In the wonderful article below, Raymond Smith takes the reader on a journey to six iconic sites in Pretoria: the Union Buildings, Church Square, Unisa, Freedom Park, //hapo Museum and Marabastad. He describes the experience as a 'peripatetic walk contemplating diversity, dislocation, overlap and cohesion within an urban environment strained under its conflicting past, yet bravely attempting to respond to contemporary demands with varying degrees of success'.
A colleague from Durban and I had to travel to Tshwane/Pretoria for a workshop on Museums and Cultural Landscapes. The keynote address was delivered by Dr Webber Ndoro representing the African World Heritage Trust. His audience was members of ICOM and ICOMOS-SA and his paper observed the developments and challenges of museums in Africa and pointed out the successes and failures of the institution within the various cultural contexts. For me the most important remark he made (to a small audience) was that Africa is not a homogeneous entity and that those who refer to Africa as though one country sharing one value system are mistaken. I would like to take his comment further, by commenting that South Africa is not homogeneous and neither are the various communities within this land. This is an important observation, as to think otherwise could lead to assumptions about communities and create unfounded perceptions which polarizes a society.
My colleague (whom I shall refer to as Athos) and I landed at OR Tambo airport the day before the workshop started with the intention to explore the city after not having visited it...
