Keeping memories alive through ‘Isikhumbuzo’ photography exhibition on Youth Day

In the short span of memory times we’re living in, photography plays a huge role as a visual time capsule to help us not forget about history’s watershed moments.

Aptly titled ‘Isikhumbuzo’, which means a remembrance or memorial, a photo group exhibition brings South African history into sharp, unforgettable focus in celebration of Youth Day.

“Isikhumbuzo basically is a group exhibition where we collected work from different provinces, because June 16 [protests] didn’t just happen in Soweto. But it has affected the whole South Africa,” exhibition organiser and founder of Mandebele Photo Gallery, Gopolang Ledwaba tells The Citizen.

The exhibition will be hosted at Mandebele Photo Gallery in Soweto.

At the core of this exhibition are iconic works by Mike Mzileni, Len Khumalo, Peter Magune and Alf Khumalo.

The lensmen are some of the most respected photographers who documented apartheid and South Africa’s liberation journey.

The exhibition will feature works by other young artists from across the country and will open on Youth Day, running for the entire month of June.

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Making art accessible

The uprising of youth in Soweto in 1976 was a protest against the imposition of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction in black schools.

In addition to that, the remonstration was also against apartheid’s chokehold on young black people’s dreams.

Some young people had dreams of making art and sharing it with their communities. Mandebele Photo Gallery is one of the few galleries in the township, as many are in the city or suburbs.

The gallery’s mission is to foster sustainable interest and active engagement with the arts within our local communities and across Africa.

“We are dedicated to elevating consciousness through education and storytelling, sharing our narratives in ways that reflect our lived experiences and cultural understanding.”

Ledwaba says it pains him that public schools, particularly those in the township, don’t pay much attention to art.

“It pains my heart that art is not taken seriously in public schools. But in multiracial schools, the kids who go to school there will tell you that art is so important. A 16-year-old child from a multiracial school and one who attends school in the township are different in how they view art.”

“A child in a multiracial school will learn about the likes of [Vincent] van Gogh and Santu Mofokeng, whereas a child schooling in the township doesn’t know anything about those artists, some of whom are from the township.”

“Mandebele Photo Gallery is sort of a bridge between the gap of things that are missing in the township…bringing art closer to the community.”

The exhibition on Youth Day will feature music performances by Musa Mashian, who reached the Top 5 of season 10 of Idols SA in 2014, Manjik Mak, and Lunga Mkila.

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