The East London Museum’s exhibits will come to life this weekend with a series of fascinating guided talks, with topics as diverse as the archaeological dig in Pondoland and the Oceanos cruise ship rescue, which will be part of the Umtiza Arts Festival.
The festival is the second time the museum, Guild Theatre and the Ann Bryant Art Gallery will collaborate to present a vibrant programme of music, theatre, good food, art, culture and children’s entertainment, starting with the official opening at the Benediction of Shade art exhibition at the Courtenay-Latimer Hall at 6pm on Friday evening.
Museum director Geraldine Morcom said the museum was bumping up its participation in the festival, named after the Umtiza tree which grows only in East London.
“We are certainly more active this year. Last year we had two talks and they were very popular, so we decided to expose what we have in our museum more and involve more of our staff,” she said.
Morcom said that on Sunday at 2.30pm, a sister from the Emmaus Convent retirement home would take visitors through the exhibit, documenting the rich history of the Dominican sisters in the Eastern Cape.
“The Dominicans touched the lives of many Eastern Cape people in so many ways,” Morcom said.
On Sunday at 10.30am, the museum’s head of display, Christina Reeve, will relay the Oceanos rescue story at the lifeboat display in front of the museum.
“She has done a lot of research into the rescue and interviewed many of the survivors,” said Morcom, who hopes some of the survivors will attend the talk and share their stories.
Also deeply significant to the region will be a presentation by museum principal scientist Kevin Cole on the evolution of modern humanity and the work of a multidisciplinary team of international scientists and excavators in Pondoland, known as the P5 Project.
Morcom said the talk, at 11.30am on Saturday, would take place in the laboratory at the museum, which has been set up as the heart of the P5 Project, and would include a display of excavated artefacts from the site.
“It is an accolade to the museum that we are associated with this project,” said Morcom.
Clarens author Brenda Shepherd will speak about her recently launched book Men of the Mendi: South Africa’s Forgotten Heroes of World War 1 on Saturday at 2.30pm.
The book, which will be on sale, documents the inquiry into the sinking of the troopship while crossing the English Channel in 1917, in which more than 600 South African men, mostly black troops, died.
Major Tony Step will take visitors through the excellent World War 1 exhibit in the museum’s foyer at noon on Sunday. Morcom said: “The exhibit has been very popular and we have decided to keep it up until November 2018 to signify 100 years since the war ended.”
Entry to the museum, which will be open on Saturday and Sunday between 10am and 4pm, will be free and there is no charge for the talks.
Morcom said the festival was not a money-spinner for the museum but was aimed at “celebrating the art and culture of East London”. — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
Museum joins festival with guided talks
The festival is the second time the museum, Guild Theatre and the Ann Bryant Art Gallery will collaborate to present a vibrant programme of music, theatre, good food, art, culture and children’s entertainment, starting with the official opening at the Benediction of Shade art exhibition at the Courtenay-Latimer Hall at 6pm on Friday evening.
Museum director Geraldine Morcom said the museum was bumping up its participation in the festival, named after the Umtiza tree which grows only in East London.
“We are certainly more active this year. Last year we had two talks and they were very popular, so we decided to expose what we have in our museum more and involve more of our staff,” she said.
Morcom said that on Sunday at 2.30pm, a sister from the Emmaus Convent retirement home would take visitors through the exhibit, documenting the rich history of the Dominican sisters in the Eastern Cape.
“The Dominicans touched the lives of many Eastern Cape people in so many ways,” Morcom said.
On Sunday at 10.30am, the museum’s head of display, Christina Reeve, will relay the Oceanos rescue story at the lifeboat display in front of the museum.
“She has done a lot of research into the rescue and interviewed many of the survivors,” said Morcom, who hopes some of the survivors will attend the talk and share their stories.
Also deeply significant to the region will be a presentation by museum principal scientist Kevin Cole on the evolution of modern humanity and the work of a multidisciplinary team of international scientists and excavators in Pondoland, known as the P5 Project.
Morcom said the talk, at 11.30am on Saturday, would take place in the laboratory at the museum, which has been set up as the heart of the P5 Project, and would include a display of excavated artefacts from the site.
“It is an accolade to the museum that we are associated with this project,” said Morcom.
Clarens author Brenda Shepherd will speak about her recently launched book Men of the Mendi: South Africa’s Forgotten Heroes of World War 1 on Saturday at 2.30pm.
The book, which will be on sale, documents the inquiry into the sinking of the troopship while crossing the English Channel in 1917, in which more than 600 South African men, mostly black troops, died.
Major Tony Step will take visitors through the excellent World War 1 exhibit in the museum’s foyer at noon on Sunday. Morcom said: “The exhibit has been very popular and we have decided to keep it up until November 2018 to signify 100 years since the war ended.”
Entry to the museum, which will be open on Saturday and Sunday between 10am and 4pm, will be free and there is no charge for the talks.
Morcom said the festival was not a money-spinner for the museum but was aimed at “celebrating the art and culture of East London”. — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
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