The Empire Exhibition was the first representative exhibition to be held outside the United Kingdom, and the first international exhibition ever staged in the Union of South Africa. It was considered a monument to the progressiveness and prosperity of South Africa.

The Empire Exhibition was held on what is now the University of the Witwatersrand’s West Campus, and was an important part of Wits’ history. The show was a triumphant spectacle aimed at promoting Johannesburg and the Union of South Africa, established 1910, but the political policies of segregation and discrimination along racial lines were underway.

• Launching 17 November at 6pm
• Origins Centre Museum
• RSVP Essential: Bongiwe.ndulula@wits.ac.za