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ZEITZ MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART AFRICA BEGINS ONE-YEAR COUNTDOWN TO OPENING
As excitement builds in Cape Town , Africa and around the world for one of the most anticipated cultural events on the African continent for many decades , Zeitz MOCAA announced the one year countdown to the museum ’ s grand opening on 27 September 2016 . This is set to be the most significant museum of contemporary art in Africa , and the largest art museum built in Africa in more than 100 years .
First announced in 2013 , the ambitious four-year project to convert the historic Grain Silo at the V & A Waterfront into a cutting edge contemporary art museum is officially in the home stretch , having reached the “ One Year to Grand Opening ” milestone .
The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa will open to the public during Heritage Weekend 2017 , holding a four-day Grand Opening from Friday , 22 September to Monday , 25 September . During this time , no entrance fee will be charged .
The Museum , a partnership between the V & A Waterfront and Jochen Zeitz , is the first major museum in Africa dedicated to contemporary art from Africa and its Diaspora , and also the first African institution to acknowledge new mediums through the establishment of different centres and institutes within the overall museum .
On completion , Zeitz MOCAA will house Centres for Costume Institute , Photography , Curatorial Excellence , the Moving Image , Performative Practice , and Art Education . In addition to the different Centres , the museum will also feature a myriad of gallery spaces , a sculpture garden , bookshop , restaurant , technical training areas , research labs , reading rooms etc .
In addition to exhibiting an extensive art collection from some of Africa ’ s most talented artists , Zeitz MOCAA has sought to create a contemporary art museum that is easily accessible to South Africans and continental visitors . The Museum ’ s ‘ Access for All ’ programme will ensure that no one is ever turned away from the Museum due to the inability to afford admission .
“ At its heart , Zeitz MOCAA is centred on the promise of creating a museum that showcases the best talent and creativity of Africa and grants access to everyone . With less than one year to go to the Museum ’ s Grand Opening , we are seeing our vision of an accessible , contemporary art museum reach fruition ,” said David Green , CEO of the V & A Waterfront and Co-Chair of Zeitz MOCAA ’ s Board of Trustees .
Executive Director and Chief Curator of the Museum , Mark Coetzee said : “ This Museum is a symbol , an icon , of the confidence we feel about being African , the confidence that we feel about our place in the world . And that ’ s what makes this so extraordinary . We have been given an opportunity to create a museum for all , and we must guarantee Access for All . The right to cultural participation , and access to the artefacts that represent our diverse cultures , is deeply rooted in human rights . This is a principle that Zeitz MOCAA will uphold , defend and keep as a central mission of its reason for being .”
WINNERS OF THE PG BISON 1.618 COMPETITION 2016
On 6 October , the PG Bison 1.618 Awards were held in Johannesburg The 2016 brief tasked students with creating a space for a collective put together to work on a massive international sporting event which would be hosted in Port Elizabeth . Cape Recife Lighthouse on the Southern tip of Algoa Bay located within the bounds of the Cape Recife Nature Reserve , was chosen to house the collective . This space needs to foster creativity , design , interaction and maximum productivity . The winning students for 2016 are : 1st Place : Karen Boshoff from Inscape Education Group in Johannesburg . Valued at R120,000 - Karen won an all-expenses-paid trip for herself and her lecturer , Anja Holtzhausen , to the 2017 Furniture Fair in Milan , Italy . 2nd Place : Dominic Ferreira from the University of the Witwatersrand . 3rd Place : Carli Kuschke from the University of Pretoria . MD of Surface Innovations , Philip Roux emphasised that ‘’ we want to create an opportunity for our up and coming designers to showcase their talents . We love seeing these young designers coming up through the educational system , and this competition creates an incredible opportunity and stepping stone for their careers .” www . pgbison . co . za
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