Heritage Day at the District Six Museum promises to be a varied and exciting programme. It is dedicated to celebrating some of the many dynamic elements which contribute towards our vibrant and diverse cultural heritage.
One of the Museum’s major thrusts for the past year has been towards increasing and sustaining local visitors, partnerships and programme participants. Physical engagement with the actual site of District Six, cultural activities and performances, site narratives and intergenerational activities: these are some of the key components of the programme for the day. Some of the activities have been scheduled to take place simultaneously.
At 10h00 an ex-resident led site walk will start from the Museum. The narrative will focus on visual markers on the site, and will particularly take in the mural on the wall of the Holy Cross Church – res clamant (the earth cries out) – linking it to the mural in the Museum – No matter where we are, we are here. Both murals were painted by artist and founder trustee of the Museum, Peggy Delport, and they tell a very special story. This walk is scheduled to last for approximately one hour.
From 10h00 to 14h00 a series of activities will take place at the Moravian Chapel on the Hill, just behind the Cape University of Technology. Embroidery and kite-making workshops will involve both young and old. A kite-releasing ritual at the memorial cairn of stones – located in the last remnant portion of the old Hanover Street which is well-known to ex-residents – will have special messages attached to them. The kite-making is meant to recall neighbourhood games and childhood activities in District Six at its peak- an opportunity for intergenerational conversation about pastimes. One of the Museum’s partner organisations, PeaceJam- will be launching a calendar that some of their young people have been working on for the past year. It is themed as Slavery – then and now and it showcases the research, oral history and design work done by the young people. Another of the Museum’s partners – the Cape Cultural Collective (CCC) – will also be part of this range of activities. The CCC consists of a number of performers: poets, singers, dancers and musicians who have been involved in monthly collaborative performances at the Museum since 2008.
While all of this is taking place, various high school bands will be involved with master classes with some of South Africa’s jazz legends, and will also have the opportunity to perform with them. This initiative is being led by music students from UCT’s College of Music who have formed a team called RYTHM- Reaching Youth Through Music- and has been undertaken in partnership with the Museum. At 15h00 in the afternoon a special concert for young people in particular, will take place at the Museum. They will have the opportunity to meet and play with well-known artists such as Feya Faku, Hilton Schilder, Errol Dyers, Robbie Jansen, Mac Mackenzie and others.
The ex-residents’ membership club – The Seven Steps Club – was launched on Heritage Day 2008, and the one hundred or so signed up members will be centrally involved with the programme
