An exhibition curated by Ifa Lethu in partnership with Unisa Gallery and the SA Dept of Arts and Culture consisting of works repatriated from the apartheid era together with art created in the 20 years of democracy.

 

This year South Africa celebrates twenty years of democracy.  This is an ideal moment to bring the Ifa Lethu collection to the fore.  Pre-democracy South Africans had  little knowledge of the art produced by black people as the emphasis was on the art production and history of Europe and the West– accessible only to the privileged minority.  

 

The Ifa Lethu project has opened our eyes to what we have missed and has been a major role player in filling important gaps in our previously “lost” artistic heritage.  The artists from this collection were obliged to work away from other cultural influences resulting in the creation of a truly authentic artistic expression – the discovery of which has influenced South African art production in specific ways.

 

This exhibition brings to the public a selection of the repatriated works which form part of that heritage and, in acknowledging that our artistic legacy has influenced contemporary art, these works are re-visited in the light of what has come after. The selection of works from the democracy era is drawn from both museum collections as well as new, younger artists – marking 20 years of new talent.