The permanent exhibitions in the museum explore literary representation of South Africa from the early colonial times through to the present day. Displays of original manuscripts, rare books, authors’ notebooks and letters are complemented by audio and video components and interactive touch screens.
Amazwi displays permanent exhibitions at all three of its sites: the museum’s headquarters at 25a Worcester Street, Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown), and Amazwi’s two satellite museums: the Eastern Star Gallery, also in Makhanda, and Olive Schreiner House in Nxuba (formerly Cradock). Visit the museum and its satellites to experience South Africa’s literary heritage!
IAmazwi ibhiyozela ababhali ababhala ngazo zonke iilwimi zaseMzantsi Afrika. Lo mboniso ukhumbula ababhali besiXhosa bokuqala ababalulekileyo.
The exhibition tells the story of South Africa through the lens of the country’s literature, from the earliest writing of the colonial period. The exhibition has sections that explore many aspects of the nation’s literary heritage, including oral literature and writing that emphasises the current, global social-ecological crisis.
Anthony Akerman recently launched his new autobiography Lucky Bastard at Amazwi South African Museum of Literature. Amazwi created this video exhibition on Akerman for the occasion of the launch. View the video on Amazwi’s YouTube Channel here.
Akerman is an actor, playwright, translator, scriptwriter, director and public speaker, and like so many South African authors of his generation he was targeted for suppression by the apartheid state and ultimately was forced into exile. His first play, Somewhere on the Border was banned in South Africa in 1986 due to its portrayal of the South African Defence Force, which was considered ‘prejudicial to the safety of the State’. A new production was staged in 2012 at the National Arts Festival, and in 2014 it received the Thomas Pringle Award for Best Short Story / Play from the English Academy of Southern Africa.
This exhibition explores the life, work and influence of Mongane Wally Serote, award-winning author and South Africa’s Poet Laureate, who turned 80 in 2024. Over a long career he has produced five novels and thirteen books of poetry, as well as plays, essays and other works. Born in 1944, Serote’s career has spanned South Africa’s transition from colonialism and apartheid to democracy. He is a powerful voice in South African literature, and an inspiration to the generations that follow him.
