Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- December 1982 (Creation)
Level of description
sub-subseries
Extent and medium
9 pages typed
Context area
Name of creator
Administrative history
The Medu Art Ensemble was formed by South Africa exiles in Gaborone, Botswana, in 1978. The organisation produced a wealth of creative work across all major art-forms; the roup further played a key role in shaping aesthetic and cultural theory and praxis within Africanist and liberation struggles. On June 14 1985, the South African Defence Force attacked the homes of Medu members and other activists in Gaborone, killing 12 people; Medu as an organisation ceased to exist.
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Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
This speech given by Thami Mnyele entitled "Observations of the State if the Contemporary Visual Arts in South Africa" was presented at Amsterdam conference in December 1982. Mnyele gives his impression of the state of the graphic art in South Africa. He explains how he got involved in politics while he was a student and how he wanted to understand his role as an Artist in the struggle. Mnyele contends that struggle and strife that manifests in the arts is linked to broader socio-political issues and thus, any art that is produced must not be "blind" to the "social stream from which art feeds: the community".
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
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System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Conditions governing reproduction
Permission to publish must be obtained from the Medu Art Ensemble Project.