Cape Town Series: Untold Stories

By far, my favorite Cape Town attractions were the varied and rich museums. Unfortunately, Joe and I were only able to visit three museums: the Iziko Slave Lodge Museum, the District Six Museum, and the Bo-Kaap Museum. I say only because I am discovering that I have an abnormal love for social and cultural exhibits. In preparing this post I finally realized what draws me in to this particular breed of nerd-dom—I seek stories. I am passionate about witnessing the stories of real people behind social movements and historical cliff notes, the ordinary lives that weave together to form extraordinary societies and bring about the very best—or sometimes worst—of our humanity.

These are precisely the kinds of stories we found in the museums of Cape Town.

The Iziko Slave Lodge Museum: Stories of injustice, resistance, and female activists

(http://www.iziko.org.za/museums/slave-lodge)

The Iziko Slave Lodge Museum building once housed 9,000 slaves during the early life in the colony of Cape Town. The slaves were stolen from their homes in East Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, India, and several countries all throughout Asia—even as far away as Japan. The living conditions were atrocious: there were almost no exterior windows for ventilation or light, the basement would often flood, the rooms were overcrowded, and the central feature was a courtyard where the public floggings would take place. Despite massive renovations and the passage of time, I could still feel the somber weight of death and sorrow held within its walls.

The first floor of the museum is very well curated and includes videos, art displays, a reading of primary texts, photos, diagrams, and stories of life within the slave lodge. There were many displays that I found moving. One that was particularly striking was a backlit column that was etched from floor to ceiling with some of the known names of those who were enslaved. Knowing that each name represented a person with a life, family, talents… and that this column was just a sample of those whose stories have been tragically lost and remain untold.

Human trafficking and slavery still exist in our world. The Slave Lodge is not a relic. It is a reminder that there are untold numbers of "slave lodges" in our world today. Our work is not finished.

On the second floor, they switch gears and the displays have less…focus, shall we say? It included: collections of silver and trinkets from wealthy white cape families, weaponry from tribes and colonists, history of women’s textiles, mail service in port, a display devoted to the music of the struggle for freedom, and three rooms devoted to female freedom fighters. I would like to spend some time with these last two.

In the exhibit titled "Singing Freedom: Music and the struggle against apartheid," it was powerful to see how protesters rose against each blow from the apartheid government with new songs and new resolve. I loved to hear the many different South African languages expressing these words of resistance and power. The display showed how the music evolved over time and ended with a case study, if you will, to ask the reader to reflect on the place of these songs in our current social context and history. This rose many questions within me that I enjoyed tumbling through.

Nobel Square, Cape Town.
Statues honouring Chief Albert Lithuli, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, FW de Klerk, and Nelson Mandela.

The final display was titled “There’s something I must tellyou” and shared, through three different art forms, the stories, lives, and sacrifices of women in the anti-apartheid movement. Often the stories of the freedom fighters are male-centric; we hear about Nelson Mandela, Steve Biko, Oliver Thambo, Chief Lithuli… never Lillian Ngoyi, Helen Johnson, Ellen Khuzwayo (Exhibit A: the statues pictured above!). My eyes diligently read every word and tried to etch every face into my memory. The most powerful element for me was a documentary in which a few of these women shared their stories, lessons, and passions in interviews with their daughters. The passing of this wisdom from one generation of women to the next moved me beyond words. I've embedded just one of the videos for your viewing pleasure. Others are included at the webpage linked to the title of the display (above).

The Bo-Kaap Museum: Stories of community, contribution, and belonging

(http://www.iziko.org.za/museums/bo-kaap-museum)

The Bo-Kaap museum highlights the social, political, and cultural significance of the “Cape Malay” community within Cape Town's history, present, and future. (NOTE: “Cape Malay” is the commonly used collective term for Cape citizens who trace their ancestry to Southeast Asia or East Africa. The term does not acknowledge the sheer diversity of the community it represents. The term is also often interchanged with “Cape Muslim” as Islam is a very popular religion within the community.)

Visiting this museum was an intentional choice for us. As I stated in the previous paragraph, much of the social and political history of Cape Town that is told today focuses on the exploits and interaction between white men and black men. There are a few footnotes of other cultures and racial groups, but the story is largely neglected and untold. I wanted to gain even a sliver of knowledge of the gaps in this narrative.

The museum is small, but welcoming. The furniture is warm and the stories are rich. My favorite display was a display of interviews with residents and former residents of the Bo-Kaap, titled “Bo-Kaap in Conversation." Two of the residents were brothers who both went on to become educators and principals. They shared how their upbringing inspired their path and work towards justice within the school system. I loved hearing their stories and seeing their home through their eyes.

My second favourite display was on the wall of an open community space. The wall showed highlights from community mapping activities with the resident. They highlighted the significant meeting spots and cultural centers. It also showed the sheer number and diversity of mosques within the small sector of the city.

We are still largely ignorant (because an exhibit can barely scratch the surface and are no replacement for deep, consistent interaction), but I appreciate the museum for bringing forth voices I had never heard and stories I had never known.

The District Six Museum: The stories of home, expulsion, and renewal

(http://www.districtsix.co.za/)

Source: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1097/5143441094_138aea8302.jpg

In the late decades of the 19^th century, District Six was one of the most racially diverse communities in Cape Town. In 1966, under the Group Areas Act of 1950, the district was deemed a white residential area. The government began the forced removal of 60,000 established residents, which continued for nearly two decades. Families were expected to move to crowded townships on the other side of town or other racially segregated sectors of the city. In a neighbourhood where car ownership was a rarity, this meant that many never saw their old friends again, could no longer get to their jobs, and had to close their businesses. Many of the city blocks that were razed by the government are still vacant lots, shadows of the lives that used to thrive in the area.

The museum is largely owned, developed, and curated by former District Six residents. They have contributed their photos, letters, and day-to-day anecdotes of their lives before the forced removal. You can read about the social clubs, the shops and factories, the old hang-outs, even the former street gangs of the neighbourhood. They have captured the lives as they were—and the grief and pain when that life was lost.

The most powerful aspect of the museum is the space it has provided for former residents to mourn, advocate, engage together, and heal. It has started to host varying programs to reconnect residents and capture their stories in powerful ways. Some examples include:

• Embroidery: During a community meeting, the former residents were asked to share their former address and a few thoughts. These were recorded and embroidered into long sheets that line the side of the lobby.
• Cooking: Former residents are invited to share their favourite family recipes (and their accompanying stories) as a group cooking class. Each participant’s recipe and story was subsequently stitched into fabric and displayed. You can walk the hallway and witness the diversity of meals and cultures from the community.
• Poetry Mosaic: Former residents wrote poetry about their journey of displacement and finding home onto ceramic tiles. These tiles were then cemented into the concrete of the new addition of the museum.
• Youth Programs: The museum hosts programs for youth, particularly exploring the themes of cultural identity, peace and activism through art, and recording oral history.

The museum has also been active in the efforts to provide financial restitution for the families.

Final Reflection

For a few years now I have been toying with the idea of doing an art series combining some form of portraiture with an artistic expression/story-telling of our intersectional identities (examples: a self-portrait collage which highlights my connections to white privilege, gender oppression, and queer identity through pictures and textures; or a similar series where each piece is devoted to one identity; or a written reflection overlaid over a portrait… but I’d need more photoshop skills to pull that off). These exhibits really renewed that passion for a long-term project that would combine art, capturing stories, and social justice. I’ve been googling graduate programs in art therapy, peacebuilding, sociology, and social justice. I would need to be so much more qualified and enhance my technical skills, but… the idea of working in a community art space with structured artistic-reflective-justice-themed activities in an urban (or semi-urban) environment makes my heart and mind race with ideas and hope.

So, just to crowd-source a bit: Leave a comment if you know of a community center or graduate program doing this awesome work! I’d love to check it out!