A New model for an African museum
An innovative approach to museum programming and even its role, status in society, and delivery of the content has never been more needed. Museums and non-profit art foundations were in a state of crisis before the dreaded Covid-19 turned the art world virtual. Decolonization agendas, non-existent acquisition or exhibition budgets, outdated collections that don’t promote contemporary values, has put these art temples in a sticky place.
Perhaps the long gestation period preceding the opening of the Joburg Contemporary Art Foundation (JCAF) (caused by red tape and building delays) gave its director, Clive Kellner, time to plot how a non-profit art exhibition space could be different. Perhaps during his tenure as director of the Joburg Art Gallery (from 2004 to 2009) he had toyed with alternative ideas.
Certainly, the JCAF flies in the face of museum conventions. It doesn’t house a collection (it draws from one housed elsewhere). The end goal of exhibitions are journals, relaying research and dialogues prompted by the exhibitions. Whereas most non-profit public oriented foundations measure their relevancy via foot traffic, Kellner isn’t interested in attracting swarms of people. For him, the value of this establishment is gauged via the quality of the experience for each visitor.
The modest dimensions of the Saxonwold building – an old-tram repair station sensitively transformed by architect Pierre Swannepoel of Studiomas – perhaps predetermined this approach. Fortunately, they don’t depend on entry fees to keep going – the institution is privately funded by art collectors Gordon Schachat and Adi Enthoven.
Relying on wide public appeal can limit the content of exhibitions, though being ‘relevant’ can shift museum culture. Think of Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art’s (Mocaa) recently opened exhibition, Home is where the Art Is. In this exhibition this private/public institution have done an about turn on the hard gatekeeping established when they opened, through a focus on internationally validated artists. Any artist or Sunday painter has art on their walls now. This was part of an effort to endure themselves to locals – the only visitors they can rely on presently.