"Democracy X"
2004-04-21 until 2004-09-31
Iziko Museums at the Castle of Good
Cape Town, , ZA South Africa

In 2004 South Africa will celebrate the tenth anniversary of its transition from minority rule to democracy. This significant moment presents Iziko with a unique opportunity to review and re-examine South African history and the ways in which that past has helped shape the present. It will do so in an exhibition in which we aim to encourage renewal and growth for the future through an understanding the past.

Democracy X will explore interactions among the various cultures and people of South Africa through carefully chosen themes, expressive artworks, selected artefacts and a wide range of audio-visual material. It will open with the oldest human markings on artefacts that suggest early forms of socialisation and communication. The exhibition will continue with an exploration of early African societies and their subsequently complex interactions with settler communities, characterised frequently by struggles and wars. The artworks will also trace various forms of resistance to political oppression in the twentieth century. The decade since the 1994 elections will conclude the exhibition with major landmarks such as the Constitution, the TRC and a focus on youth.

The exhibition will aim to reach diverse audiences. An extensive education program has been planned to make the show more accessible to learners as well as the general public. In addition, a handbook and teachers' pack are being produced that will have a life beyond the exhibition.

The use of the historically signficant Castle, associated in the past with repressive colonial and apartheid authorities, for an exhibition celebrating freedom and democracy, is symbolic of the transformation of South Africa and the heritage sector in particular.

Related Links:

Indepth Arts Resources for South Africa

Other Important Exhibitions in South Africa