AFRO-BRAZIL: AFRICAN SLAVES IN BRAZIL
UNTIL END MARCH 2008

‘Afro-Brazil’ is a collaboration between Iziko’s Social History Collections and Art Collections Departments. The exhibition was conceived by Dr Stefan Oschmann, head of the Africa Music Festival in Würzburg. It consists of images of Brazilian slaves of African origin with a contextualising history. The images are reproduced from the cartes de visite of Alberto Henschel and from photographs of Marc Ferrez. The original photographs are in the collections of the Leibniz-Institut für Länderkunde, Leipzig and the Instituto Moreira Salles Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. ‘Afro-Brazil’ is supported by the German Consulate in Cape Town.

Enquiries: Fiona Clayton, Tel. 021 464 1268 or email fclayton@iziko.org.za

These panels are an outcome of the Black Entrepreneurs in Tourism Peer Learning Cooperative Programme. Participants became aware that there are few museums in Cape Town that reflect the inter-connectedness of the history of all people of the Western Cape.

Initiatives such as this explore the multi-faceted identities of people in the Western Cape, as a product of the region’s history; and also contribute to the transformation of heritage institutions. Collaboration with these initiatives enriches the work of Iziko and helps to link the Museum with the community it serves.

The set of panels was produced in 2005/6 under the leadership of Patric Tariq Mellet of the South African Institute for Advancement/ Inyathelo. Michael Daries was the designer and the content was based on the research of many historians, including Hazel Crampton and William Dicey.

Funded by: The National Lotteries Distribution Fund, Swiss South Africa Cooperation Initiative and BP Southern Africa

Separate is Not Equal: The Struggle Against Separate Schooling in America

The exhibition deals with segregation in schools in the United States during the 1960s. Using personal experiences, informative texts, images, a map of the United States indicating the locations of five significant court cases involving the issue of segregated schools, classroom desks, and a timeline, this exhibition raises visitors’ awareness of the struggle of African Americans against separate schooling. The parallels with Apartheid in South Africa are obvious.

Audiovisual material enhances the experience. Strange Fruit, sung by Billy Holiday, mourns the shameful lynchings of the South. You will meet Reverend De Laine and his family, victims and survivors of the struggle. Watch Martin Luther King Jr delivering his famous ‘I have a dream speech …’ and write your comments on the chalkboard.

’Separate is not Equal’ is a partnership between Iziko Museums of Cape Town, the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, the United States Consulates in Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the Smithsonian Institute.

An education tour of the exhibition is highly recommended for social science/ history learners, grades 7–12. To book contact Lungi, Tel. 021 481 3823.

Exhibition enquiries: Thijs van der Merwe, Tel. +27 021 464 1261 or email tvandermerwe@iziko.org.za

A large crowd gathered to attend the opening of Breaking the Silence: A Luta Continua, which took place on 15 July 2006. The event was a gracious reminder of the rights of every human being, through singing, recounting memories and saluting long-gone comrades. In her keynote address, former TRC Commissioner Prof. Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela affirmed and encouraged those present, as well as the work of the Human Rights Media Centre.

The exhibition uses media such as scrapbooks, body-maps, photographs, memory cloths, drawings, paintings and art banners to raise awareness of a number of social issues. These include the Khulumani lawsuit against 23 multinational corporations for their role in aiding and abetting apartheid; the unfinished business of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC); and the UN campaign against torture and rights of survivors. The exhibition is the culmination of four years of collaborative work between the Human Rights Media Centre and the Khulumani Support Group – Western Cape.

Enquiries: Wieke van Delen, Tel. 021 464 1265 (office) or 082 593 4497.