Oliewenhuis Art Museum is pleased to announce that a recent donation, The Don Quixote Portfolio, will be on exhibition from 11 December 2020 to 21 February 2021. The portfolio was inspired by Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes’ novel ‘Don Quixote’ published in two parts – part 1 in 1605 and part 2 in 1615.
A poem called Istanbul #2461 holds the Guinness World Record for being the oldest surviving love poem. The poem is written in a clay tablet and is from the times of the Sumerians who invented writing. The author of the poem is unknown however, it is believed that the poem was recited to Sumerian King Shu-Sin by one of his brides. Shu-Sin ruled between 2037 and 2029 BC.
Dr Max Theiler, undated. (Photo source: Famousbio)
Since the Nobel Prize’s inception in 1901 South Africa has produced no less than 11 recipients. The nation’s first recipient of this prestigious prize is Dr Max Theiler, who was born in Pretoria on 30 January 1899. Max is also the first African-born Nobel laureate. His father is Sir Arnold Theiler, the pioneer of veterinary science in South Africa.
Jamie Uys, c. 1990. (Photo source: Mimosa Films)
The internationally acclaimed South African film producer and director, Jamie Uys, passed away on 29 January 1996 at the age of 74. Jamie’s films, notably The gods must be crazy (1980) and its sequel, The gods must be crazy II (1989), are still highly popular among diverse audiences all over the globe. Both films introduced the San people of the Kalahari and their unique lifestyle to the rest of the world.
The National Museum currently hosts a temporary exhibition that offers a unique opportunity for visitors with disabilities. Researchers from 11 different Departments collaborated to put a large variety of items on display in the temporary exhibition space, opposite the cafeteria on the ground floor. Almost all of these specimens are available for touch by the visually impaired and blind, so that all visitors should be able to ‘experience’ the objects and learn from the interesting, enlarged, text and / or braille.