The South African Traditional Arts Collection
The South African Traditional Arts Collection
grows out of a project of the South African National Cultural Heritage
Training and Technology Program (SANCH) with grant support from the Andrew
J. Mellon Fund and Ford Foundation. Led by Drs. Marsha MacDowell and Dr.
C. Kurt Dewhurst, Michigan State University Museum, and Dr. Diana N'Diaye,
Smithsonian Institution's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, the
project is working with South African colleagues to document South Africa's
extraordinarily rich, diverse craft activity at the turn of the twenty-first
century.
To date the collection consists
of a number of items representative of distinctive regional, occupational,
and ethnic traditions; items created by members of craft cooperatives;
items that demonstrate the interface of new and older technologies, materials,
and marketplaces; and the work of artists honored by one of South Africa's
most prestigious awards, the VITA Craft Award. Included are examples of
wirework, quilts, prints, embroidered and beaded textiles, beadwork, clothing,
and sculpture, including work by VITA awardees such as Julius Mfethe.
Two portfolio of prints augment
the traditional arts collection by showing the connections of themes,
materials, and processes between "traditional" and "fine" arts in this
country. The first, "International Print Portfolio: Universal Declaration
of Human Rights," is a portfolio of graphic prints by artists from countries
identified by Amnesty International in which human rights awareness is
either non-existent or severely abridged. The second portfolio, "Images
of Human Rights," includes 29 fine art prints, created by artists representing
the nine provinces of South Africa and hand printed by master printmaker
Jan Jordaan. The portfolio was released in 1996 in commemoration of the
newly post-Apartheid nation's Bill of Rights. Funds generated from the
sale of portfolios are deposited in the Artists for Human Rights Trust
account and are used by Amnesty International and other organizations
for human rights education programs for the young people of South Africa.
Collectors/Fieldworkers/Donors:
John Beck, Yvonne Lockwood, Marsha MacDowell, C. Kurt Dewhurst, Diana
N'Diaye.
Exhibitions:
"Images of Human Rights: South African Prints," Michigan State University
Museum, East Lansing, Michigan, February, 1998; Seattle Central Community
College, Seattle, Washington, January 4 - 21, 2000; Fort Miami Heritage
Society, St. Joseph, Michigan, May - September, 2002; Rankin Center Art
Gallery, Ferris State University, Big Rapids, Michigan, January, 2003.
"African Connections: Perspectives
on Collecting Culture," Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing,
Jan 31, 1999 - Sept. 5, 1999.
Publications:
Karen Lotter, ed. International Print Portfolio: Universal Declaration
of Human Rights. Durban, South Africa: Artists for Human Rights Trust,
1999.
[NOTE: For more information on
the South African National Cultural Heritage Project, see http://www.saculturalheritage.org/]
--compiled by Marsha MacDowell, 2004.
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