BY Mr Lennox Tukwayo,
Chief Executive Officer, Iziko Museums of South Africa.
Iziko Museums of South Africa affirms its unwavering respect for artistic freedom and the vital role of art in confronting uncomfortable truths. We acknowledge that the recent decision to cloak as opposed to removing, certain works by Steven Cohen, has raised concerns and perceptions of censorship.
As a national institution that serves all South Africans, Iziko is committed to upholding the rights, dignity, and diversity of our communities, and to safeguarding the constitutional right to freedom of expression. With that freedom, however, comes an equally important responsibility to steward the public interest with care and integrity.
The Iziko South African National Gallery (ISANG) is more than a building or collection. It is a public space where the challenging, the controversial, the beautiful, and the necessary can coexist. Our role is not to censor or sanitise, but to facilitate dialogue, preserve artistic freedom, and to reflect our nations stories with honesty and courage. In a society that is still navigating the tensions of identity, belonging, trauma, and transformation, exhibitions like Long Life demonstrate the power of art as a catalyst for social reflection and growth.
Façade of the Iziko South African National Gallery, © Iziko Museums/N. Pamplin
Concerns relating to cultural dignity, representation, authorship, and the ethical limits of display was recently brought to Iziko’s attention. As part of our ethical obligations, Iziko initiated a review of specific works originally proposed for the exhibition. During a consultative walkabout, both the artist and the curator expressed their willingness to retire any works for which the institution could not provide full support.
Following a careful internal review, a small number of artworks were concealed.
While recognising their artistic significance, these works raised unresolved concerns regarding the representation of Black women, cultural values related to the dignity of elders, questions of agency and authorship, and Iziko’s longstanding commitment to the ethical handling and repatriation of ancestral human remains.
Iziko is a public institution and all its exhibitions forming part of its exhibition programme are a critical part of its reimagining programming. Our aim has always been to present Steven Cohen’s work within its full context. Whilst supporting the artist’s right to freedom of expression, Iziko too must exercise responsible public stewardship, always appreciating what is in the public interest, while respecting diversity from all demographics, cultural backgrounds and different age groups.
Visitors encountering the cloaked artworks at the Iziko South African National Gallery, © Iziko Museums/N. Pamplin
Although the works are already in the public domain. Concerns about unresolved questions of agency, consent, and authorship, as well as the historical dynamics of race, power, and representation in South Africa were raised. Without Nomsa’s own documented voice, Iziko could not present these works ethically or responsibly.
Furthermore, Iziko Museums has a painful legacy of collecting ancestral human remains unethically and has pioneered working with communities, governments, other museums and entities to repatriate, restore dignity and rebury ancestors. Displaying imagery of human skulls including being trampled on would be incompatible with those commitments.
Cloaking these specific works whilst Iziko is immersed in decolonising and indigenising imperatives, provides the institution the opportunity to invite further conversations and continue this vital dialogue with Steven Cohen’s work—and with each other.
Steven Cohen is an artist who has never shied away from the uncomfortable, the vulnerable, the unseen, or the unspeakable. It is understandable that his works includes imagery and performance that may intentionally upset some. However, the impact of its untended consequences has implications for others.
Iziko’s goal is to reaffirm our civic and cultural responsibility: to hold space for radical expression, to foster understanding through engagement, and never to shy away from art’s power to move, disturb, and transform.
AS part of this exhibition Iziko Museums intends to host a series of public discussions and moderated tours, aimed at unpacking the meanings, historical contexts, and emotional resonance of Cohen’s work. This exchange is in keeping with the principle of “more speech”, open dialogue and critical conversations.
We are reaffirming the purpose, relevance, and future of the Iziko South African National Gallery as a space where South Africa’s most complex, provocative, and necessary artistic stories can be told in full. Programme details will be revealed online via the website and social media platforms.
