Amagugu Ethu / Our Treasures

“Decolonisation remains a major challenge for museums worldwide. Centuries of European colonialism means many historically marginalised communities are still disconnected, both physically and culturally, from material culture appropriated from them and then dispersed to museums far away in the metropolitan centres.” Laura Gibson

This was the premise for our three day workshop in Cape Town in April. Gathering together Zulu community experts with Iziko Museum staff, storytellers and researchers, with the aim to facilitate lasting, animated connections between descendant Zulu communities and Zulu collections held by museums in both Canada and Cape Town, South Africa.

This collection represents that event, gathering together the objects selected by the Zulu community experts, their descriptions/stories about them, documentation about the event itself, and a portrait of each of the participants.