The title of this Medu special edition is "No to the White Republic, Yes to the People's Republic". While PW Botha held celebrations for the anniversary of the Apartheid republic, Medu used this edition to say "Stop the Republic Day Festival". Bachana Mokwena's article on the 20th anniversary of the "bloodthirsty republic" gives a strong historical background to the processes of the republics formation, and the united opposition against it. Further, John Donne writes about Grigori Oganov's insight into the relationship between culture and resistance and between art, artists and their communities. Artworks by Thami Mnyele are included throughout the publication. Front page graphic by Judy Seidman and the Medu Art Collective.

This is the first issue of 1983. This edition, the first since the Culture and Resistance Conference, aims to prioritise the work of local artists. The edition consists of Medu Art Ensemble interviewing John Selolwane, a guitarist for the band Kgalagadi in Botswana, who has a wide experience of playing music in various parts of Africa. John Donne's poem, "After Maseru", follows the Maseru Raid on 9 December 1982 where 42 people suspected of being activists and members of the ANC were killed. Donne gives a sense of the ignorance and apathy of many South Africans to this gruesome massacre by the Apartheid government. There is also a review of the photographic exhibition "Art Towards Social Development" by Tim Williams. He showceses photographs that capture the "cultural reality of Apartheid" and "the vulerability of South African fascism". A second photographic exhibition "Portrait of people", a graphic record of the South African liberation struggle, is reviewed in this issue. It is explained that history of the people is incomplete without pictorial records of the people who made that history. Another interesting piece is an article about culture and resistance in South Africa by Keorapetse Kgositsile. The author explains that the determination and commitment to life which is reflected in arts and cultural resistance is not as new a development in South Africa as some people might think. Front page graphic by Mike Kahn on silkscreen print.

The opening remarks of Art Towards Social Development Exhibition were delivered by Thami Mnyele on 9 June 1982. He gave an idea of the structure of the exhibition; a collection of paintings, sculptures and photographs would be displayed. The second part will be a symposium/festival held on the 5 July to the 9 July 1982. He also mentioned that symposium/festival would be dealing with literature and performing arts such as music, film, theatre and dance. This exhibition is a step towards being hopeful and practical about creating an alternative for artists in South Africa. The main question posed at the exhibition is: how to cultural workers and artists partake in the struggle for national liberation and self determination?

The theme of poetry and music is about the world-wide and age-old oppression. It is a participation of different countries such as South America, Europe and Southern Africa.

Performance of Woza Albert in Gaborone hosted by Medu.

Shades of Change ticket and flyer for Medu play with a portrait of Bochana Mokwena, artwork by Judy Seidman.

Copy of a photograph by Mike Kalin, Gaborone, Botswana.

Drawing of Florence Matamela at Federation of South African Women launch in 1954. T-shirt design was made by Judy Seidman. The drawing is to mark 30th anniversary of launch of Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW).

Membership Cards for the Culture and Resistance Conference.

"There is an undeniable responsibility of photographers in South Africa to use photography as a medium to establish a democratic country". The author argues that a sensitivity to everyday experiences is key to realising this responsibility. The paper deals with the "role of culture in photographic communication, the formation of our [South Africa's] resistance culture, our country's uniqueness and how this affects the level of awareness of people, the relevance of technique and the outlets for committed photography".