A background to the Exhibition of South African Art called "Art Toward Social Development" that was held on the 10 June to 10 August 1982 at National Museum and Art Gallery in Gaborone, Botswana. The exhibition reflects a panorama of South African art in 1982 through paintings, photographs and sculptures. The entire spectrum of South African society is reflected here. The first page of the document introduces the exhibition. Subsequent pages include a list of the artists and their artforms as well as biographies of the exhibitors.
The flyer includes advertisements for the Art Toward Social Development exhibition and Culture and Resistance Symposium/Festival which included art, photography, film, literature, theatre, music and dance. The Art Toward Social Development exhbition would take place from 10 June - August 10 1982. The Culture and Resistance Symposium dated July 5 - 9 July 1982. At the back of the flyer there is information that the opening of Art Toward Social Development would be done by Thami "Thamsanqa" Mnyele at 18:30 on Wednesday, 9 June 1982 at the National Museum and Art Gallery. The front cover is the poster for the exhbition.
Volume five number two magazine includes culture and resistance festival that took place in Gaborone, six stories by different writers, poetry by Frank Chipasula, Andries Oliphant. Photographs of various artists such as Hugh Masikela, Abdullah Ebrahim, Mongane Serote, photographers including Lesley Lawson, Peter Mckenzie and Paul Weinberg who later became members of 'AFRAPIX' which was focusing on social documentary photography.
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".
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!"
