City of Johannesburg to host inaugural Aluta Nova Festival of Museums

The festival will offer a variety of activities such as the iconic London Bus museum tours, food/craft markets and an enticing live music lineup – which will include live performances by Urban Village, Ami Faku, The Charles Gene Suite, Bilal Da DJ, Uncle Partytime, Your Uncle Garry, Kat Upendi and The Dig Experience.

June marks the commemoration of the student uprisings that occurred in various parts of Gauteng, with young people taking a stand for their voices to be heard in their fight for freedom of expression and many other civil rights. This significant month lends itself as a key time to give back young people their place in history through various educational and public programmes designed to promote a museum-going culture but, most importantly, to give young people the power to rewrite their narratives and to reclaim and re-imagine their heritage at a time where culture is dynamic and constantly changing.

Aluta Nova is expected to become one of the city’s signature programmes curated to offer the youth an opportunity to learn about and explore history and heritage through a decolonial cultural lens to breathe an air of renewal into the museums of the city.

Furthermore, the festival sets out to encourage a museum-going culture amongst the youth who inhabit the city. The Covid-19 pandemic has transformed the face of the creative and cultural industry with most cultural institutions closing down.

The chief curator of the James Hall Museum of Transport, Gaisang Sathekge, who is also the festival curator, states that with this museum festival programme, the aim is to resuscitate museum spaces by decentering the idea that heritage is a traditional and sacred concept that should not be touched by the unclean voices of contemporary culture.

She adds:

This is the idea that the city wants to disrupt and deconstruct through this festival. Aluta Nova simply means ‘a new struggle’; we are no longer fighting demons of dead traditions but are faced with new challenges to rewrite history and reimagine our place in the now.

This museum programme will further contribute to supporting local talent and creative SMMEs during a difficult time where the pandemic has affected the creative industry economically.

While this Festival of Museums, in its inaugural year, is focused on highlighting the museum offerings of the James Hall Museum of Transport, in the coming years, this festive commemoration of heritage will see different museums of the City of Joburg participating and presenting their curated experiences to the public.

The core objectives of this museum programme are focused at:

• Promoting and marketing the museums of the city as Joburg’s places of attraction
• Providing creative SMMEs opportunities for market access and industry exposure
• Revitalising the city through quality and impactful arts, culture and heritage programmes
• Contributing to the development of youth in creative industries through relevant public programmes

Online registration is compulsory and guests must register online here.