Stellenbosch University (SU) and the University of Fort Hare in the Eastern Cape have made history by collaborating on the From the Vault art exhibition, which is showcasing the two institutions' art collections built up over the past century.
For centuries art has played an integral role in transcending times, changing lives and moving people to action. The current From the Vault exhibition at the Stellenbosch University Museum not only aims to move people, but aims to transcend the past and map a new future for two universities that once stood at opposing ends during South Africa's segregated past.
The 130 artworks, spread over five rooms on three levels of the SU Museum, have never been seen together before.
According to curators Mike Tigere Mavura and Gcotyelwa Mashiqa, the From the Vault exhibition is an important demonstration on how art can be used to create new dialogues and show people how much we have in common, despite the binaries we create in society.
“In curating the exhibition, we had to reflect on the history of the two institutions, both over 100 years and their position, values and politics but more importantly how to use art, how to use art works from both collections to create a dialogue that transcends the past and maps a way for the future," says Mavura.
The From the Vault exhibition also forms part of the Stellenbosch Triennale, the brainchild of the Stellenbosch Outdoor Sculpture Trust, which aims to make Stellenbosch a primary destination of multi-disciplinary art in Africa.
Apart from the From the Vault exhibition, five other exhibitions will take place until 30 April 2020 as part of the Triennale in the Stellenbosch region.
According to Khanyisile Mbongwa, Chief Curator of the Stellenbosch Triennale, all the exhibitions aim to highlight African creativity and create new dialogues.
“Through the Triennale, we bring work from the continent to the southernmost tip as an intersection of time – where the past, present and future are in dialogue. African creatives confront us with what is possible for a renewal to happen utilising art as a lens, a course correction, a stimulus around curiosity and imagination."
Rector and Vice-Chancellor at SU, Prof Wim de Villiers, also believes that through these art collaborations there is a renewal happening and a “meaningful partnership" that has transpired between SU and Fort Hare.
Speaking at the official launch of the From the Vault exhibition, De Villiers said it would have been easy to focus on the differences of the two universities, but instead this art exhibition “sought out the connections" and allowed the two universities to explore what they had in common.
“Our art collections built up over the decades reflect our different journeys. So, it would have been easy to do the obvious and focus on our differences. But the curators avoided that trap. Instead, they blurred the lines that divide, sought out the connections, and made us see that together, we are better."
At the launch, De Villiers' counterpart at Fort Hare, Prof Sakhela Buhlungu, explained that the exhibition had come about as a way for two of Africa's grand old universities to link their centenaries. Fort Hare turned 100 in 2016, and SU in 2018. “Art is doing what many feared to do in the past – bringing us together, putting us in dialogue with each other," he said.
For more information on the Stellenbosch Triennale and From the Vault exhibition, visit https://stellenboschtriennale.com/.
