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Archival Platform December 2010 newsletter
EDITOR’S NOTE
Drawing by the late !kun artist, Thaalu Bernardo Rumau. Courtesy of Marlene Winberg.
“The records are crucial to hold us accountable. They are indispensable as deterrents against a repetition of this ghastliness and they are powerful incentive for us to say, ‘Never again’. They are a potent bulwark against human rights violations.” Archbishop Emeritus, Desmond Tutu, 2003
This month we join the world in marking International Human Rights Day and our fellow citizens in commemorating the Day of Reconciliation.
In Johannesburg, a highlight of these celebrations was the launch the Truth Commission Special Report Multimedia Product by the South African History Archive (SAHA) and the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). The launch was a joyous event, but the overriding message articulated was that the work of the Truth and Reconcilliation Commission (TRC) is not over. Following this event, the Archival Platform joined Marjorie Jobson of the Khulumani Support Group to find out more about how this organisation is working to restore the dignity of people harmed by apartheid, transforming victims into victors.
In her opinion piece, “Improvised redress and deferred reconciliation” , ‘Xolelwa Kashe-Katiya follows up on some more unfinished business, writing about the exhumation, handover and reburial of the remains of those reported missing during the TRC hearings. She writes too about the mandate of the Priority Crimes Litigation Unit (PCLU) to ensure that the memorialisation process is addressed with structures such as the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA), Freedom Park, and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).
Thinking about reconciliation, we visited Freedom Park, and spent a peaceful afternoon reflecting on the ways in which the institution remembers and forgets the various conflicts that have shaped our history.
At home in Cape Town, we celebrated the launch of the Human Rights Media Centre’s new publication, Edge of the Table, in which fourteen young people share their stories, and memories, of growing up on the Cape Flats.
Issues of memory and justice are drawing increasing interest and have a growing presence on the web. Do take a look at the newly launched Historical Justice and Memory Research Network website; H-Net’s networks for those interested in citizenship, memory and human rights and; the website of the Archive and Public Culture Research Initiative, a dynamic transdisciplinary research group based at the University of Cape Town.
We’ve been following developments around WikiLeaks with great interest and wonder, with many others, if it’s ever appropriate for governments to have secrets. Reflecting on this issue, and on the attempts made to control the free flow of information, the Archival Platform Editorial reminds us that today’s news is tomorrow’s history.
We’re please to see that two historically important archival collections, those of the Medu Art Ensemble, and the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) and the Multi-Party Negotiation Process (MPNP), have been nominated for inclusion in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) Memory of the World Register in 2011.
We’re also pleased to hear that UNESCO is planning to establish a global repository of rock art sites on the World Heritage List and the Tentative List. If you’re in Cape Town, don’t miss, “Made in Translation: Images from and of the Landscape” at Iziko South African Museum. This exhibition draws on copies of rock art from various archives, exploring ways in which translations from and of the landscape have been made.
On our website this month we draw attention to two other archives and the way in which they are being used and interpreted. Uthando Baduza comments on filmmaker Phybia Dlamini’s recent short film which delves into the auto/biographical spaces evoked by K Sello Duiker in his novels and reimagines them through visual forms. In doing so, Dlamini creates a visual historical poem that begins a bold conversation between the past, the present and the future. Baduza asks, “Are we listening?” Stephen Croeser shares his thoughts about the process of literally and figuratively unpacking the studio archive of artists Kevin Atkinson and Patricia Atkinson.
At that time of the year when every shopping mall seems to ring with Christmas carols, our Ancestral Stories focus on the diversity of belief systems and origin myths. Mbongiseni Buthelezi ponders what alternative understandings of the past Christianity and Christmas have displaced. Musa Hlatshwayo talks to three poets and historians on the origins of abantu. |Ui Charlie N!aici presents a Ju|‘hoansi tale on how woman and man came to live together and Marlene Winberg shares a !Xun story about Dima and Jahe and the creation of fire, moon, sun and water.
Everyone seems to be in holiday mode already, but please set some time aside early in the new year to look through two important documents. The Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) has released a final draft of the National Policy on the Digitisation of Heritage Resources for public review, and are calling for comments by 21 January 2011. The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and (DAC) have released a national study on the visual arts, also for public comment early in the new year.
We wish you all the very best over the holiday season and look forward to engaging with you in 2011.
Best wishes
Jo-Anne Duggan
Director, Archival Platform
IN THE NEWS
Launch of the Truth Commission Special Report Multimedia Product
The South African History Archive, with the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), has launched a multimedia product featuring the Truth Commission Special Report series.
Khulumani Support Group: transforming victims into victors
The Archival Platform interviewed Marjorie Jobson of the Khulumani Support Group, an organisation committed to restoring the dignity of people harmed by apartheid, transforming victims into victors.
International Human Rights Day 2010
The focus of International Human Rights Day 2010 is on human rights defenders who act to end discrimination.
Remembering and forgetting at Freedom Park
The Archival Platform spent a peaceful afternoon at Freedom Park and came away wondering how, and by whom, decisions about who to remember and who to forget are made.
Is it ever appropriate for governments to keep secrets?
“There is a legitimate role for secrecy, and there is a legitimate role for openness,” says WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
UNESCO World Heritage Centre plans a rock art archive.
International experts met in Johannesburg recently to plan a global repository of rock art sites on the World Heritage List and the Tentative List.
CODESA archive to be listed in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register
The archives of the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) and the Multi-Party Negotiation Process (MPNP) have been nominated for inclusion in 2011.
Medu Art Ensemble archive to be listed in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register
The archive of the Medu Art Ensemble has been nominated for inclusion in 2011.
Human Rights Media Centre launches a new publication
Fourteen young people growing up in the Cape Flats share their stories in Edge of the Table.
Archive and Public Culture Research Initiative website launched
A dynamic transdisciplinary research group based at the University of Cape Town has launched its new website.
“Made in Translation: Images from and of the Landscape” at Iziko South African Museum
This exhibition draws on copies of rock art from various archives, exploring ways in which translations from and of the landscape have been made.
Concerned about the digitisation of heritage resources? Comment on this draft policy!
The DAC has released a final draft of the National Policy on the Digitisation of Heritage Resources for public review.
Opportunities
Other opportunities:
2010/11 Western Cape Arts, Culture, Heritage, Language,Libraries, Museums and Archives Awards
Deadline for nominations: 13 December 2010
Concerned about the visual arts? Comment on this important study!
The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and the Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) have released a national study on the visual arts for public comment.
Calls for contributions:
The Moving Image (2012)
Deadline for proposals: 31 December 2010
One Hundred Years of the ANC: Debating Liberation Histories and Democracy Today
Deadline for submission of abstracts: 28 February 2011
SAVVY|art.contemporary.african. journal
Deadline for submission of articles: 16 January 2011.
Commonwealth Association of Museums (CAM) conference
Deadline for submission of proposals: 15 February 2011
Training:
Course in cultural economics
Jinja, Uganda, 4 to 14 April 2011
Fellowships and funding:
Post-doctoral fellowship with the Archive and Public Culture Research Initiative for 2011
Deadline for applications: 15 December 2010
Resources
Conferences:
South African Museums Association annual conference and annual general meeting
Mossel Bay, South Africa, 11 and 12 April 2011
Memory: Silence, Screen and Spectacle
New York, United States of America, 24 to 26 March 2011
Commonwealth Association of Museums (CAM)
Singapore, 25 to 27 May 2011
Journal:
SAVVY|art.contemporary.african. journal
Podcast:
Episode 46 of Africa Past and Present now available online
Bibliography:
Theses and Dissertations Bibliography, version 5, now available online
Books:
The Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) Workshop Guide, available online
White Chief, Black Lords: Shepstone and the Colonial State in Natal, South Africa, 1845 – 1878
Website:
Historical Justice and Memory Research Network
Events
Archival Platform:
Today’s news is tomorrow’s history
Jo-Anne Duggan reflects on efforts to control the free flow of information and give voice to marginalised people.
Improvised redress and deferred reconciliation
Xolelwa Kashe-Katiya writes about the exhumation, handover and reburial of the remains of those reported missing during the TRC hearings.
The work of K Sello Duiker: Re-imagining his writings in film
Filmmaker Phybia Dlamini’s recent short film begins a bold conversation between the past, the present and the future.
Have your say:
Studio as archive
Stephen Croeser writes about unpacking the archive of Kevin and Patricia Atkinson.
Skattie, What Are You Wearing?: An archive of interesting personal style
An irreverent style blog is creating waves in the fashion and arts world!
Ancestral Stories:
Ancestral Stories Editorial
Mbongiseni Buthelezi ponders understandings of the past displaced by Christianity and Christmas.
Dima and Jahe: The creation of fire, moon, sun and water
Marlene Winberg shares a !Xun story about how things came to be.
Ukwehla Ngesilulu: Origination in KwaZulu-Natal
Musa Hlatshwayo talks to three poets and historians on the origins of abantu.
The Love Tree
|Ui Charlie N!aici presents a tale on how woman and man came to live together.
