posted by Savanah on Jun 1
The lack of opportunity for education, and the segregation during the times of apartheid was evidence around the country of South Africa, from the market place to the hotels, Johannesburg and her people needed a voice. And fighting against the barriers of these times the black artists of the city stood up to gain their rights as the teachers, the gallery owners, the curators and the artists they were and still are. What started the change was a community art center established in 1952, that offered classes to the adults of the city, the Polly Street Art Center. Before this time there was no educational offerings to the black artists, no chance for them to develop the techniques and the skills that were available at the time to their white counterparts. This school was in operation for only fourteen years, but that was enough time to create the passion and the drive and the inspiration that has carried through the artists of today.
The country began re-habbing buildings to be used to house the collections of this artwork in 1872, the first one being Cape Town’s South African National Gallery. Just about thirty years later, the then director, Hugh Lane, of Ireland’s National Gallery, assembled a collection that was given to South African city, Johannesburg. The Johannesburg Art Gallery opened in 1915 and was the first building in the history of the country that was built with the express purpose of housing this art collection. Many other cities have sense followed suit, as more and more people are becoming aware of the significance of the art created by the South African people. Many of these galleries had an extensive collection of European art, however administrators felt that more of the space should be dedicated to the art that is indigenous and representative of their own country. Whether one is traveling through Cape Town, Pretoria, or Johannesburg, there are many galleries and museums to spend the day in, to gain a bit of historical knowledge and inspiration from the people who have so long found it necessary to fight just to simply express.
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