POLOKWANE – The city has a rich and colourful heritage and one of way of depicting this, is by the display of statues and sculptures.
The history of these artworks starts with Jack Botes, a former town clerk of the then Pietersburg, now Polokwane.
Botes was determined to ensure that the city built up an art collection depicting its heritage but he realised it would take forever to do so if such works had to be purchased.Using his considerable influence, he approached artists and local businesses for donations to the collection.
Today there are over 1 000 works in the indoor collection, and an outdoor collection boasts a number of statues and sculptures on permanent display. Works from well known artists and sculptors Jo Roos, Naria Mabasa, Danie de Jager, Jackson Hlungwane, Hennie Potgieter and John Baloyi, to name a few, are on exhibition.
Magnificent sculptures are displayed to their best advantage at the Art Park (Civic Square).
The sculpture featuring a giraffe family has become a familiar landmark of the city with the Boere Orkes and the little boy playing his penny whistle also standing out. Polokwane was also one of the first cities to unveil a bust of Nelson Mandela, donated by the Moolman Group, and now displayed at the Art Park.
A recent visit to the park by Review revealed that most of the statues and sculptures were in dire need of being restored and cleaned. Many of the bronze plaques naming and describing the statues and sculptures had been removed.
The Polokwane Art Museum also curates 15 unique works of art produced from industrial material, which are displayed in the Industrial Art Park along Landdros Maré Street. This display commemorates the city’s significant industrial base.
A recent survey by Review among residents found that people were tolerant and said statues and sculptures, even from the Apartheid-era, should not be removed, as it was part of the country’s history.
