Image 1: An aerial photograph of Oliewenhuis shows the garden’s formal layout with the main garden path as focal point, c. 1990s. (Photo: Oliewenhuis Art Museum)
The style and design of a garden often determine how it is experienced and appreciated by humans. Informal landscape gardens are best enjoyed by wandering around and exploring them serendipitously. In these gardens elements such as colour, texture, scent and sound stimulate the senses.
A triumphant Philip Kgosana being raised shoulder-high by anti-pass protesters on 30 March 1960. (Photo: Wikipedia)
On 30 March 1960 a 23-year-old black man became instantly famous for courageously leading a non-violent protest march of about 30 000 people in Cape Town against the infamous pass laws. His name was Philip Kgosana.
The National Museum is fortunate to count among its long-time friends and supporters the Belgian poet, Bruno Neuville. Bruno’s association with the Museum started in 2007 when he was still a Communications Management lecturer at Thomas More University College (then Katholieke Hogeschool) in Mechelen, Belgium. For almost a decade Bruno’s Communications Management students visited Bloemfontein every year to complete a three-month academic course at the Central University of Technology (CUT); an internship at an NGO; and practical oral history training at the National Museum.
Image: The cover of Hendrik Snyders’s new book on the history of sevens rugby in South Africa. (Source: Naledi)
Ever thought history was ‘dead’? Well, think again! A new book on the history of sevens rugby in South Africa will convince any history skeptic that the subject is far from boring. Dr Hendrik Snyders, head of the National Museum’s History Department and a specialist sport historian, wrote the long-awaited book that contains all the elements of a fast-paced and exciting sevens rugby match.
Charlotte Maxeke’s Bloemfontein links and their significance to women
In commemoration of the birth of Charlotte Mannya Maxeke 150 years ago, the National Department of Sport, Arts and Culture has named 2021 The Year of Charlotte Mannya Maxeke. During the official launch in April 2021, the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa, reminded South Africans that Charlotte was the only female delegate who had attended the founding of the South African Native National Congress (SANNC; later renamed the African National Congress or ANC) in Bloemfontein in 1912.