‘Offside’ at the District Six Museum

‘Offside’ opens at the District Six Museum’s Homecoming Centre on 16 June 2010

“This year’s World Cup provides a chance for people to see beyond just what happens on the field of play and learn about South Africa’s rich history.  The ‘Offside’ exhibition brings this idea to life and offers an exciting history of some of our nations pioneering players.”Lucas Radebe, South African football legend.

Why does English football have such a large following in South Africa? What was it like for South African players who went to play for English teams? Were their talents as welcomed as they expected, and were their footballing aspirations fulfilled?

From the generation of Darius Dhlomo, Steve ‘Kalamazoo’ Mokone and others before them, to the generation of Lucas Radebe, Mark Fish and Steven ‘Schilo’ Pienaar: have things changed?

Offside: Kick Ignorance Out! Football Unites, Racism Divides is a collaboration between the British Council; the District Six Museum; Football Unites,Racism Divides (FURD) and Kick It Out. The exhibition highlights aspects of the footballing relationship between the United Kingdom and South Africa and how it has evolved over the last century.

‘’The game of soccer plays such an important role in bringing about cultural understanding and through this exhibition, we aim to celebrate the achievements of South African players at the home of football, and it encourages us to be vigilant against prejudice as it remains an blemish on the beautiful game,’’ says Jean September, Director British Council Cape Town.

The exhibition focuses particularly on experiences of racism in both countries and highlights ways in which it remains a blemish on the beautiful game.

Offside presents visitors with brief insights into the lives of a number of different players who experienced and dealt with prejudices of one kind or another. These experiences are presented in formats which are interactive, and which invite visitors to reflect on what their own possible responses to the ‘offside moments’ in the lives of different players, might have been. While the exhibition is aimed at a wide range of ages, it has been particularly designed with young visitors in mind.

At the same time that Offside will be opened, Fields of Play: football memories and forced removals will be re-opened. Originally launched at the end of 2008, Fields of Play had to be temporarily closed to make way for building renovations. This exhibition portrays the history of football from the first moment the game was played on Green Point Common in 1862, and traces the rich history of the football associations that used the Common for their games.  The making of the exhibition reunited a number of football administrators, players, referees and spectators of the game. Their memories and stories vividly bring to life the rich history of struggle, competition, discipline and achievement by the city’s sporting communities. 

In keeping with the methodologies of all the partners involved in the making of Offside, the stories of the players form the backbone of the exhibition and are wonderfully fore-grounded in the overall design.

Offside opens in the Homecoming Centre of the District Six Museum (formerly Sacks Futeran Wholesalers at 15 Buitenkant Street) and will be open to the public as from Wednesday 16 June 2010. Entrance will be free for the preview week until Wednesday 23 June when entrance fees will apply. The charge for adults is R20, and R5 for school learners. A combined ticket for entrance into the exhibitions in the Homecoming Centre and into the main building at 25 Buitenkant Street, is R35 ( a saving of R5 per ticket) and R8 for school learners.

The preview week will include an open day programme on Youth Day (16 June) starting at 11h00.A guided walk through the building and exhibition for neighbours and organisational partners will take place on Thursday 17 June at 11h00, and a special preview for tour guides and operators will take place on Friday 18 June.

Please contact Bonita Bennett at District Six Museum, on 021-466 7200 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address); or Janine Raftopoulos, on + 27 071 681 0823, Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) at the British Council.

See the District Six Museum website for further information