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This year is the African Union year for Arts, Culture and Heritage. This week the African Experts’ virtual meeting on Sites of Memory and World Heritage Convention in Africa and Inter-Ministerial Meeting is taking place.
While this high-level discussion occurs, on the ground we are sadly witnessing the collapse or near collapse of key museums and heritage institutions in South Africa.
These include Robben Island Museum, which is reportedly cutting salaries to make ends meet; the District Six Museum, which has escaped an immediate crisis through its Love Letters campaign that has raised more than R1-million; the Apartheid Museum, which has temporarily closed its doors for financial reasons; the Liliesleaf Heritage Site, which is battling to survive financially; and the Fugard Theatre, which has survived from the philanthropy of one founding donor and ticket sales.