ArtBankSA commemorates Human Rights Day through the lens of photographer Thando Mama, Izingqi Zesikhumbuzo (2016–2017), housed in ArtBankSA’s contemporary collection
On 21 March 1960, sixty-nine people were killed outside the Sharpeville police station in what became one of the most widely documented atrocities of the apartheid era.
Over the past five years, artworks from the ArtBankSA collection were featured on the cover of the National Museum’s Annual Reports. Each selection was deliberate and conceptually aligned with the Museum’s priorities for the year. The chosen works were not included solely for their aesthetic appeal, but for their ability to communicate key institutional messages in a compelling and accessible way.
A confluence of unfortunate historical forces was shaping the lives of South African women of colour for centuries. Since the founding of a white colonial society at the Cape of Good Hope by the Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, or VOC) in the 17th century, domestic labour was performed by the indigenous Khoikhoi.
It is often assumed that taxonomy, the science of naming and classifying organisms into organised groups, is relatively static, and that we already know how many species are expected to occur in every area of the world. However, for many groups of animals and plants, scientists are still uncovering and describing new species, particularly ‘cryptic species’ which are only subtly different from similar, related species. Although there are currently 136 species of frogs (68 endemics) in South Africa, this number has fluctuated, with 12 additions in just the last ten years as shown in the table below.
In indigenous South African societies, totems (diboko) are deeply meaningful symbols that express cultural identity, spiritual beliefs and social belonging. They are adopted by families, clans or groups to signify shared descent and to mediate relationships between humans, nature and the spiritual universe. The majority of the totems are wild animals such as lions, elephants, crocodiles, kudus and monkeys to name a few (Lye & Murray 1980).