A new permanent exhibition of Firearms is now on display at the First Raadsaal and Wagon Museum. The exhibition tells the story of the history of firearms. The exhibition was opened by Sharon Snell, CEO of the National Museum, on 3 October 2025.
A new temporary frog exhibition went on display at the National Museum in July 2025. Visitors could find out more about the 12 species of frogs found in the Bloemfontein area and listen to audio of each species calls. The exhibition was curated by Dr Cora Stobie (Herpetologist) and designed by Ms Carien van Eck (Graphic Designer).
Historical research often requires visits to repositories, record centres and libraries. These treasure chests of information offer a unique window into our past. They are gateways to documents and records that were created by people who passed away long ago. These old records from days gone by are commonly known as archives.
Selected works by Phumulani Ntuli and Thalente Khomo from the ArtBankSA Contemporary Collection
Beyond Walls: Emerging Contemporary Voices, currently on show at Oliewenhuis Art Museum, draws from the ArtBankSA Contemporary Collection to stage an encounter with some of the most urgent enquiries in South African art practice today: questions of intergenerational knowledge transmission, cultural custodianship, contested memory, and the continuous formation of identity.
Museums across the world have collections of fragments of rock paintings and engravings that have been removed due to concern over their damage or deterioration. As early as 1870, geologist and ethnologist George William Stow warned that rock art was “becoming obliterated very fast” (Jones 1870: 107). Stow and his fellow rock art enthusiast, Charles Sirr Orpen visited several sites in the then Orange Free State, making watercolour and charcoal copies of the art. So profound was their interest in the preservation of the rock art that they proceeded to remove certain painted panels from rock shelters.