Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory plans for 2011

The Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory contributes to the making of a just society by promoting the values, vision and work of our Founder.

Although it is custodian to some of the most historic archives related to the life and times of its Founder, the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory does not regard the collation and preservation of ‘memory’ as an end in itself. During 2011 efforts will intensify to make his legacy available to the world. The already extensive outreach programme of exhibitions, dialogues and publications will seek to cross ideological and geographic divides in order to more fully portray the life and times of Nelson Mandela.

EXHIBITIONS

Permanent External Installations; developing exhibitions that can be installed at partner institutions outside of the Centre of Memory (four are already in existence):

‘46664 A Prisoner in the Garden’ (2004) was created in collaboration with the National Archives and shares Nelson Mandela’s personal prison archive with the world. It is now a permanent installation at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg.
‘Kathy: The Man Behind The Public Figure’ (2009) gives personal insights into the life of Madiba’s fellow Robben Island prisoner Ahmed Kathrada. Launched at the former Women’s Prison at Constitution Hill, and exhibited in Lenasia, at the Gauteng Provincial Legislature and currently at the Hector Pieterson Memorial in Soweto, the exhibition will eventually become a permanent installation at the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation.
‘Mandela 2010’ (2010). Launched at Soweto’s Maponya Mall to coincide with the opening of the FIFA World Cup, the exhibition consists of seven large pillars representing the leadership attributes most important to Mr. Mandela: listen, learn, remember, speak, act, unite and lead. In 2011 it will become a permanent installation at the Mthatha Hospital.
‘The Meaning of Home’ (2010) A series of black and white photographs by Bonile Bam depicting the physical landscape - Mvezo, Qunu and Mqhekezweni - in which Mr. Mandela lived as a boy. Currently on display at the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory it will be used as a travelling exhibition by the photographer.

Joining these in 2011 will be three new exhibitions:

‘Remember Africa: Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe’ (February 2011). Developed in partnership with the Robert Sobukwe Trust, the exhibition featured the life of one of the liberation struggle’s famous but disavowed voices. This exhibition is currently housed at Johannesburg’s Apartheid Museum. Launched at the Apartheid Museum on 12 October, it will remain on display until mid-February 2012.
‘In Pursuit of Liberty: Legality v Justice’: (June 2011). Depicts three trials – Rivonia and Solomon Mahlangu and the Silverton Siege – that can be considered seminal in the history of the liberation struggle. The exhibition, co-curated by Pambili Productions and South African History Online, will be hosted by the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory and then become a travelling exhibition available to audiences around the country and abroad. ‘In Pursuit of Liberty: Legality v Justice’ will be removed from the foyer at the end of November and is destined for the Albany museum in 2012.
Jonas Gwangwa: Music, Memory, History (September 2011). Produced in collaboration with Mr Gwangwa, this is a depiction of the famed musician’s life, at home and in exile, and examines the liberation struggle from a different perspective. The exhibition is currently in the Market Theatre until mid-December 2011, thereafter it will be moved into storage.
The NMCM will open Mandalas for Mandela on 4 December 2011. A collaboration between the NMCM, Arts Alive and Imbali Visual Arts and the Constitution Hill, the exhibition comprises mandalas from students at 26 Gauteng schools. It was launched at Constitution Hill on 6 September 2011 to coincide with the Arts Alive festival. It will be on show at the NMCM until March 2012.

In addition, there are various travelling exhibitions that rotate at locations in South Africa and abroad. These include:

Making Peace (2007) - Celebrates the legacies of Chief Albert Luthuli
Parenting a Nation (2008) - Traces the lives of Albertina and Walter Sisulu.
Life and times of Nelson Mandela (2008) – Still installed at the Apartheid Museum, versions are being exhibited at the Iziko Museum in Cape Town, Malmo (Sweden), Nelson Mandela Museum in Mthatha and Buenos Aires (Argentina). A mobile version will travel to South African diplomatic missions around the world.

DIALOGUE

2011 marks the tenth year of the passing of the Promotion of Access to Information Act. The Centre of Memory will host a series of dialogues around the theme: Access to information and the representation of our history.

The programme starts in February 2011, coinciding with the launch of the Sobukwe Exhibition. A series of further dialogues are planned for the rest of the year; details to be announced early in 2011.

COMMUNITY DIALOGUES

The interactive ‘Community Dialogues’ piloted over the three years have reached the stage of fruition where they are ready to be handed over to government and community based partners.

Between March and November 2011 a series of dialogues will be convened by the partners, supported by an intensive capacity building programme for facilitators within existing government and NGO programmes.
Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture: scheduled for July 2011, the Lecture will focus on Science, Technology and Development. Negotiations are under way to secure a prominent person as guest speaker. Details will be made available in January 2011.

PUBLICATIONS

A book of Nelson Mandela Quotations is due for publication in July 2011, as a companion volume to “Conversations with Myself.” The book will focus on themes such as human rights, peace, reconciliation and development.
Various papers based on the outcomes of policy and community level dialogues will be published through the year.

NELSON MANDELA DAY

The Mandela Day campaign, which seeks to inspire people throughout the world to become part of a continuous, global movement of good, will be guided by two quotes by Mr Mandela:

May 2003: We are at a moment in history where the world can either be drawn into ever intensifying rounds of global conflict and increasing inequality, or from which it can emerge with a renewed commitment to peace and global co-operation

January 2004: Peace is not just the absence of conflict; peace is the creation of an environment where all can flourish; regardless of race, colour, creed, religion, gender, class, caste, or any other social markers of difference.

Discussions have started with local and international stakeholders to develop sustainable, community focused activity that indeed marks the new decade as one of Peace, Development and the pursuit of Social Justice.

Nelson Mandela Foundation