Cape Town Museum

27/05/2026

Last week Friday, the Cape Town Museum and the Cape Medical Museum hosted a speech competition at the Cape Medical Museum premises in Green Point. Fifteen students from different schools around Cape Town participated. The event was held in celebration of International Museum Day, with this year’s theme being “Museums Uniting a Divided World”.

In line with this theme, participating learners were asked to prepare a speech that looked at how museums can help people learn about different cultures, and develop respect and empathy for other cultures. The speeches were inspiring and insightful as learners shared their thoughtful perspectives on the power of museums to unite people.

Well done to all the participants, and a special congratulations to the three winners:
1st Place: Hlumelo Tshingana from Harry Gwala High School
2nd Place: Amda Lupuzi from Harry Gwala High School
3rd Place: Sanele Tebane from Sinenjongi High School

The winning learners, together with winners from the Lwandle Museum and SA Sendinggestig Museum, will compete in the regional speech competition in August.

18/05/2026

Today, we celebrate International Museum Day and the transformative role museums can play in society. The theme for this year is “Museums Uniting a Divided World”. It highlights the potential of museums to act as bridges across cultural, social, and geopolitical divides, fostering dialogue, understanding, and peace within and between communities worldwide.

This is because museums are able to create conditions in which differences can be understood and handled with respect: by safeguarding heritage and memory, offering learning and reflection, and providing welcoming spaces where diverse voices can be heard.

One of the key missions of the Cape Town Museum is to celebrate the diverse histories and personal stories of the people of Cape Town. We believe strongly in the power of museums to bring people together, with much of our work seeking to bridge the cultural, social, and spatial divides that still exist in Cape Town today.

Visit our online exhibitions that highlight the stories and histories of some of Cape Town’s communities https://tinyurl.com/ycw6wrhn or contribute to the Cape Town Museum Mapping project https://tinyurl.com/my6s3jv6 which maps the memories and stories of Cape Town’s diverse communities.

11/05/2026

10/05/2026

The Cape Town Museum would like to wish all mothers, grandmothers and maternal figures a Happy Mother’s Day. In celebration of those who nurture, care for and guide our children - the future of South Africa, here is a selection of artworks from the Cape Town Museum collection that speak to the theme of motherhood. This is just a small fraction of the Cape Town Museum’s art collection, which comprises over 800 artworks by well-known and lesser-known South African artists.

Featured art:
Bongani Shange, “Mother - Save the Children” (1979)
Mawande Mthini, “Mother and Child” (1989)
Walter Battiss, “Mothers and Children” (date unknown)
Tyrone Appollis, “Mother and Child” (1987)
Amos Langdown, “Two Women with Babies” (1992)
Hargreaves Ntukwana, “Women Carrying a Child” (date unknown)
Billy Mandindi, “Mother of the Twins” (1994)

24/04/2026

The Friends of the Cape Town Museum is a voluntary, membership-based group and a key stakeholder in the Cape Town Museum project. They seek to serve as an important link between the Cape Town Museum and the community, ensuring that the community are participants and not just our audience. Membership is free and simply a great opportunity to be part of the process of shaping the Cape Town Museum’s narrative.

To sign up to the Friends, visit https://www.capetownmuseum.org.za/friends-of-ctm If you are interested in becoming an executive committee member, we’d also love to hear from you. You can contact us via the email found on the same link.

20/04/2026

Applications are invited for the following two Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) beneficiary positions at the SA Sendinggestig Museum:
- Governance & Administration: Administrative Support to Facilities and Asset Manager
- Heritage & Tourism: Designer for Marketing/Campaign Materials and Tourism Infrastructure

Location of work: Western Cape Museum Services, Cape Town, CBD
Contract period: until 31 March 2027
Closing date for applications: 24 April 2026 at 16:00.

For more details on the positions and the application process, see https://tinyurl.com/4p4ky6tx

02/04/2026

If you or your family attend/ed the Sendinggestig Church in Long Street, please join us to share your stories and memories at an upcoming storytelling workshop. Registration closes on Wednesday, April 8. For more information and to register, go to https://tinyurl.com/yyu2t85t

27/03/2026

If District One is part of your family's history, please join us to share your stories and memories at this upcoming storytelling workshop on Saturday, 11 April. Registration closes on Tuesday, 31 March 2026. For more information and to register, see https://tinyurl.com/3hh4xmwv

24/03/2026

In commemoration of Human Rights Day, the Cape Town Museum, in partnership with the Lwandle Migrant Labour Museum, hosted a group of high school learners from Lwandle for a dialogue on human rights. The event took place at the Cape Town Museum Walk-in Centre in Long Street.

The dialogue explored the history and significance of human rights, as well as the responsibility that goes hand in hand with these rights. In particular, it focused on the rights of learners in the context of the abolishment of corporal punishment in schools. It looked at how this achievement in the fight for children’s rights has, in some cases, led to children taking advantage of these hard-won rights by being disrespectful and sometimes even abusive towards teachers.

The discussion was facilitated by history teacher and human rights activist, Ziyanda Madiya, and staff from both participating museums. Needless to say, it was a very lively discussion, and everyone left with a better appreciation of their human rights and the need to respect, protect, and fulfil these rights for oneself and others.

19/03/2026

Way back before Long Street became part of the modern cityscape, the Sendinggestig Church was a central pillar in a vibrant, diverse community, and its story is interwoven with the very fabric of Cape Town's spiritual and social history. For centuries, this space served as a home for faith, family, and connection until the landscape changed, and it became the museum we know today.

The Sendinggestig Museum, the Cape Town Museum, and Find Your Roots South Africa (a project of Heritage Matters SA) are organising a workshop to reclaim the stories of the Sendinggestig Church and ensure they are remembered. We are inviting you to share the stories that live in your family's records and personal recollections - stories of baptisms, membership, community life, and moments that make up the real history of this remarkable place. Join us as we work together to ensure these invaluable family and church legacies are not just preserved as history, but honoured and celebrated by generations to come.

Where: Sendinggestig Church, 40 Long Street, Cape Town CBD
When: Saturday 18 April, 2026
Time: 10am to 3pm
For more information and to register, go to https://tinyurl.com/yyu2t85t