MUSEUMS are more than just places to store and exhibit works of art or historical interest, they are also places where societies, groups and even individuals make and recreate themselves. Situated in Robert’s House, a Victorian National Monument in Esther Roberts Road, Glenwood, the Phansi Museum is certainly a hidden treasure just waiting to be explored by local residents and visitors alike.
The Museum began as a small collection of craftwork in a basement before being accorded private museum status in 2000. It now houses one of the largest and most spectacular publicly accessible collections of southern African artefacts including Zulu beadwork, dating back to the 19th Century, earplugs, wire baskets, milk-pails, beer-pots and fertility dolls.
The museum is now under the capable directorship of Fran Saunders who is on mission to take the museum to the next level. One of her priorities is to attract a younger and more diverse crowd from all walks of life. “We need to make young people aware of how rich our culture is. They don’t have to travel far and wide to realize just that,” she says.
“It is a matter of opening more eyes to what is uniquely ours, right here under our noses. We have on-going programs focused on young people, we bring a lot of young school children here. We have art competitions for them and I would like to do follow ups with more art interventions to the schools, bringing teachers here and helping them to teach art. We have an extraordinary world class art collection here. Nobody has been to this museum and not been blown away by the artwork,”said Saunders.
While most museums can sometimes stereotype what they think young people are about, Saunders says they are really serious about working with young people and they will be focusing more on their musical offerings and collaborating with young people who are passionate and appreciate culture.
“We had a jazz offering last month with Mfana Mlambo and through our collaboration with the Masizi Kunene Foundation, we are working on presenting a Hip-Hop cypher and a braai which is aimed at creating an atmosphere where young people can come enjoy the rich African culture we have here, which crosses all barriers,” she added.
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Each year Phansi Museum distributes thousands of calendars to schools in cities, villages and in faraway rural areas, clinics, libraries, community centers and educational institutions across the province. This publication is awaited with much anticipation by many, both in South Africa and abroad. The calendar pays respect to and celebrates those who have created, observed, recorded and collected the treasures the Phansi Museum continues to share with the rest of the world.
“We are connecting with crafts people, women who teach bead work. The objective here is Ubuntu art, we are aware that art should not only give pleasure to receiver but also to the maker. Identity is interwoven with what you do, how you present your work. These identities have their roots in traditional crafts, these crafts come from the forefathers and they are valued today all over the world. Parisian designers like Yves Saint-Laurent use African bead work in their designs. We need to understand and make young people understand the richness of our culture and what wealth lies in our identities, ” she said.
As her parting shot, Saunders says through their collaboration with the Masizi Kunene Foundation, they plan to make Glenwood the cultural heartbeat of Durban. “You don’t have to look far for the beautiful things, they are right here,” she said.
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