Untold stories about the struggles that led to freedom in the history of King William’s Town and surrounding areas will now be shared with the public with a new museum exhibition.
The Amathole Museum today launches idabi lenkululeko eQonce, a contemporary local history exhibition integral to the transformation of the museum.
The exhibition introduces motion-activated hi-tech sensor lights and screens at a new segment of the museum, bringing the memories of the town and its people’s rich history to life.
The project, which has been executed by a team of four and was led by researcher and history curator Stephanie Victor, began with interviews from as early as 2010.
The four-member team spoke to various people who lived through many of the historic occasions in the small town.
“The installation caters for a large range of spectators, particularly students, because a lot of the history is not told at school, but students can learn from the voices of our elders,” said Victor.
The exhibition also boasts a powerful oral-based exhibition, which tells recent history in some of the struggle stalwarts’ own words by the use of the QR application, which can be downloaded via the museum’s free Wi-Fi.
Victor said the exhibition would be a permanent part of the museum. “We are excited about the launch because after five years, we get to share our work with the public, more especially we are looking forward to hearing more stories from other people who may have something to share with us about the history of King William’s Town,” she said.
Victor said to date she had interviewed 43 struggle veterans from different political organisations, activists and the Border council of churches, among many others, to tell stories about racial segregation, apartheid, early resistance and how the town moved from independence to colonialism among other topics.
Amathole Museum assistant director Somine van der Merwe said although texts on the walls were all in English, translations were readily available.
The launch takes place this afternoon at 5.30pm at no cost, although the museum opens from 8am to 4.30pm daily. — mbalit@dispatch.co.za
New museum exhibit sheds light on KWT’s untold tales
The Amathole Museum today launches idabi lenkululeko eQonce, a contemporary local history exhibition integral to the transformation of the museum.
The exhibition introduces motion-activated hi-tech sensor lights and screens at a new segment of the museum, bringing the memories of the town and its people’s rich history to life.
The project, which has been executed by a team of four and was led by researcher and history curator Stephanie Victor, began with interviews from as early as 2010.
The four-member team spoke to various people who lived through many of the historic occasions in the small town.
“The installation caters for a large range of spectators, particularly students, because a lot of the history is not told at school, but students can learn from the voices of our elders,” said Victor.
The exhibition also boasts a powerful oral-based exhibition, which tells recent history in some of the struggle stalwarts’ own words by the use of the QR application, which can be downloaded via the museum’s free Wi-Fi.
Victor said the exhibition would be a permanent part of the museum. “We are excited about the launch because after five years, we get to share our work with the public, more especially we are looking forward to hearing more stories from other people who may have something to share with us about the history of King William’s Town,” she said.
Victor said to date she had interviewed 43 struggle veterans from different political organisations, activists and the Border council of churches, among many others, to tell stories about racial segregation, apartheid, early resistance and how the town moved from independence to colonialism among other topics.
Amathole Museum assistant director Somine van der Merwe said although texts on the walls were all in English, translations were readily available.
The launch takes place this afternoon at 5.30pm at no cost, although the museum opens from 8am to 4.30pm daily. — mbalit@dispatch.co.za
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