24 August 2006
'Positioning African cities as part of the World Architectural
Landscape'
The South African Departments of Arts and Culture, Foreign Affairs and the
South African Heritage Resource Agency are honoured to have been invited to
participate in the 10th Venice Architectural Biennale. South Africa's decision
to take part in the Biennale is motivated by the desire to promote discussion
and dialogue on the transformation of spaces as a means of altering and
improving people�s lives. In particular, it is anticipated that this dialogue
will bridge the cultural gap between the communities of our young
democracy.
Our participation in the biennale is aimed ultimately at establishing an
African presence in this international forum, starting with South Africa. Our
exhibition will be a reflection on how South African cities are changing,
driven by an awareness of the requirements to integrate formerly segregated
spaces and the importance of reclaiming degraded spaces.
The exhibition takes place from 6 September to 19 November and will
demonstrate the key issues facing cities today, ranging from migration and
growth, to settlement and sustainable development. It will examine the role of
architects and other professionals in the built environment disciplines in
creating humane urban environments, in relation to policymaking, governance and
social cohesion.
This uniquely South African Exhibition will be entitled 'Between Ownership
and Belonging: Transformation in the Post-Apartheid City'. This exhibition, the
first ever for a sub-Saharan African country, will focus on specific sites
where a transforming South African urban identity is emerging out of a historic
deliberately divided built environment. Urban projects will be exhibited that
illustrate the transition between 'ownership' and 'belonging'.
To briefly elaborate, 'ownership' refers to interventions that contribute to
social inclusion and recognition of the citizenship and creative practices of
the previously disenfranchised. 'Belonging' deals with nation-building and the
symbolic representation of the new polity where memory is enlisted as an urban
generator.
This exhibition will look at projects that have successfully transcended the
unequal and separate development that are part of the legacy South Africa is
still experiencing today. Projects exhibited include Constitutional Hill, the
Walter Sisulu Square of dedication, Metro Mall Precinct, Faraday Precinct; (all
in Johannesburg) Struggle Museum, (in Port Elizabeth), Warwick Triangle (in
Durban) District Six and the Philippi Transport Interchange, (both in Cape
Town). The exhibition will be augmented by other cultural readings (art, film,
academic texts etc.) of the specific sites and of South African urban
regeneration in general.
Of note will be activities scheduled for 7 September that will focus on
South Africa under the sub-theme: South African Night. The curator for South
Africa is Architect Mphethi Morojele.
As is familiar to most, the apartheid system successfully institutionalised
racial segregation and discrimination. The then apartheid government
successfully implemented a grand separatist socio-spatial environment, whose
ramifications we continue to challenge today. The central challenge for the new
South Africa is the creation of a humane built environment that transcends this
past, focusing in particular on the sustainability, liveability and aesthetics
of new patterns of social movement change and settlement.
The importance of these projects that are to be showcased is that they
constitute a formal and symbolic response to the transformation challenges
facing our country. Such projects attempt, through the alteration of the built
environment, to redefine the spaces of intersection, between past and future,
oppression and hope and in so doing contribute to social cohesion and the
development of a new, dynamic and inclusive identity.
We are confident that our participation at the Venice Biennale will present
the world with images that demonstrate our commitment to sustainable
development, which puts people first as inhabitants of our urban and rural
landscapes. It will also demonstrate our dedication to ensuring the equitable
distribution of available resources. The 21st Century is indeed the African
Century, as declared by the New Partnership for Africa's Development
(NEPAD).
Enquiries:
Mack Lewele
Tel: (012) 441 3083
Cell: 082 450 5076
Issued by: Department of Arts and Culture
24 August 2006
