UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND, JOHANNESBURG

Wits Art Museum (WAM) - Home Page

Unknown, Igbo, Nigeria, Mmwo Maiden Spirit Mask, Wood, pigment, textile, Acquired 1979, Standard Bank African Art Collection (Wits Art Museum)

Wits Art Museum is home to an extraordinary collection of African art, including contemporary and historical art from South Africa and art from West and Central Africa. It hosts a dynamic program of events and art exhibitions. The Museum is one of Johannesburg's premier tourist attractions, along with the Apartheid Museum and Constitution Hill. It is part of the Wits University Cultural Precinct, just three blocks from Nelson Mandela Bridge. WAM is in the hip, regenerating area of Braamfontein, which is also home to many students, interesting shops and places to eat. WAM's cafe is a fun place to meet friends and enjoy delicious food and coffee.

 
NEWWORK12 at Wits Art Museum   Artist unknown Makonde Lipiko (Helmet mask), Wits Art Museum   Gerard Sekoto Wits Art Museum 

WAM Endowment Auction Exhibition

 

Izilwane/ Diphologolo - Animals and the art of Africa

 

                                                        Song for Sekoto 1913 -2013

23 to 30 May 2013

WAM will be celebrating it's first birthday with a fundraising auction of contemporary South African art. An endowment to support the ongoing development of the museum will also be launched. All works have been donated specifically for this purpose by artists and collectors. William Kentridge, Robert Hodgins, David Goldblatt, Karel Nel, Penny Siopis, Sam Nhlengethwa, Claudette Schreuders, Debbie Bell, Joachim Schonfeldt are just a few of the artists who have generously donated work.

View the online catalogue (PDF format, 4.8 Mb) and download the bidding form.

WAM curators will conduct TALKABOUTS on Sat 25 May (12h00) and Sun 26 May (11h00).

For more information please contact Lesley.SpiroCohen@wits.ac.za


 

13 March to 12 May, 2013

This beautiful exhibition drawn from WAM's collections examines how animals are imaged in African art. It is loosely organised around the categories of animals of the village, countryside, bush, air, water and the imagination.

A worksheet is available for children to use to explore the exhibition and a FAMILY DAY is planned to coincide with the exhibition on 20 April. No charge, but booking required.

Adult TALKABOUTS take place on Sat 13 (Dr Paul Davis, Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Centre fo the Creative Arts of Africa) and Sat 27 April (Dr Laura de Becker, Collections Re-engagement Post-Doctoral Fellow, WAM) at 12h00. There is no charge but please book info.wam@wits.ac.za.

For more information contact Leigh Blanckenberg, Education Curator 011 717 1378

 

25 April to 2 June, 2013

Sekoto is considered by many to be one of the 'father's of South African art'. Paintings and drawings on the exhibition are supplemented by texts, personal history, documents and photographs. Visitors to the exhibtion will gain deep insights into the artist's ideas, ideals and conflicts and the socio-political context in which he lived.

The exhibition and extensive education programme has been made possible through the generous support of Merrill Lynch, a subsidiary of Bank of America, with support from BHP Billiton, Business and Arts South Africa, Webber Wentzel and the National Lotteries Distribution Trust Fund. The exhibition is organised by the Gerard Sekoto Foundation  association and is accompanied by a catalogue.

An adult TALKABOUT will take place on Sat 11 May at 12h00. There will be Children's TALKABOUT on Sat 4 and 18 May (International Museums Day) at 12h00 and on 25 May there will be a TALKABOUT for high school art students (11h00).There is no charge but please book for these events info.wam@wits.ac.za.

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