Done by: Takalani Joy Magidi Nothando Kunene Thulisile Mahlangu

Famous Museums in South Africa  The South African Military Museum  The South African National Museum of Military History, situated in Johannesburg in the Province of Gauteng, is the only museum of its kind in South Africa. It provides a nucleus of Museum and military history expertise in southern Africa.  The museum is regarded as a spiritual and a symbolic home for regular and reserve soldiers and veterans in South Africa and throughout the world.  The Museum's collection of more than items are divided into 37 separate categories and include the official South African war art and photograph collections.  The Museum library has a unique collection of books, journals and archival material. Interviews are regularly conducted in the library as part of an ongoing oral history collection project.  All the collections are curated and researched by graduates with many years of accumulated knowledge and expertise.  On average, visitors attend the Museum each year. The South African National Defence Force sends over thirty groups to the Museum a year and, on average, 162 schools visit the Museum annually.

Robben Island  Robben Island  From the 17 th to the 20 th centuries, Robben Island served as a place of banishment, isolation and imprisonment. Today it is a World Heritage Site and museum, a poignant reminder to the newly democratic South Africa of the price paid for freedom.  People lived on Robben Island many thousands of years ago.  Since the Dutch settled at the Cape in the mid- 1600s, Robben Island has been used primarily as a prison  Indigenous African leaders, Muslim leaders from the East Indies, Dutch and British soldiers and civilians, women, and anti-apartheid activists, including South Africa's first democratic President, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela and the founding leader of the Pan Africanist Congress, Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, were all imprisoned on the Island.  Robben Island was also a training and defence station in World War II ( ) and a hospital for people with leprosy, and the mentally and chronically ill ( ).  Since 1997 it has been a museum and a heritage site. The museum is a dynamic institution, which acts as a focal point of South African heritage.  It runs educational programmes for schools, youths and adults, facilitates tourism development, conducts ongoing research related to the Island and fulfils an archiving function. Nelson Mandela spent 18 years in the island as a political prison

In honour of our great South Africans South African sculptures  In South Africa, sculptures of honourable people are made and placed in public places so that the nation may see, remember, and honour them for their contribution to the county’s success and growth. Most of our sculptures and statues are of artistic, religious and political figures.  There are two well known sculptures of Nelson Mandela that can be found in South Africa: one in the Gauteng province and the other in Cape town. Brenda Fassie ( 3Nov 64-9May 04) South African Pop singer Jan Smuts, a South African soldier, statesman, and philosopher, Jan Christian Smuts (

Old Painters David Koloane  Born and bred in Alexandra, a South African township, in 1938  David Koloane's creative activities have been diverse. He has always combined his own artwork with his social involvement.  The Mgodoyi Series reflects Koloane's thoughts around the negotiations. Mgodoyi is an insulting Zulu term for a man who behaves like a mongrel.  Koloane used the dog as a metaphor in his work of the late 1980's and early 1990's. Wild mangy dogs scavenge on the streets of the Black townships whilst overweight pampered dogs bark and threaten one from behind fences in White suburbia.  In his words: "My concern in socio-political matters and contributions to the furtherance of disadvantaged black South African artists during and after the apartheid era is evident. My work can be said to reflect the socio- political landscape of South Africa both past and present. The socio political conditions created by the apartheid system of government have to a large extent transfixed the human condition as the axis around which my work evolves.” Kagiso Patrick Mautloa  Born 1952, Ventersdorp, South Africa.  The women roasting mielies (corn) over coal- fired tin braziers on street corners, the wholesalers and hawkers selling cheap imports from the Far East, the street traders who eke out a living with a few items on a small board near the busy intersections. These are the people who influence the life and work of Kagiso Patrick Mautloa.  In the Shopping Women Series, Mautloa has captured the feeling of moving through these streets, of making do with what is available, and the feeling of being swamped by the hustle and bustle of the big city.

Modern Contemporary artists Zanele Muholi  Zanele Muholi was born in Umlazi, Durban, in  Her work represents the black female body in a frank yet intimate way that challenges the history of the portrayal of black women's bodies in documentary photography.  “In the Being series (2007) I interrogate black lesbian relationships and safer sex. On the surface, the visuals capture couples in intimate positions and moments showing their love for each other. However, deeper within these I wish to highlight how HIV/AIDS prevention programming has failed women who have sex with other women.” Mary Sibande  Mary Sibande, born 1982, lives and works in Johannesburg.  She employs the human form as a vehicle through painting and sculpture, to explore the construction of identity in a postcolonial South African context, but also attempts to critique stereotypical depictions of women, particularly black women in our society..  Mary Sibande - Long live the dead Queen. This show is a collection of fantasies and imagined narratives centering round the character Sophie, a maid. Sibande is not looking at the negatives of being a domestic worker, but rather the humanity and commonalities of people despite the boxes we find ourselves in. The modern fabric is moulded into many forms that are combined with Victorian references, making the pieces completely foreign and at the same time Sophie’s own.

Music contribution to our cultural identity… Traditional music South Africa is a diverse country with various cultural groups and identities. Each of the ethnic groups (AmaXhosa, AmaZulu, BaSotho, BaTshwana, BaPedi, VhaVenda, XaTsonga, AbaNdebele, EmaSwati, Afrikaner, Englishman) have their own different type of music and its origins. From the days of the Bantu migrations, music was a way to create group identity and sense of uniqueness. The different music was composed in the distinct languages, different musical instruments and distinct melodies from each of the ethnic groups. Today, the different traditional music is still alive and vibrant in traditional ceremonies hosted by the different ethnic groups such as the Swati’s Reed dance, Lebollo in the Sesotho tradition and many others. Liberation songs During the days of the Apartheid era, many racial groups experienced oppression, violence from the police force and no platform to express their sufferings. Many of our grandparents and parents began to find other ways to let out the sorrows simultaneously entertaining themselves and those around at that time. From that space, Jazz South African music arose including others such as the Pennywhistle(Jive) music and political songs. The musians wore unique attire, which later were worn by the crowd  Special days were allocated where artists would sing their hearts out and that would be coupled with beer an a shebeen.  This was typical of the black townships then.  Other racial groups also had their own music which contributed to their cultural identity,then. AmaZulu with a drum

Music of today  Things have changed from the 1950’s. Today, the music is no longer about the different ethnic groups or racial groups. but is music that involves the youth and other members of the society.  The difference between the music of then and that of now is that,the focus has shifted to the music themes being about fun, parties, sex and relationships and money.  Matters that affect us today such as crime, HIV& AIDS are also expressed in the music. Different music genres have emerged since  Music such as Kwaito, House music, hip-hop and pop is what our teenagers listen to and are attracted to. The music has influenced the dress code, the creation of new jargons and a vibrant atmosphere. Our youth have expressed interest in the western music and European House as well. Most of our artists have gained inspiration from the sounds from America such as Hip-hop and R&B. As a result, there has been plenty of common elements found in our music to mostly American Hip-hop. This would also apply to our dress code and the lingo used by our some of our youth. Well-known house music Dj, Kent Pop group, Mafikizolo

Bibliography... atown3.jpg content/uploads/2009/02/n _ _47601.jpg 4.htm