Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1984 (Creation)
Level of description
sub-subseries
Extent and medium
5 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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Content and structure area
Scope and content
This is the original draft of the article by Thami Mnyele for Staffrider in 1984. He explains how Bongiwe Dlomo's exhibition at the Botswana Museum and Gallery showcases the growth of art in South Africa at the Bostwana Museum and Art Gallery. Mnyele stresses that visual artists in his country [South Africa] should take action or express their thoughts about their struggle - a failure to do so might imply the grave of ignorance that could break their lives as people. Mnyele argues that the country is in need of of new calibre of cultural worker, one who is committed to their community and to struggle in both visual arts and song. In conclusion, Mnyele quoted the call that was made at the gathering of the Art Toward Social Development Exhibition and Culture and Resistance Symposium in 1982: "Forward with the creation of a new calibre of cultural worker!"
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.