In the lead-up to the 10th Basha Uhuru Festival, the National Museum of African Art will host a 10-day series of art experiences titled “The Demonstration” at the historical Constitution Hill from Thursday, September 15, to Saturday, September 24.
“The Demonstration” includes an exhibition, public conversations and artist-led tours around the city.
The programme is curated by Johannesburg-based artist Siwa Mgoboza under the theme “Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past”.
Speaking to IOL Entertainment, Mgoboza said this year’s theme is aligned with the Smithsonian Institution's global initiative to address systemic racism and racial inequity.
“Unlike with most institutional shows, the museum gave me, a young curator, the opportunity to showcase an experimental show, one that better contributes to regenerative art ecosystems,” said Mgoboza.
“Part of this mission was to create, see, engage and collaborate with local artists whose work deals with a heavy subject matter like race.
“Race in South Africa and in the United States of America have been big determining factors in how life is known and understood by all human beings.
“Both countries have incredible Constitution laws, that at the core of them it’s about taking care of the people and ensuring inequity is bridged, and voices that often don't have visibility are made visible,” explained Mgoboza.
Elaborating on the inspiration behind the project, Mgoloza said: “Let’s unpack the word, ‘demonstration’ and think of the geographical specificity of the US and South Africa. A demonstration is an act of showing that something exists or is true by giving proof of evidence.
“My job as the curator was to look for commonalities between these places because we have more in common than the differences, which is where the strength of the show came from if you think of how movements like #BlackLivesMatter and #FeesMustFall, brought to light the systematic problems that we as two nations have.
“One of the key pillars all our partners share, Smithsonian NMAFA, Constitution Hill and Moleskine Foundation, is that creativity could be used for social change and be a catalyst in how we reckon with the past and collectively heal towards the true rainbow nation or the land of the free.”
Dubbed the interdisciplinary artist of his generation, Mgoboza is hoping this unique “experience” will help audiences find healing through art.
Featured artists include Blessing Ngobeni, Patrick Bongoy, Luke Radloff, Nelisiwe Xaba, Mocke Jansen van Vuuren and Ayana V. Jackson.
“In the name of the show, ‘Demonstration: Reckoning with Our Shared Racial Past’, each artist in the show is an active demonstrator, whether it is through their actual work, their work with communities or their actual being.
“Each and every one of them brings a narrative that needs its own individual attention and visibility, whether it's through race and representation, incarceration, media or resistance.
“So we invite the public to join us in the act of demonstration. Never forget, an institution is only as relevant as the people who walk in and out of it. Without the people, our demonstration is nothing.”
The experiences will also include public conversations on race and migration, incarceration, representation, identity, resistance and the demonstration.
The event is open to the public, free of charge.
For more information visit https://africa.si.edu/.