Originally built in 1913 as Joburg’s ‘new’ fruit and vegetable market, the beautiful Museum Africa building is now the heart of the Newtown cultural hub, containing many tales and artefacts that reflect the earliest days of our city (and beyond).
So, join your guides David Fleminger and Museum Africa Image Curator Kamo Maleete Mokgalaka for a fascinating journey through this invaluable treasure trove. Highlights of our tour will include the “Traditional Dresses of Southern Africa” exhibition that looks beyond clothing as utility to reveal the cultural values, religious affiliations, social identity and political consciousness they convey.
We will also experience a series of drawings by Barbara Tyrrell – an artist ethnographer who bought a van in 1944 and travelled around Southern Africa, dedicating her life to researching and recording the traditional dress and ornaments of rural people, which was fast disappearing.
Other worthwhile exhibits available for viewing include ‘Johannesburg Firsts’, ‘The Cultural Heritage of South Africa’, and the very recent ‘Negotiating Democracy’.
Our morning at the museum ends with a special viewing of some original architectural drawings featuring Johannesburg’s beautiful heritage buildings. This archive is sponsored in part by the JHF.
Finally, to wrap things up, we will head over to Capello coffee shop at Newtown Junction for further reflections over a cup of coffee and a snack (for your own account).
Secure underground parking is available at Newtown Junction (100 Carr Street). From the parking, walk out the mall, head right past the Market Theatre, turn right onto Lillian Ngoyi Street and meet in the Museum Africa foyer.
