Cape Town (27 September 2016) – 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, today, on World Tourism Day, Zeitz MOCAA announces the one-year countdown to the museum’s grand opening. This is set to be the most significant museum of contemporary art in Africa, and the largest 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 Photography, Curatorial Excellence, the Moving Image, Performative Practice, Art Education, and the Costume Institute. 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 its doors due to an 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 Africans, 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,” says David Green, CEO of the V&A Waterfront and Co-chair of the Zeitz MOCAA Board of Trustees.
The Access for All programme will see visitors under the age of 18 years old allowed free entrance to the museum all year round, free admission for all citizens of African countries on Wednesday mornings, and half-price admission for all on late-night Fridays. The museum is removing financial barriers to entry for those who may not have the resources to visit otherwise.
Executive Director and Chief Curator of the museum, Mark Coetzee, says: “This museum is a symbol, an icon, of the confidence we feel about being African, the confidence 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 grant 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”.
NOTES TO THE EDITOR
Important dates to note
GRAND OPENING WEEKEND
Friday 22 – Monday 25 September 2017
Free access for all
OPERATING HOURS
Wednesday – Monday 10 am – 6 pm
Closed on Tuesdays
Late-night Fridays to be announced
ACCESS FOR ALL
Free admission for all persons under the age of 18
Free admission to all citizens of African countries from 10 am – 1 pm on Wednesday mornings
Half-price admission for all on late-night Fridays
Admission and membership rates to be announced in 2017.
About the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA)
Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) is a public not-for-profit contemporary art museum that collects, preserves, researches and exhibits 21st-century art from Africa and its Diaspora; hosts international exhibitions; develops supporting educational and enrichment programmes; encourages intercultural understanding; and guarantees access for all.
More than one hundred galleries, spread over nine floors, are dedicated to a large cutting-edge permanent collection; temporary exhibitions; and Centres for Art Education, Curatorial Excellence, Performative Practice, Photography, the Moving Image, and the Costume Institute.
Zeitz MOCAA was established through a partnership between the V&A Waterfront led by CEO David Green–acting on behalf of Growthpoint Properties Limited and the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), represented by the Public Investment Corporation Limited (PIC)–and collector Jochen Zeitz. The building was reimagined through a design by the acclaimed London-based Heatherwick Studio. Mark Coetzee serves as the Executive Director and Chief Curator.
The Zeitz Collection is on long-term loan to the museum and forms part of its founding collection. Mark Coetzee serves as the Executive Director and Chief Curator of Zeitz MOCAA. Currently, Zeitz MOCAA is housed at the Scheryn Pavilion near the Bascule Bridge, V&A Waterfront. On Friday 22 September 2017, the museum will open in the transformed heritage-listed grain silo building, reimagined through a design by the acclaimed London-based Heatherwick Studio, in the Silo District of the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town.
Zeitz MOCAA is a registered Public Benefit Organisation (PBO number: 930050395). The Zeitz MOCAA board consists of David Green and Jochen Zeitz (Co-chairs), Isaac Julien and Wangechi Mutu (Artist Board Members), Suzanne Ackerman, Jody Allen, Jonathan Bloch, Kate Garwood, Pulane Kingston, Gasant Orrie, Albie Sachs, Anton Taljaard, Roger Ross Williams and Mark Coetzee (Ex Officio).
About the Zeitz Collection
The Zeitz Collection was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Jochen Zeitz and is regarded as one of the most representative collection of contemporary art from Africa and its Diaspora. Its mandate is to collect and preserve contemporary cultural artefacts of and from Africa. The Zeitz Collection is held and exhibited in spaces in Switzerland, South Africa, Spain and through an extensive presentation of art at Segera Retreat in Kenya.
The Zeitz Collection collaborates, on an ongoing basis, with the Zeitz Foundation for Intercultural Ecosphere Safety. As part of the 4Cs philosophy (conservation, community, culture and commerce), the Zeitz Foundation supports creative activities that strengthen intercultural relationships and understanding, raises awareness of cultural diversity and inspires others to act in kind. The Zeitz Collection Curator, Mark Coetzee, acts as the cultural specialist for the Zeitz Foundation. Both organisations collaborate on cultural outcomes at the foundation’s headquarters based at Segera, Kenya, and globally.
For more information, visit zeitzfoundation.org, thelongrun.com and segera.com.