Reoccupying Hostel 33

Please join the staff of Lwandle Museum and women of Lwandle in symbolically reoccupying Hostel33 - Wednesday to Friday next week 28,29 and 30th April. In preparation for the Museum's 10th birthday on 1 May 2010, the museum will be exhibiting recreated living spaces in parts of the hostel as part of the experience of visiting the Hostel. Siboniwe Tyeku, Kholiswa Ngcane and Christine Makabane will be rejoining us all of whom were present for the reenactment of the space on Women's Day in 2007.

The Museum staff and exhibition team have been very busy collecting oral histories from previous residents and many, many artifacts (such as old beds and blankets or 'irugi's shown below) and we are now ready to begin the process of re-inhabiting the space to show, in more detail, how people lived - from the time of the single sex hostels to the later periods when women and families joined men in Lwandle.

The examples below show beds and blankets from the emerging collection, some of which are original (mainly through donations), others have been specially purchased for exhibition purposes after studying photographs and in consultation with people who lived in Hostel 33 and others.

These, along with other artifacts have been accessioned and meticulously recorded by Museum Staff, Simpiwe Khonono and Mphumzi Nzuzo.



Image of an old bed - we have collected many beds through the kind donation and interest of Lwandle residents. Photograph: Noeleen Murray.

'Irugi's' - typical blankets used by residents, research courtesy Nonkululeko Gogo and Jos Thorne. Photograph courtesy: Jos Thorne.


Images of blankets purchased after research to re-create life in Hostel 33. Photograph courtesy: Jos Thorne.



'Basotho' types of blankets with decorations became more popular purchases for township dwellers in recent years, since the 1990s. Photograph courtesy: Jos Thorne.

When? 10h00 each day
Where? at Hostel 33. For directions see http://www.lwandle.com/