The exhibition and subsequent book publication, was curated and produced by Omar Badsha, as a product of the photographic project for the Second Carnegie Inquiry into Poverty and Development in Southern Africa in 1983. The exhibition was comprised of the work of 28 South African Photographers.

"On 24th April 1984 over 300 hundred academics, artists and photographers attended a conference at UCT where 300 research papers were presented and the exhibition titled South Africa The Cordoned Heart made up of over 36 photographic essays comprising of 386 images were exhibited in the foyer of UCT's Leslie Building. The exhibition was part of a mini cultural festival of film, music and performances. (Francis essay)"

South Africa: The Cordoned Heart: A short history of the photography project of the Second Carnegie Inquiry into Poverty and Development in Southern Africa (Source: Omar Badsha website https://www.omarbadsha.co.za)

"The collection consists of over 1100 black-and-white and color exhibit prints representing the work of over 50 South African photographers who documented conditions during and after apartheid, from about the 1940s to 2013, with most dating after 1960. Arranged in five series representing projects curated by documentary photographers Alex Harris, Paul Weinberg, and others: Beyond the Barricades, The Cordoned Heart, Then and Now, Underexposed, and The Other Camera. There is also a series of work by Jeeva Rajgopaul. Set in rural and urban South Africa, the images portray political rallies; protests; forced removals; funerals; social gatherings such as dances and concerts; work and domestic life; the life of the elderly, the migrants, and the impoverished; and labor organizing and strikes. There are many portraits of individuals of all races and classes, well-known activists and politicians, as well as countless ordinary South African citizens. Many of the photographers were members of Afrapix, a collective photography agency engaged in documenting the anti-apartheid struggle. There is a small amount of printed material, as well as a selection of digital image files and a digital audio file of an exhibit talk. Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University."
Source: South Africa documentary photographs collection, Archives & Manuscripts, Duke Univerity Libraries

Formed in September 1987, the National Progressive Primary Health Care Network was established in order to promote Primary Health Care, particularly to poor people in rural areas. The NPPHCN was committed to equal, accessible, good health services which everyone can afford and access, and that there should be a national health service.

The collection contains a number of images by Afrapix photographers, which were used by the NPPHCN for exhibitions, conferences, pamphlets and other outreach material. Included are Graham Goddard, Guy Tillim, Cedric Nunn, Roger Meintjes, Chris Ledochowski, Lesley Lawson, Gisele Wulfsohn, Gideon Mendel, Anna Zieminski, Steve Hilton-Barber, Gill De Vlieg.