Image credit: Two young South Africans at the 2010 FIFA World Cup Octagon

The National Museum celebrated 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝘃𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗲:

“𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝙋𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧: 𝙂𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙎𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝘼𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙙-19”

16 June is dedicated to the youth of 1976 who stood up against the Apartheid government and laid down their lives fighting for freedom and the right to equal education. 2020 marks 44 years since the uprising in which many children lost their lives while standing up against a system that sought to strip them of their identity, and break their spirit.

Hatpins were designed to hold a women’s hat in place. However, in the hands of a damsel in distress, the hatpin became one of the deadliest fashion accessories in history.  Hatpins became fashionable in the eighteenth century when puffy, over the top hairstyles required a pin to fix a ladies hat in place. During the nineteenth century elaborately decorated and jewelled pins were in fashion.

Tunbridge ware is the name given to mosaic work in wood, named after the Kentish Town of Tunbridge Wells, England. This intricate form of carpentry was popular for over three centuries before reaching its peak in the middle of the nineteenth century.

The National Museum hosted a month long virtual exhibition to celebrate Africa Month whilst under lockdown. Africa Month was celebrated virtually and online due to COVID-19 lockdown in South Africa. The theme for the celebrations was: #SilencingTheGuns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development and Intensifying the Fight against the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Museum showcased African items in its collections and shared popular content about Africa in the virtual exhibition.