Celebrating the important role of museums
Hout Bay Museum and the Denis Goldberg House of Hope celebrated International Museum Day on Thursday May 18 with a visit to Bethesda Association for Persons with Disabilities and a music outreach class.
Museum manager Jonty Dreyer said fun was had by all the beneficiaries and museum staff.
“They all took part in the ‘head, shoulders knees and toes’ game that we played. We then had a short inspirational motivation and then served them some refreshments,” said Mr Dreyer.
At the House of Hope, a group of children from Imizamo Yethu and Hangberg were given a tour of the neighbouring museum building, a first for them.
House of Hope project coordinator Lavinia Staddon explained to the children that the House of Hope is not a museum but an arts and culture education centre that provides regular activities for local children and youth. The gallery contains art which previously hung in the late Denis Goldberg’s home in Hout Bay and is also an exhibition on his life. The children spoke about Mr Goldberg and asked why he was sentenced to life imprisonment in the Rivonia Trial, alongside Nelson Mandela and six others.
The museum contains artefacts and history of Hout Bay, explained Ms Staddon.
For Tanya Japi, from Hangberg, it was an ostrich egg that interested him when he heard that Khoisan people used it to drink water.
Simphiwe Gobeni, from Imizamo Yethu, enjoyed seeing the tortoise shell and said he had seen a real one at the World of Birds, on an outing with the House of Hope.
Asked if the children had visited other museums, Titus Moyo, of Hangberg, said he had enjoyed going to the Norval Foundation, also an outing with the centre.
The children then returned to their music lesson led by Mulalo Mphaphuli, who is teaching them the basics of music, rhythm, clapping, recorder, percussion, drums and singing.
The children also received books, as a gifts, from the museum.
The annual Museum Day event is commemorated all over the world to emphasise the important role that museums play in society, according to Cultural Affairs and Sport MEC Anroux Marais.
“We want our museums to be inclusive spaces where people can see themselves and their own stories reflected. We are also reinventing museums as spaces that can become cultural hubs in communities,” she said.
If you would like to hire the centre or museum buildings call 021 790 3270, 021 791 0616, or 084 666 6970; or Lavinia Staddon at the House of Hope at 061 885 5430.
