Museums as change makers – Stellenbosch University Museum marks International Museum Day, 18 May

Museums, often perceived as sites for the preservation of history, have a pivotal role to play in changing history, says Bongani Mgijima, Director of the Stellenbosch University Museum​. "The idea of a museum as we used to know it has evolved over time, and museums are now seen as powerful agents of change."

He adds: "Museums have also become spaces for debate and discussion. Whereas in the past, audiences in museums were expected to be passive recipients of information. Objects could not be touched and there was little or no interaction. Now audiences enjoy a dialogic relationship with museums." These audiences also enter museum spaces with their own experiences and knowledge, and thus their interpretation of the space and the exhibitions will determine the extent and nature of this dialogue, notes Mgijima.

As part of its International Museum Month celebrations, the Stellenbosch University Museum recently hosted a discussion with Prof Leslie Witz, of the University of the Western Cape, about his new book titled Museum Times: Changing Histories in South Africa. Using six case studies, Witz explained how many of the new museums that emerged after 1994 have become settings for contesting histories, challenging notions of the past and expectations of the future.

The discussion, held ahead of International Museum Day on 18 May, considered themes of displacement - all objects in museums have been removed from somewhere - and time. "We have to think about how things could have been done differently," said Witz. Also, the spaces museums occupy reflect a change in time and purpose. The Stellenbosch University Museum was once a school, said Witz, as an example of how purpose and place can be interchanged. Museums are "made and remade", he added. "As places of change in history, they should never be static. They should be constantly changing."

Similarly, Hostel 33 in Lwandle, once home to single men who worked in the Helderberg area during apartheid, is now an integral component of the Lwandle Migrant Labour Museum. Opened on 1 May 2000, which aptly coincided with Worker's Day, the museum serves as a reminder of the trials of hostel life experienced in Lwandle, and in many other parts of SA. Mgijima, who was involved in the initial development of this museum, says there was no template for this kind memorial as, unlike institutions like the District Six Museum, it was not part of a restitution process. But Hostel 33 has been preserved to serve as a powerful form of expression for this whose lives were controlled and curtailed by apartheid.

The flurry of museum openings that followed SA's transition to democracy, as a means of redress, has abated, and Mgijima says a new trend has emerged. Faced with a dearth in funding, museums are becoming philanthropically led. Privately funded, these spaces present interesting new opportunities for dialogue and engagement.

Witz's discussion last week also underscored the theme of this year's International Museum Day: "Museums, Sustainability and Well-being", which recognises that these sites are well placed to initiate positive change. As highlighted by the International Council of Museums, "all museums have a role to play shaping and creating sustainable futures". Museums can this by hosting public lecture and events, such upcoming launch of the Johannes Meintjes DAGBOEKE, a collection of the artist's journal entries, at the Stellenbosch University Museum on Friday, 19 May, at 18:00.

The Museum is also taking part in the formal renaming of the RW Wilcocks Building at Stellenbosch University to the Krotoa Building, on Saturday 20 May, to coincide with Africa Month and will host a related exhibition. ​

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