Women in the Arts exhibition by Humanities Faculty Library and UP Museums for Women’s Month

As the nation celebrated women in the month of August, so did the Humanities Faculty Library and the School of the Arts, while at the same time celebrating the Humanities Faculty centenary (May 1919-May 2019). The Humanities Faculty Library and the UP Museums exhibited art works created by UP women and alumni over the last 100 years. The University of Pretoria has a proud history of training South African visual artists, many of them women. The exhibition of a small selection of works from the University of Pretoria’s Art Collection highlighted some of the works by these alumni artists, both students and staff. Library resources on women linked to the University of Pretoria who excelled in drama, music and visual arts were showcased.

Included in the exhibition was the sculpture ‘Cloak as a Dagger’ (2016) by Avi Sooful, created from Jacaranda wood. It refers to the Apartheid Government’s laws regarding the Group Areas, acting as if the restriction on Black, Coloured and Indian ownership of land was protection for the people who were not white, when in reality it was a way to control non-white people’s movements.

Another sculpture, ‘Pa en Ma Ubu’ (2000) is a student work by the artist Carine Zaayman. The work is a play on a dramatic piece called “Ubu and the Truth Commission” by Jane Taylor. In essence Ubu is a white South African male who worked for the Apartheid state. He is violent and cruel

Part of the exhibition was a huge drawing, installed in the library atrium, by renowned South African artist Diane Victor. As a lecturer at UP, Victor created this large work of an Apiesdoring tree, which used to stand on the site where the Javett-UP Art Center is now. Today this drawing is all that remains of the tree.

The remaining art works forming part of the exhibition were Nostalgia Rework, 2005, by Elisma Uys, Drumpel I, 2018, by Magdel van Rooyen, The road workers, 2019, by Lelani Nicolaisen, Kya Rosa, 1980, by Jean Kotze Louw, Rain, 1989, by Bettie Cilliers-Barnard, Portrait of the artist Alice Golden, 2012, by Carla Crafford, I do not trust a woman who doesn’t steal a little bit, 2017, by Natalie Fossey, Near the Wreck, 1984, by Alice Elahi, Wide open spaces, 1990, by Hanneke Benade; and sculptures Praying Girl, 2006, by Yolande van Niekerk, Pa en Ma Ubu, 2000, by Carine Zaayman, and Cloak as a Dagger, 2016 by Avi Sooful.

From comments left by staff and students in the visitors’ book, it seems the exhibition brought back memories, bitter and sweet. Some showed knowledge about art, and others were appreciative of the fact that we placed art works on exhibition in the library environment.

View the exhibition photographs here: https://www.facebook.com/pg/UPLibraryServices/photos/?tab=album&album_id=10156474629946705