Kunste Onbeperk Competitors

IZIKO is an isiXhosa word, meaning ‘hearth’, traditionally and symbolically the social centre of the home; a place associated with warmth, kinship, and ancestral spirits. Here food is prepared and shared, stories are told and knowledge passed from one generation to the next. Similarly, the museums that make-up Iziko are spaces for cultural interaction. Iziko is a flagship heritage institution – and southern and South Africa’s largest and oldest museum, now in its 193rd year of existence is a change agile and dynamic institution –adaptive to the requirements of our developing democracy and the ever-evolving cultural, scientific and heritage sector. Ubuntu is what guides us. We nurture the communities we serve and the partners who share our passion. In our work, we trust and respect diversity, inspiring our visitors through creative interpretation, education, research and information sharing – with professional and consistent high-quality service. Iziko comprises of the following museums, each with its own history and character: • South African Museum and Planetarium and Digital Dome • South African National Gallery • Maritime Centre, including the museum ship, SAS Somerset • Slave Lodge Museum • William Fehr Collection (at the Castle of Good Hope) • Michaelis Collection (at the Old Town House) • Rust en Vreugd Museum • Bertram House Museum • Koopmans-de Wet House Museum • Groot Constantia Museum • Bo-Kaap Museum In addition, the renovated Social History Centre on Church Square provides a state-of-the-art facility to accommodate our Social History collections and library. The Natural History Library is located at the South African Museum, and the Art Library in the Annexe adjacent to the South African National Gallery. Iziko has successfully operated a Mobile Museum outreach programme for the past 15 years. Iziko was thus envisaged as space for all South Africans to gather, nourish body and soul, and share stories and knowledge passed from one generation to the next.

The Market Theatre, founded in Johannesburg in 1976 by Mannie Manim and the late Barney Simon, was constructed out of Johannesburg's Indian Fruit Market - built in 1913. The theatre went on to become internationally renowned as South Africa's "Theatre of the Struggle". The Market Theatre challenged the apartheid regime, armed with little more than the conviction that culture can change society. The strength and truth of that conviction was acknowledged in 1995 when the theatre received the American Jujamcyn Award. In providing a voice to the voiceless, The Market Theatre did not forego artistic excellence, but, rather, made a point of it. Its twenty-one international and over three hundred South African theatre awards bears eloquent testimony to the courage and artistic quality of its work. During the past three decades, The Market Theatre has evolved into a cultural complex for theatre, music, dance and the allied arts. Today, The Market Theatre remains at the forefront of South African theatre, actively encouraging new works that continue to reach international stages.

The Artscape Theatre Centre, which belongs to the provincial administration, was opened on 19 May 1971 as the Nico Malan Theatre Centre. In line with the new South African political dispensation and the concurrent changes the complex was renamed to Artscape in March 2001. Historically the Cape Performing Arts Board (CAPAB) was instituted in the early sixties of the twentieth century. The aim was to promote the performing arts. The arts councils received sufficient government subsidies to fund various art forms as well as the operational requirements of the theatre facilities.