Centre for African Studies Gallery

Listings

'Developing Characters: Contending Cultures & Creative Commerce in a South African Photography Studio’

An exhibition of photographs curated by Dr. Steve Dubin from the archive of Kitty's Studio in Pietermaritzburg.

For more than a decade, a Johannesburg garage held a marvelous secret: an archive of over 1,400 photographic negatives produced by Kitty’s Studio in Pietermaritzburg between 1972 and 1984. Poor and working-class patrons — classified by the apartheid government as African, Indian and coloured — came there to be photographed by Singarum Jeevaruthnam Moodley (1922-1987), a.k.a. Kitty, and members of his family. A selection of 80 images from the archive will be shown publicly for the first time in the exhibition ‘Developing Characters: Contending Cultures & Creative Commerce in a South African Photography Studio’.

Daringly constructing a broad range of identities and multiple forms of self-representation, the sitters appear to be both familiar and distant. Subjects range from traditionally attired individuals to hip characters. Some are clad in the garb of Zionists or sangomas, kitted out in sporting attire, or wearing the uniforms of nursing sisters or municipal employees. They reveal longing, pride, affection, playfulness, conformity and defiance. This exhibition provides an unprecedented opportunity to glimpse into the lived and imagined lives experienced by those classified as ‘non-whites’ and ‘whites’ under apartheid that extend beyond the sensationalised media images of the time.

31 July 2014 - 22 August 2014

'Woman.Object.Corpse'

'Women.Object.Corpse' is a collective expression by South African and international women artists responding to the theme of violation and objectification of women. It brings together a diverse group of women from different parts of the world responding to the position women inhabit in society today and ongoing violence that is experienced as a part of our everyday lives.

The participants are all women artists who are, or have been, engaging with the theme of gender-based violence in their artistic practice. The artists work in a range of mediums: from political art and activism to surrealist expression and poetry to investigatory method of forensic art.

The participating artists include Kathyrn Smith (South Africa), Toni Stuart (South Africa), Christie Van Zyl (South Africa), Meghna Singh (India/UK/South Africa), Maria Kley (Japan/Belgium/The Netherlands), Alberta Whittle (Barbados/UK), Maria Tzanakou (Greece), Jamun (India) and Jade Gibson (South Africa/UK/Philippines).

As part of the exhibition, on Friday April 26,  there will be an artist walkabout and open discussion group with people working the field of gender-based violence.

On Friday May 3, artist and poet Toni Stuart will facilitate a creative expression workshop looking at how individuals carry the stories of violence in their bodies and how they respond to these stories. Both events are open to the public.

24 April 2013 - 09 May 2013

Michaelis School of Fine Art: 4th Year Auction

The annual Michaelis 4th Year Auction will take place for one night only on Friday 28th September 2012 at the Centre for African Studies Gallery, UCT Upper Campus. The silent auction begins at 18:30 and closes at 22:30. Along with great deals from up and coming young artists, artistic duo Rose Shakinovsky and Claire Gavronsky - collectively known as Rosenclaire - have made the generous donation of a drypoint etching, Sisyphus ZA (2011), to be auctioned off on the evening.

This exhibition includes the work of both 4th year and post-graduate diploma students which are auctioned every year to fund the 2012 Michaelis Graduate Show catalogue.

28 September 2012 - 28 September 2012

'Juggling with the Familiar II': Exhibition of Works in Progress

'Juggling with the Familiar II : Exhibition of Works in Progress', curated by Siona O' Connell, looks at the ways in which women perceive, interact with and represent personal and private topics for public view. The exhibition brings together photographic and mixed media projects by South African female artists who utilise extreme subjectivity and intimacy within their methodology and style in one way or another. The exhibition is part of a larger project at the Centre for African Studies Gallery, UCT, which focuses on the representation of the private in the public domain.

Other upcoming events include a seminar, 'Curiosity of the Familiar', taking up issues that arise in relation to the works on display, on Tuesday 14 September 5pm - 7.30pm at the CAS Gallery. Speakers include Pam Warne, Zanele Muholi, Lien Botha and Annabelle Wienand.

On 2nd October there will be a walkabout and presentation of performances dealing with privacy and public also in the CAS Gallery.

Artists included are: Ingrid Masonda, Tracey Derrick, Suzanne Duncan, Sophia Claassens, Siona O' Connell and Jenny Altschuler.

01 September 2010 - 18 December 2010