iziko what’s on
APRIL - JULY
2017
Exhibitions
Events
Talks
Workshops
Shows
National Museums
in Cape Town
MORE THAN JUST A PLANETARIUM – DIGITAL FULLDOME THEATRE
The Iziko Planetarium Digital Upgrade Project at the Iziko South African Museum
is transforming the Planetarium into a digital immersive fulldome theatre.
Set to open at the end of May 2017, the revamped facility will create riveting,
and multi-sensory experiences for young and old alike, and provide an excellent
educational and entertainment, and unparalleled eResearch facility.
See the Iziko website for more details, and join the Iziko mailing list for news and
announcements. Email [email protected] with “subscribe” in the subject line.
The digitisation of the Iziko Planetarium will offer
audiences limitless edu-tainment in a fully immersive
fulldome theatre environment. Photograph, Skyscan.
Art Education
• Art Beat A celebration of creativity from learners from the Art From the Heart Initiative (founded
by Leonardo Da Vinci Gallery) and St Mary’s Primary, Cape Town. This exhibition is inspired by popular
culture, and showcases the unique expressions of learners in the Western Cape through visual art. All
the participating learners made their work at the Iziko South African National Gallery (ISANG) Annexe
in lessons facilitated by artists and educators from both organisations.
Date: 20 April to 12 May 2017 Venue: ISANG, Annexe Enquiries: Yentl Kohler
• Western Cape Education Department (WCED) Art and Music Centres Showcase Exhibition
On exhibition is a selection of the best work from the Art Centres in the Western Cape, which includes
the work from GET (General Education and Training) and FET (Further Education and Training) learners.
The exhibition will coincide with Iziko’s Youth Day and Mandela Day celebrations.
Date: 1 June to 11 August 2017 Venue: ISANG, Annexe Enquiries: Yentl Kohler
Iziko Education and Public Programmes will celebrate the following commemorative days:
• Freedom Day
27 April
• International Museum Day 18 May
• Africa Day
25 May
• Youth Day
16 June
• International Mandela Day 18 July
See the Iziko website for details of Iziko’s public programmes related to these.
Iziko Art Education presented participants with the
opportunity to add colour to the walls of the Gallery
in a mural painting workshop on Heritage Day 2016.
Photograph, Rudolph Rieger.
Enquiries: Wandile Kasibe
Iziko Mobile Museum: “Museum without Walls” (Ongoing)
The Iziko Mobile Museum is an educational outreach project designed to take educational museum
resources to rural and urban communities that are unable to visit the Iziko museums. Iziko Mobile
Museum visits are free of charge, but have to be booked two months in advance.
Enquiries: Wandile Kasibe or Sthembele Harmans
• Yentl Kohler, Tel. 021 481 3961 or email [email protected] • Laeticia Swanepoel, Tel. 021 467 7227 or
email [email protected] • Lungile Gadezweni, Tel. 021 467 7222 or email [email protected]
• Daksha Naran, Tel. 021 481 3952 or email [email protected] • Nadjwa Damon, Tel. 021 481 3817 or
email [email protected] • Wandile Kasibe, Tel. 021 481 3804 or email [email protected]
• Sthembele Harmans, Tel. 021 481 3812 or email [email protected]
• Bookings: Faith Songelwa, Tel. 021 481 3823 or email [email protected]
Friends of the Iziko South African
National Gallery
For membership enquiries or further information,
please contact Lizzie O’Hanlon, Tel. 021 481 3951
(Tuesday to Thursday 10:00–14:00) or email
[email protected]
Meet the Artists
Friday, 7 April 2017 Liza Grobbler, Luan Nel
and Colbert Mashile Time: 11:00 Venue: Everard
Read Gallery, 3 Portswood Road, V&A Waterfront
Cost: Members R80, non-members R100
Studio Visits
Wednesday, 12 April 2017 Dragana Jevtovic
Ceramics Time: 11:00 Venue: 4 Lobelia Street,
Wellway Park, Durbanville Cost: Members R180,
non-members R200, includes an exotic buffet
lunch courtesy of Fox & Raisin served in
Dragana’s home
Wednesday, 3 May 2017 Private preview of
Ebony’s show, Modern Masters Time: 18:00
Venue: Ebony, 67 Loop Street, Cape Town
Cost: Members R80, non-members R100
Walkabouts
Sunday, 28 May 2017 Ingrid Masondo, Curator,
will do a walkabout of At Face Value Time: 11:00
Venue: Iziko South African National Gallery Cost:
Members R60, non-members R80, students free
Wednesday, 14 June 2017 Angela Zehnder,
Painting Conservator, “Exciting New Developments
with Conservation”, including viewing, for the first
time, the large paintings on their wonderful new
sliding screens Time: 13:00 Venue: Iziko South
African National Gallery Cost: Members R80,
non-members R100, including light refreshments.
Limited to 15 people.
Friends of the Iziko Michaelis Collection
To book and for details and the complete list of
Friends activities, contact Rosalind Malandrinos,
Hon. Secretary, email [email protected] or
Cell. 082 789 5050
Friends of the Iziko South African Museum
The office is attended on Wednesday & Friday,
09:00–15:00. Tel. 021 481 3913 or email
[email protected]; or weekdays 10:00–12:00,
Charlotte on 072 225 6893, and leave a message.
Keep up to date with us on Facebook and Twitter.
Lectures
Tuesday, 25 April 2017 Matthew Scarborough,
“Mammoths, Mastodonts and Men: Unravelling
the causes of extinction and the role of humans
in their disappearance”.
Tuesday, 30 May 2017 Dr Elizabeth van Heyningen,
“WG Atherstone and the Namaqualand Copper
Boom of 1854”. Venue: Mountain Club,
97 Hatfield Street, Cape Town
Tuesday, 27 June 2017 Dr Benjamin Schoville,
topic to be announced closer to the date.
Tuesday, 25 July 2017 Dr Rebecca Rogers
Ackermann, topic to be announced closer
to the date.
The South African Jewish Museum, 88 Hatfield
Street, has kindly agreed to accommodate us in
their auditorium while the TH Barry Lecture
Theatre at the Iziko South African Museum
undergoes renovations. Lectures will be held
there, unless otherwise stated, at 18:00 on the
last Tuesday of the month, as always. Lectures
are free to members on presentation of a current
membership card, and non-members are asked
for a donation of R30.
Sharing the wonder of museums with local communities
through the Iziko Mobile Museum, at the Vangate
Shopping Mall on the Cape Flats, 13 July 2016.
Photograph, Iziko Photographer, Nigel Pamplin.
Guided Tours
Tuesday, 4 April 2017 Behind-the-scenes tour
of Artscape Theatre Time: 10:30–12:30
Thursday, 20 April 2017 Exploring Slave Space
in the City Time: 10:00 Commencing at the Iziko
Slave Lodge, participants will walk to Greenmarket
Square, view the slave church in Long Street, and
then on to Prestwich Place and the Strand Street
quarry, with presentations done at each site. Tour
concludes at Biesmiellah Restaurant with a delicious
Cape Malay lunch.
Wednesday, 19 July 2017 Guided tour of Holocaust
Museum, Hatfield Street. Time: 10:00–12:00
Outings
Tuesday, 2 May 2017 Excursion to the Wellington
area. The tour starts at Buffalo Ridge, the only
water buffalo dairy in South Africa, and on to Quenti
Alpaca Farm and mill, concluding with a visit and
light lunch at Lazanou Organic Vineyards.
5–9 July 2017 Annual fossil expedition,
Nieu Bethesda.
A programme of interesting outings and field trips
for 2017 is posted on the following sites as they
become available, as well as in the Friends
Newsletters: Website: http://www.iziko.org.za/static/
page/friends-of-the-south-african-museum
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Friendsof-the-South-African-Museum/310188388996502
See the Iziko website
for details of all
Friends events
and activities.
Natural History Collections Library – Iziko South African Museum
Due to construction work currently underway at the Iziko South African Museum, the Natural
History Collections Library has been closed to the public. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
25 Queen Victoria Street, Cape Town Tel: 021 481 3976 Fax: 021 481 3993 email [email protected]
Social History Collections Library – Iziko Social History Centre
A reference library with a large collection of DVDs and CDs covering topics such as history, popular
culture, furniture, ceramics, textiles and other decorative arts, historical paintings at the Cape,
archaeology and architecture. The library focuses on the history and people of southern Africa,
with a special interest to Cape Town and the Western Cape. Offices, Archives and Library of the
Social History Collections department, 17 Church Square, Cape Town Tel: 021 467 7207/ 9
Fax: 021 461 4739 email [email protected] Open Monday to Friday 10:00–16:00
Closed All public holidays. Visits by arrangement.
Art Collections Library – Iziko South African National Gallery Annexe
An extensive art research and reference resource covering South African and international art,
with books, journals, exhibition catalogues (some are available for sale), sales/auction catalogues,
newspaper clippings since 1904, artist files and art boxes, pamphlets, DVDs, CDs and videos.
St John’s Street, Cape Town Tel: 021 481 3977/8 Fax: 021 461 6658 email [email protected]
Open Monday to Friday 08:30–16:00
The Social History Centre on Church Square is home to
the Social History Library. Contact the Library to arrange
a visit. Photograph, Carina Beyer, © Iziko.
Artefact Iziko South African Museum Café
Restaurateur, Stuart McLean, offers visitors to the Iziko South African Museum a convenient
and enticing selection of delectable treats and refreshments. Open 10:00–17:00 daily.
Jonkershuis Restaurant – Iziko Groot Constantia
Nestled in the historic core of the Groot Constantia Wine Estate, with panoramic views of the
Peninsula and the majestic Constantia Valley. Open 09:00–22:00, Monday to Saturday, and
09:00–17:00 on Sunday. Reservations: Tel. 021 794 6255 or email [email protected]
Iziko South African Museum (ISAM)
Through funding from the Departments of Arts & Culture and Public Works, the ISAM, one of the oldest
scientific institutions in the southern hemisphere, is currently undergoing construction. The museum
will remain open, but some exhibitions and public spaces will unfortunately be inaccessible.
The new Visitor Route at Groot Constantia allows
visitors to this historical estate to combine a tour of
the exquisitely furnished Manor House (where the tour
originates) with a wine tasting of the fine wines the estate
has to offer in the refurbished Cloete Cellar. Photograph,
Iziko Photographer, Nigel Pamplin.
When completed, this building will house collections, offices and laboratories, and enable unique public
viewing access to the collections in storage, and Specimen Preparators working on fossils and other
specimen. Construction is expected to reach completion in 2017.
Iziko Bertram House and Old Town House
These two museums are currently closed for important maintenance. Iziko will advise on reopening
dates in due course.
We apologise for any inconvenience while we are creating bigger, better museums for you!
Iziko Museums of South Africa is more than art on walls and artefacts in cases. It is a conversation starter,
a cultural hub – a place where our stories are shared and our diversity as a nation is celebrated. Iziko is
where our community can journey from the earliest moments in our planet’s history, to the edge of the
universe, discovering new possibilities through art, rich histories, and unique natural phenomena.
Iziko is proud to be the custodian of South Africa’s cultural, aesthetic and natural heritage, and we are
passionate about sharing, teaching and preserving this heritage for current and future generations.
The Iziko South African Museum is currently undergoing
construction and renovations that will transform it
into a centre of excellence on the African continent.
Photograph, Iziko Photographer, Nigel Pamplin.
But we cannot do this without you.
Your donation can assist to fund: exhibitions and education programmes; acquisitions and conservation
of our collections; the activities of our Mobile Museum; the upgrade of the Iziko Planetarium; groundbreaking research; and the interpretation of art and artefacts important to our communities. Your
support enables us to introduce artists to new audiences, make our collections of social and natural
history accessible, and transform our museums to meet the needs of 21st century audiences.
To learn how you can make a difference, please contact Ahmien van der Walt on Tel. +27 21 481 3852,
+27 79 133 2815 or email [email protected]
Iziko Museums of South Africa Public Benefit Organisation (PBO) #18/11/7/0133
Register to receive our news, updates and invitations. Tel. 021 481 3852, Fax 021 461 9620,
or email [email protected] to subscribe.
Join our growing online family and receive regular updates on exhibitions and events.
www.facebook.com/IzikoMuseums
@Iziko_Museums
BACK COVER: Cultural events like Museum Night provide visitors with the opportunity to experience a range
of Iziko museums and galleries in a unique way… after dark. Iziko South African National Gallery.
Photograph, Carina Beyer, © Iziko.
Iziko Museums of South Africa is a meeting ground
for people of all ages and interests to explore our rich
heritage and history. African Dinosaurs exhibition, ISAM.
Photograph, Marcel Yslie, © Iziko.
FREE DAYS AT IZIKO
Iziko Museums of South Africa encourages the public to visit our museums and exhibitions, and participate in education
programmes on a number of South African commemorative days spread throughout the year.
Through our commemorative day campaigns, we commit ourselves to making our museums accessible to all South Africans.
We hope that by doing so, that we encourage families and members of disadvantaged communities to access these
cultural resources that they may not ordinarily visit. By opening our doors in this way, we say to you, our visitors:
Our museums are your museums. Visit Iziko Museums of South Africa *FREE OF CHARGE on:
• Human Rights Day, 21 March • Freedom Day, 27 April • International Museum Day, 18 May • Africa Day, 25 May
• Youth Day, 16 June • National Women’s Day, 9 August • Heritage Week 2017, 18–24 September
• National Aids Awareness Day, 1 December • Emancipation Day, 1 December • Reconciliation Day, 16 December
*Free entrance to the Planetarium, Groot Constantia and the Castle of Good Hope only on International Museum Day and Heritage Day.
Details of events will be made available nearer the time on our website. Correct at time of print. E&OE
Reassessing Abstraction
COVER IMAGE: With the support of our partners, the Iziko
Planetarium is being renovated and digitised to create a
fully immersive space. Photograph, Skyscan.
Opens 20 April 2017
Abstraction was initially resisted in South Africa, but later embraced as a sign of the country
becoming a part of the ‘international’ mainstream of modern art. Doubts as to its relevance in the
face of emergent ‘resistance art’ in the 1970s and 80s raised questions about abstraction’s validity,
yet many artists persisted in their belief in it as an expression of personal and spiritual freedom.
This exhibition explores and showcases the Iziko South African National Gallery’s acquisition of
non-figurative painting and sculpture over the decades since the 1950s.
Enquiries: Hayden Proud, Tel. 021 481 3965 or email [email protected]
The Magic of Asian Theatre Puppets – Beauties, Heroes, Villains, Gods and Clowns
Highlights from the collection of the Taiyuan Asian Puppet Theatre Museum and the
Dr Paul Lin Collection, Taipei
14 May to 27 August 2017
Asian theatre puppets are an expression of the richness of Asia’s performing arts. The over 100 string,
rod, hand and shadow puppets featured on this exhibition have survived the centuries, during which
the puppet theatre has been a veritable living encyclopaedia of Asian life and culture.
Enquiries: Hayden Proud, Tel. 021 481 3965 or email [email protected]
At Face Value
Until 3 September 2017
Throughout history and across cultures, people have been fascinated by faces and portrait
representations. Far from being mirror reflections, portraits are complex constructions of identity
that serve a range of functions, from expressing power and declaring status, to making larger
statements about society and historical context. The extensive and diverse collection of portraiture
held by the Iziko South African National Gallery is testament to the genre’s longevity and scope.
Kevin Atkinson (1939–2007). Electron Cycle, 1966. Acrylic
on canvas. Iziko SANG Collection. Currently on view in
Reassessing Abstraction, ISANG.
Enquiries: Ingrid Masondo, Tel. 021 481 3956 or email [email protected]
Women’s Work
Until 23 July 2017
Women’s Work showcases the innovation demonstrated by a diverse group of contemporary
South African artists and crafts practitioners who, through the use of traditional handcraft
techniques such as knitting, crocheting, weaving and embroidery, creatively re-interpret a
visual language that blurs the boundaries between art, craft and gendered spaces.
Enquiries: Ernestine White, Tel. 021 467 7234 or email [email protected]
Our Lady
Until June 2017
The New Church Museum, in partnership with the Iziko South African National Gallery, presents
Our Lady. This exhibition is designed to interrupt the puritanical and patriarchal visual economy
that surrounds imagery of the figurative female form. Artworks that celebrate empowered female
capacity, and artworks that counter and contextualise the current status quo, are woven together
in a complex and compelling exhibition.
Enquiries: Shameem Adams, Tel. 021 481 3974 or email [email protected]
Land/scapes
Ongoing
The William Fehr Collection of artworks on paper is an important resource containing a wealth of
visual information. A special selection of prints and watercolours has been chosen to mark some
of the seminal and historic events that impacted on the South African landscape and on land-holding.
Enquiries: Esther Esmyol, Tel. 021 467 7205 or email [email protected]
Fired – An exhibition of South African ceramics
On permanent exhibition
Fired showcases a selection of ceramics from Iziko’s rich and diverse holdings. The exhibition focuses
on modern ceramics made in South Africa, but also includes some historical works that influenced
the work of contemporary South African ceramic artists. New acquisitions to Iziko’s permanent
ceramics collection were added to augment the exhibition.
Horse Puppet from Myanmar (c. 1950s), Dr Paul Lin
Collection, Taipei. From The Magic of Asian Theatre Puppets
– Beauties, Heroes, Villains, Gods and Clowns, ISANG.
Enquiries: Esther Esmyol, Tel. 021 467 7205 or email [email protected]
Reviewing the William Fehr Collection
On permanent exhibition
The William Fehr Collection had been a feature at the Castle since the 1950s, but was packed away
due to restoration work at the Castle. The collection, which depicts South African historical events,
topographical views, streets and buildings, personalities and people, is being reviewed in new and
critical ways to reposition it in current times. It is due to reopen in phases, as multiple narratives
and contemporary voices are explored through the historical works in the collection.
Enquiries: Esther Esmyol, Tel. 021 467 7205 or email [email protected]
Secunde’s House
On permanent exhibition
The Secunde’s House was completed around 1695 as accommodation for the Secunde or ViceGovernor, second in charge at the Cape of Good Hope during the VOC period. The rooms on the
first floor would have functioned as combined bedrooms and reception rooms, and have been
reconstructed to provide a view of what interiors might have looked like during the 17th, 18th
and early 19th centuries respectively. Unique features are walls painted with decorative murals
in various styles, and the 17th century room with its original painted wooden floor.
Simon Lekgetho (1929–1985). Portrait of a Young Boy, 1958.
Oil on board. From the At Face Value exhibition, ISANG.
Enquiries: Esther Esmyol, Tel. 021 467 7205 or email [email protected]
Viewing Bo-Kaap
Until October 2017
The Bo-Kaap and its residents have traditionally been gazed at through a lens of difference.
This multi-media exhibition challenges us to view residents of the Bo-Kaap not in terms of a
static community bounded by tradition, but as a diverse and constantly evolving group.
Comprising photographs by George Hallett and oral history interviews with residents and
business owners, the exhibition presents the area as an integral part of modern Cape Town.
Enquiries: Shanaaz Galant, Tel. 021 467 7214 or email [email protected]
Through Positive Eyes
Opens June 2017
This exhibition builds on the work of award-winning South African photographer Gideon Mendel. It
harnesses the power of the arts to banish HIV stigma. Mendel and UCLA professor David Gere have,
for the last 10 years, been building “Through Positive Eyes”, a participatory photography project in
which people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) share their stories in the form of photographs, video,
and narrative. Through Positive Eyes features over 100 photographs, an array of commissioned twodimensional and sculptural works, and live storytelling documenting the realities of individuals living
with HIV across the globe.
Iziko Rust en Vreugd Museum, situated on the outskirts
of the east city, is home to a selection of the William
Fehr Collection of artworks on paper. Photograph, Iziko
Photographer, Nigel Pamplin.
Enquiries: Shanaaz Galant, Tel. 021 467 7214 or email [email protected]
Singing Freedom: Music and the Struggle for Freedom in South Africa
Current
Singing Freedom tells the story of the role of music during apartheid. The exhibition focuses on the
various freedom songs that were an integral part of the struggle against apartheid, and the diverse
organisations, individuals and events linked to these. The music includes early compositions, such as
Enoch Sontonga’s ‘Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika’, to the more recent hip-hop music from the Cape Flats.
Enquiries: Paul Tichmann, Tel. 021 467 7215 or email [email protected]
The isishweshwe story: material women?
Current
By means of costumes, accessories and contextual images, this exhibition traces the origins of
isishweshwe cloth, from its roots as a trade item in Asia and Europe, to its establishment as a
much-loved southern African material icon. The diverse uses of this cloth, from the apron of
the Xhosa makoti to high fashion clothing, are displayed using items generously donated by
Dr Juliette Leeb-du Toit.
Enquiries: Lynn Abrahams, Tel. 021 467 7203 or email [email protected]
From African Earth: Celebrating our African Vessel Heritage
Current
From African Earth celebrates the artistry, beauty, warmth and texture of vessels made by African
ceramicists from various regions of the continent – from Egypt in the far north, to the southernmost
parts of Africa. This exhibition originated in partnership with Ceramics Southern Africa (Western Cape).
Lisa Ringwood. Glazed earthenware plate, decorated with
hand-painted flowering aloe and blue-and-white Chinese
vase, 2014. From Fired exhibition, Granary, Iziko Castle of
Good Hope. Photograph, Carina Beyer, © Iziko.
Enquiries: Esther Esmyol, Tel. 021 467 7205 or email [email protected]
Mineral Gallery
Permanent
The mineral gallery at the Iziko South African Museum features over 200 specimens from Iziko’s
extensive mineral collections. With a fresh new look, the minerals display an array of colours and
sizes from around the world. Discover interesting pieces such as the desert rose, fish-tail twinning
in gypsum, the many forms of calcite and quartz, and more. The exhibition also highlights interesting
facts about the various mineral groups.
Marcasite from the mineral gallery at the Iziko South
African Museum, which features over 200 specimens
from Iziko’s extensive mineral collections. Photograph,
Eugene Bergh.
Enquiries: Eugene Bergh, Tel. 021 467 7236 or email [email protected]
African Dinosaurs
Permanent
African Dinosaurs tells the story of dinosaurs from an African perspective. Realistic dioramas
of ancient Karoo landscapes with fleshed-up reconstructions of some of our South African
dinosaurs help bring the fossils back to life.
Enquiries: Norma Louw, Tel. 021 481 3897 or email [email protected]
Ever wondered what the largest or smallest insect is? Which is the rarest insect? Which
is the deadliest? Join a behind-the-scenes guided tour of the entomology research
collection, and come and find out! An entomology staff member will conduct a
half-hour tour every Friday at 11:00. Space is limited, so please book your place
at the reception desk. Enquiries: Reception, Tel. 021 481 3805
See what our scientists are up to behind-the-scenes,
when you join a tour of the entomology collections on
Fridays at 11:00. Open to creepy crawly fanatics of all
ages! Photograph, Carina Beyer, © Iziko.