2025-03-21 Noria Mabasa: at Javett-UP in Pretoria, South Africa
We are happy to share on the event about the history, significance, and lasting impact of our fellow’s Noria Mabasa’s sculture Union Buildings. The conversation is a part of the ‘We, The Purple’ exhibition at Javett-UP.
‘Noria Mabasa Carving Histories’ provides an opportunity to delve into the rich narrative behind Noria Mabasa’s monumental wooden sculpture, Union Buildings (N.D.). This striking piece symbolises the powerful 1956 Women’s March to the Union Buildings in Pretoria, where women from across South Africa united in protest against the apartheid pass laws that oppressed black women.
In September 2024, one of the most significant art transportation efforts in recent history brought this vital work from the Ditsong National Museum of Cultural History to its new home at the Javett-UP after it had been kept out of public view for over ten years. Now on display as part of the ‘We, The Purple’ exhibition, the sculpture’s backstory and layered histories remain mainly unknown to the public.
A thought-provoking conversation will explore the artwork’s significance, the stories it embodies, and the lasting legacy of Mam Noria’s artistic contributions. The panel will include Motsane Seabela (Acting Director & Anthropology Curator at the Ditsong National Museum of Cultural History), Steven Sacks (Managing Director of the Cape Town Science Centre), Puleng Plessie (Curator of Education & Public Programmes at the Javett-UP), and Gillian Fleischmann (Curatorial Assistant at the Javett-UP), who will moderate the session.
The Javett-UP is a partnership between the University of Pretoria and the Javett Foundation. Both firmly believe in the emancipatory potential of the arts in society through multidisciplinary curatorial and pedagogic initiatives. With one foot firmly rooted in academia and the other embedded in the public, Javett-UP critically responds to histories of Africa’s creative outputs and future aspirations of the continent and the diaspora.
Central to Javett-UP is a commitment to continuous de-colonial dialogues that respond to the present while considering political and social actions’ historical and future implications. Javett-UP fosters sustained critical inquiries where activities of writers, researchers, advocacy groups, historians, political scientists, musicians, and more intersect.
Event Details
Date: 21 March 2025
Time: 10:30am for 11:00am
Venue: Javett-UP, University of Pretoria, 23 Lynnwood Rd, Hatfield, Pretoria, 0002