The Pretoria Art Museum’s terrain has had a makeover before Museum Month in May, thanks to the AfriForum teams’ hard work.
AfriForum spokesperson Llewellynn Hemmens said it is important to the organisation to look after and maintain heritage and cultural assets.
“The maintenance of these key points in culture cannot be held back by lack of service by the metro. We want residents to be proud of Pretoria and we will help where we can by delivering a service where the metro is not stepping up to the challenge,” said Hemmens.
Melissa Lindeque, curator at the metro’s museums, said it is one of the metro’s values to work with the community.
“We appreciate the community working with us. We reached out to AfriForum and asked for assistance to cut the grass at one of our museums. We are very thankful that they were willing to assist,” said Lindeque.
She said for a while the art museum did not present a neat appearance to museum or art fans because of the uncut grass.
“When people pass by the museum, it is mainly on Francis Baard Street and not the main public entrance. Especially this section deterred tourists from visiting the museum, even though we have wonderful and exciting national and international exhibitions.”
The museum hosts an array of exhibitions, both nationally and internationally. The Sasol New Signatures is hosted there every year.
“We also have an artist-in-residence programme which promotes new and upcoming artists. We have a vast collection, ranging from sculptures, ceramics, paintings and many more,” confirmed Lindeque.
May is a very important month for museums, as International Museum Day (May 18) is celebrated throughout the world.
The metro will host various programmes together with other museums. Museums offer free entrance on certain days throughout the month.
“We have a museum exhibition at Ditsong Natural History Museum on May 16. The metro aims not to just promote their own museums, but to work together with other museums so that we can celebrate Pretoria as a tourist destination.”
Lindeque only recently joined the Pretoria Art Museum team, as her primary office is the Melrose House Museum.
“I’m proud of the staff members that go out of their way to assist not just each other, but the public. As a metro, that is our core function. Within the means provided to us, the metro’s heritage section aims to succeed in our jobs as we all have a passion for heritage and art,” she said.
She pointed out that the metro specifically built the museum to house its art collection as there wasn’t a museum dedicated to housing or showcasing its collection to the public.
The building lends itself to a modern international style, among natural surroundings and outdoor sculptures.
Lindeque invited the public to visit the Ndebele mosaic walk located on the terrain surrounding the museum.
She emphasised the metro is working with current stakeholders but is also looking for new ones.
“Anyone who shares our passion and wants to contribute to the museum can contact us. Conservation of heritage is very important. It is our past, our joint histories that tell stories of what happened and how we lived. We should learn from the past, but you cannot learn from the past if you do not preserve it.”
Lindeque can be contacted at art.museum@tshwane.gov.za.
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