Michaelis 100: objects, images and anecdotes

“This is not an art exhibition – it is an exhibition about those who make art and those who make artists.”

This is the beginning of the text that greets you as you enter the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Michaelis School of Fine Art 100th-year celebration exhibition, 100 years: 100 objects. It is curated by Associate Professor Fritha Langerman and is available at the Michaelis Galleries, Hiddingh campus, until 8 October (weekdays from 09:00 to 16:00).

Associate Professor Langerman had to grapple with how to present a long and complicated history through art and objects. “My starting point was to invite staff over the years to participate in the exhibition, and to think about an object or artefact that told some story – or a part – of the Michaelis School. Many people responded with enthusiasm,” she said. “For every year, I tried to find an image or an object that told a little bit of that story.

“Some of the works we have are from anti-apartheid protests, where students blockaded the streets outside Michaelis and I think it would be interesting for some of the current students to see the parallels to protests that happened in 2015/16. It is the same space, but different politics and a different agenda.”

She added: “This space has always been about activism.”

Over the years, more than 4 000 people have passed through its studios, each leaving a mark – whether in artistic invention, critical discourse, or the shared memories, both challenging and inspiring, that define the school’s legacy. Michaelis has not been without tensions and conflicts, yet it has also been a space where students and staff have reshaped the South African art landscape, fought for social justice, and generated creative possibilities and solutions in a complex social environment.

The wall text, in part, continues: “This is a light-touch exhibition. Many stories are yet to emerge, and some inaccuracies may persist. This is a growing Michaelis archive.”

Conflicts, resilience, imagination

Langerman said: “I thought it was important for us as a school to acknowledge the history, which hasn’t been an easy one. Many students who were at the school in the 1960s and 1970s look back with a particular pain, but increasingly, the spirit of the school has changed.

“We are not only commemorating a century; we are reckoning with it.”

“There is reason to celebrate who we are now and all the people who have been through the school over a passage of time. We’ve had incredible graduates who have come through the programme. We are one of the best art schools in the country.”

Professor Shose Kessi, Faculty of Humanities dean, said the exhibition was about opening memory and stories. “We are not only commemorating a century; we are reckoning with it. Michaelis has always been more than a place of creation – it has been a site of questioning, experimentation, and of struggle.”

She continued: “The story of this school has not always been simple. It carries tension and conflicts alongside resilience and imagination. It has always carried difficult questions. Art is not just about producing beautiful objects; it’s about imagining futures and creating space for voices that have been silenced.”

Former longtime staffer Peggy Delport was also in attendance to witness the opening day: “Art [in this space] is for students to create a language that is authentically their own. This was always the exciting thing for me working with students. It was about developing their visual language, their form and their way of thinking.”