Reimagining Heritage, Archives and Museums: Today/Tomorrow Day 1 – Albie Sachs introducing the ‘Reimagining Museums and Cultural Institutions for a New Era’ Discussion

The Reimagining Heritage, Archives and Museums: Today/Tomorrow convening took place from 13th to 15th February 2024 at the Homecoming Centre in Cape Town.

Showing us the power of words in reflecting on history and formulating institutional systems for a new era of heritage, archives and museums, MC Lebo Mashile performed her iconic poem We Were Travellers, before Albie Sachs’ introduction to the panel discussion Reimagining Museums and Cultural Institutions for a New Era.

Justice Albie Sachs is an activist, writer, lawyer and former judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. In his introduction, Justice Sachs reflects on (and scores) the Robben Island Museum, the District Six Museum, the Apartheid Museum, Freedom Park and a few other South African heritage spaces. His address was a reminder of the initial hopes and dreams, and the efforts it takes to ensure that a museum lives up to its purpose and true potential. The introduction was also a reminder of the disheartenment that comes from fallen cultural projects. Justice Sachs shared the Constitutional Court’s history and power, and that there is emotion and liveliness to the space, in addition to its important legal and societal purposes.

Watch the video below to hear Justice Sachs’ stories and to look under the curtain of contemporary South African memory-keeping and heritage preservation.