance and understanding is promoted through education programmes centered around exhibitions like Anne Frank in the World4 which was complemented by a photographic exhibition on apartheid and resistance in South Africa. The accompanying art based workshops were used to access the past and go some way to dealing with the wounds and promote healing.
Positive Lives: Responses to HIV5 was a major photo-documentary exhibition which explored the complex, individual and social responses to HIV/Aids and was one of the first photographic exhibitions world-wide to explore these complex issues. This challenging exhibition sought to expand the understanding of many complex and often ambiguous or contradictory issues. The exhibition dealt largely with HIV/Aids related issues in Britain and to balance this a South African photographer, Gideon Mendel, was commissioned to produce a portfolio of 40 images that reflected local conditions and concerns. An extensive educational programme was developed in consultation with 12 local Non Governmental Organisations working in the field of HIV/Aids. Volunteers from the community of health workers and People Living with HIV/Aids manned the exhibition throughout to deal with queries from the public. A portable version of the South African component was translated into the 11 official languages and was used extensively in community centers in the Western Cape, North Western Province and Gauteng. It has also travelled to Bamako and Dakar.
Furthering the desire to be more accessible and welcoming, Sang and other components of Iziko Museums of Cape Town are currently engaged with visitor
survey studies which will provide a measuring rod for assessing the extent to which these institutions meet visitor needs. Concurrent with the visitor
surveys, are non-visitor attitudinal surveys, which gauge levels of familiarity with these museums among the wider community. Links established with the individuals interviewed will be used to invite communities or
groups for introductory tours of the collections. The process of ensuring that the collections and the museum resources remain challenging, relevant
and representative is ongoing and one which can never afford to be neglected.
Kathy Grundlingh is Curator and Vuyile Voyiya is Education Officer at the
South African National Gallery.
1 Cape Times, 26 May, 1994
2 The exhibition Land and Lives: Pioneer Black artists was curated by Elza Miles in 1998
3 Sara Baartman, a Quena woman was born in the Eastern Cape in 1790. She worked as a farm labourer on the Cape Flats until she was 'discovered' by a British naval doctor who was fascinated by her 'large buttocks and extended genitalia'. 'The Hottentot Venus' was taken to Britain where she was
exhibited publicly as a curiosity. She died a few years later in Paris in 1815 where she was dissected and her brain and genitalia preserved in formalin. Her remains were exhibited until 1985 at the Musée de l'Homme andform part of their collection to this day.
4 The exhibition Anne Frank in the World was seen in 27 countries and was
brought to South Africa by the Dutch Embassy and the Jewish Board of
Deputies and was presented in association with several church groups.
5 Positive Lives: Responses to HIV was curated in 1993 by Network photographers in collaboration with the Terence Higgins Trust to mark this important Aids charity's tenth anniversary and the start of the second
decade of the Aids pandemic.