Note to editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Leanne De Jager MPL.
Gauteng’s most valuable cultural assets, currently housed at the Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG), are under threat due to the gravely concerning plan to relocate them to the Museum of Africa. This relocation is not only premature and fundamentally flawed but also represents a reckless gamble with our cultural heritage and must be strongly opposed.
A recent Democratic Alliance (DA) oversight inspection at the Museum of Africa, which I attended with Councillor Lyrics Mazibuko, uncovered serious concerns. The renovated area built as an upper-level storage area for the JAG collection is unfit for purpose, with critical flaws in security, climate control, unwanted water penetration, and access.
See photos here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Qualified architects, art specialists, museum technologists, storage experts, and engineers, along with a comprehensive report by the Friends of JAG, have also unanimously agreed that the Museum of Africa, in its current state, cannot safely house JAG’s vulnerable and invaluable artworks.
Moreover, the renovation work at the Museum of Africa bears the hallmarks of a rushed exercise intended to provide Johannesburg with a convenient ‘solution’ for the G20 summit, rather than a thoughtful intervention based on best practices for art preservation. This is not prudent financial management; it is wasteful expenditure that delivers substandard results.
This situation could have been avoided if the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation and Friends of JAG’s earlier warnings about conditions at the Johannesburg Art Gallery, as well as their proposals for alternative storage solutions, had been heeded by both the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) and the City of Johannesburg.
The DA urges the Gauteng MEC for Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Matome Chiloane, and the City of Johannesburg to halt the relocation of JAG artworks to the Museum of Africa until it meets art storage international standards. We have tabled questions to the department and the City to ascertain how much has been spent on the Museum of Africa renovations and realistic timelines for JAG renovations. Additionally, we have submitted a request for the SAHRA and Art Gallery Committee reports on the relocation.
A DA-led Gauteng Provincial Government would prioritise securing sustainable funding and professional expertise to properly conserve, catalogue, and display the Johannesburg Art Gallery’s collection, ensuring the protection of cultural assets for future generations. And yes, this can be done!