Posted on October 07, 2024
HERITAGE MONTH WINNERS: UP MUSEUM’S PHOTO COMPETITION
Congratulations to Onkarabetse Bontsi as the first prize winner of the University of Pretoria (UP) Museums Heritage Month photo competition for 2024. Onkarabetse is an undergraduate student enrolled for BA Languages in the Faculty of Humanities and chose to personally reflect on the year 1999 when the iSimangaliso Wetland Park became the first South African UNESCO World Heritage Site. She explained that “as a young South African, I’m inspired by the progress made since 1999 and motivated to contribute to the next chapter of our democracy” and how she sees “iSimangaliso as a shared heritage treasure worth protection and a powerful tool for nation-building.” This year the UP Museums invited students and staff to submit photographs of the new democracy exhibition in the Old Arts Building and to reflect on 30 years by sharing what democracy means to them.
Running now in its third year, the UP Museum’s heritage photo competition remains popular and many excellent and creative entries were received mainly via social media platforms. The aim for 2024 is to recognise and celebrate 30 years of democracy (1994-2024) with the inspiring artworks in the exhibition, To Not Forget, 1994-2024 with a focus on the timber democracy installation project, a competition in itself which had two design proposals. The UP Museums collaborated with the Department of Architecture, the Proto Building Team, and Raw Modular timber for the winning team to install a reflection of 30 years of democracy in South Africa on the historic staircase in the Old Arts Building.
The timber art installation aimed to engage the diversity of museum audiences, including students, staff, and the wider UP community and campus tourists to walk up in time ascending the 30 historical slate stairs in the Old Arts Building. Reflecting upon each step, the timber design was curated and themed with milestones in such a way, as to go up or down 30 years of democracy. On each staircase, every year from 1994 to 2024 is reflected with a theme and numbered panel. Competition winners had to share this experience while linking their views to 30 years of democracy. The UP Museums received many exciting and enthusiastic entries and the top three entrants received gift hampers with UP Museum merchandise.
The second prize was awarded to Mzingaye Hlabano, a postgraduate student enrolled for honours in Heritage and Cultural Tourism at the Faculty of Humanities. Mzingaye, selected timber panel no. 13 reflecting on the year 2006 when same-sex marriages was legalised. According to Mzingaye’ s statement, “the panel I chose highlights aspects of what it means to be granted a basic human right and ... from those that have come before, they paved the way for the legislation of same-sex marriage in the country and it allows for the educating and acceptance of the queer community.”
Nicole Umutoni, an undergraduate student from the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences won third prize. Nicole selected panel 7 when South Africa’s Coat of Arms was launched on Freedom Day 2000. The panel personally spoke to her reflecting upon her childhood memories when her parents moved from Rwanda to South Africa. Nicole recalled at age 8, colouring in the Coat of Arms in Grade 2 and shared that “thinking back to how oblivious I was to the monumental significance of this act that shaped the rest of my life… how it was probably just a pretty picture that I coloured in nicely, but looking back, that was when I realised - or rather accepted that my home was South Africa, not just the square meter my house stood on.” Nicole was simply thrilled to have won the UP Museum hamper for the third prize and said this was the first time she had ever won something on campus.
The UP Museums team would like to thank all the students and staff who participated in this year’s photo competition to celebrate both the democracy exhibition and Heritage Month. They also extend their gratitude to the Department of Institutional Advancement (DIA) who marketed the competition throughout all UP campuses and to UP Museums followers on social media for sharing the competition widely.
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