Sunday, 18 May was International Museum Day. Fully fed by a free historical tour of Cape Town’s Iziko Museum, I decided to put together a list of 10 Cape Town museums you should tuck into at least once. Also Read: things to do in Cape Town this month
The peaceful walk through Company Gardens. Photo by Vuyi Qubeka.
Sunday is unconditionally my favourite day of the week. In fact, Sundays are what I like to call Fundays! A walk, leisurely and undirected, is just one of the things to do it. This past Sunday I decided on a lone picnic while I enjoyed a good read and a light interaction with the squirrels, lady bugs and pigeons that are at home here. My effort to bond was reciprocated when the squirrel scurried to give my fingers a quick nibble, and the lady bug rested beside me. I was itching to stumble across something in one of the nooks in town so I headed further in, sure that I’d find something. And what would you know, just a short walk, a short left towards a scattering of people, I found something – Cape Town’s Iziko Museum. I peered at the pamphlets within the reception area of the museum contemplating going in when one of the security guards offered, ‘It’s International Museum Day so you can just go in for free.’ I didn’t need further convincing.
Long story short. I entered a museum done so beautifully, history-laden yet fun and easy, that really just celebrates where we have come from. I voyaged to the caves of the San people, past King Shaka and the history of the Zulu, to the Xhosa (from where I come), and even walked Great Zimbabwe. Art and history combined both nourishes and inform. If you love art I trust you’ll enjoy some of my Cape Town museum and art gallery recommendations down below. If you don’t, leap out of your comfort zone for two reasons:
- Magic happens on the other side of your comfort zone.
- Art is so diverse and rich in its nature, you are bound to find something that speaks to you.
- As JFK said, ‘If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him.’
International Museum Day takes place every year around the world in May, a tradition that began in 1977.
The entrance to Company Gardens. Photo by Vuyi Qubeka
1. Iziko South African Museum, Company Gardens
The South African Museum houses more than one and a half million specimens of scientific importance. The collections now range from fossils almost 700-million years old to insects and fish caught last week.
Tel 0214813800, iziko.org.za/museums/south-african-museum
A journey through Iziko museum: Great Zimbabwe. Photo by Vuyi Qubeka.
2. Stevenson, Woodstock
Stevenson is a contemporary art gallery with spaces in Cape Town and Johannesburg. A cornerstone of Stevenson is its active publication programme that includes catalogues for many of its exhibitions and artists.
Tel 0214621500, stevenson.info
3. Brundyn, Buitengracht Street
Brundyn is a contemporary fine art gallery based in Cape Town. The gallery maintains a view towards sustainable presence and discourse with the broader African continent and the global African diaspora.
Tel 0214245150, brundyn.com
4. MUTI gallery, Oranjezicht
MUTI Gallery is a contemporary art gallery curated by Guto Bussab showcasing local and international talent.
Tel 0214653551, themutigallery.co.za
5. Castle of Good Hope, City Bowl
Built between 1666 and 1679 by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) as a maritime replenishment station, the Castle of Good Hope is the oldest surviving colonial building in South Africa. Today the Castle is the seat of the military in the Cape, and houses the CastleGB”>Military
Tel 0217871260, castleofgoodhope.co.za
6. District Six Museum, Buitenkant Street
The District Six Museum, established in December 1994, works with the memories of the District Six experience and with that of forced removals more generally.
Tel 0214667200, districtsix.co.za
7. Everard Read, V&A Waterfront
Everard Read is South Africa’s oldest commercial gallery, founded in Johannesburg in 1913. The gallery is designed to maximise the exposure and dissemination of fine contemporary painting and sculpture to a broad audience.
Tel 0214184527,everard-read-capetown.co.za
8. South African Air Force Museum
South African Air Force Museum recounts the history of SA’s air force as well as the creation of the museum.
Tel 0215086576, saafmuseum.org.za
9. Irma Stern Museum
Irma Stern (1894-1966), a major South African artist who achieved national and international recognition in her lifetime. The permanent collection on display shows Irma Stern’s development as an artist whose subject matter included exotic figures, portraits, lush landscapes and still lifes conveyed in a variety of media, ranging from oils and water colours to gouache and charcoal.
Tel 0216855686, irmastern.co.za
10. Bo Kaap Museum
Bo Kaap museum is the last remnant of Walendorp, an early residence in what would become the Bo-Kaap area. The house was built between 1763 and 1768. The building is a rare example of early urban Cape Dutch architecture from the mid-eighteenth century.
Tel: 0214813938, iziko.org.za/museums/bo-kaap-museum
Should you try any of these suggestions, do let me know how you enjoyed them. By now I’m sure you’ve picked up on my fondness for quotes. In the spirit of art, allow me to leave you with this:
“Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable.”― George Bernard Shaw.
