The 16th of June, National Youth Day in South Africa, honours and remembers the youth of 1976 who opposed the apartheid education system for black people in the streets of Soweto.
This year the Ndiza Gallery in Harbour Island, Gordon’s Bay, has opened its doors to aspiring young artists to bring their work to the gallery. Having opened their doors at 10 am for Youth Day, well-known artists, teachers and gallerists spent the day advising, encouraging and answering questions from aspiring artists. Before end of the day, top works of art were selected for exhibition.
The gallery was launched by Gavin Furlonger, George Reeves, Michaela Limberis and Michele Roelofsen to strengthen the accessibility of commercial art spaces and engage new audiences. ‘Ndiza’ means to fly in isiZulu and this is the basis of this gallery, to inspire artists to reach greater heights with their work.
Iziko Museum
Iziko Museums, also The Iziko South African Museum, is a South African national museum located in Cape Town. The museum was founded in 1825, the first in the country. It has been on its present site in the Company’s Garden since 1897. The museum houses important African zoology, palaeontology and archaeology collections.
In 2023 the museum is commemorating Youth Day by allowing free entry for the Iziko South African Museum, Slave Lodge, Bo-Kaap Museum, Rust & Vreugd, and Koopman de Wet House. Viewers get to see exhibitions like Hidden Wonders and JellyWorld, the latter exploringa the role that jellyfish play in marine ecosystems. There is also the opportunity to pay respect to the history of slavery in the Cape as well as learn about the iconic colourful neighbourhood of Bo-Kaap.
Labia Theatre
Youth Capital, an advocacy campaign that focuses on evidence-based solutions to youth unemployment, is debuting its short film Lean on Each Other at the Labia Theatre. The film features seven stories of diverse South Africans and demonstrates the impact of youth unemployment, as well as the viability of social connections as a solution to this crisis. This is a good initiative for Youth Day as it speaks to a lot of young people with youth unemployment being very common in South Africa.
