Iziko is offering free entry to selected programmes at facilities including the Iziko South African National Gallery, Slave Lodge and Bo Kaap Museum, and half-price entry to the Iziko Planetarium until Saturday. Iziko operates 11 national museums.
It should be noted that the free entry and half-price entry is only available this Saturday (18 May).
This global initiative was developed by the International Council of Museums in 1977 and seeks to raise awareness around the role museums play in cultural exchange, the enrichment of cultures, and co-operation and peace among people.
In 2018, more than 40000 museums participated in the event in about 158 countries.
Programmes audiences can see include a pop-up exhibition of
edible insects at the Iziko South African Museum, a “behind-the-scenes” tour of the Iziko Social History Centre,
exhibitions by the Iziko Mobile Museum at locations around the greater Cape Town region, and tours of the Iziko Bo-Kaap Museum.
Iziko Museums acting director
Melody Kleinsmith said: “The Iziko Mobile Museum will take the ‘museum without walls’ to communities who may not normally have the opportunity to physically visit the museum.
“The mobile museum will be at the Multipurpose Centre of Marine Primary, Ocean View, tomorrow, and at the school library, Simon’s Town Primary, on Friday.”
“On Saturday, Iziko’s programme of events will run between 9am and 4pm, and will include a number of half-price screenings at the Iziko Planetarium and Digital Dome.
“A live insect and spider display, dance performances, and face-painting activities will all take place in the Iziko South African Museum.
“An interactive ‘water is life’ activity takes place in the H2O Today exhibition space, also at the Iziko South African Museum,” she said.
The City’s Arts and Culture Department will also host two events to celebrate Museum Day at the Guga S’thebe Cultural Centre in Langa on Friday - where a new exhibition will be handed over to the Old Langa Post Office by the South African Post Office - and in Bellville on May 30.
Mayco member for Community Services and Health, Zahid Badroodien said: “This commemorative day serves as a platform for raising public awareness on the role museums play in the improvement of society on an international level.
“The role of museums is changing and they have to become more interactive, mobile, audience-focused, community-oriented and flexible.”
For more information visit: www.iziko.org.za and twitter @Iziko_Museums