District Six Museum

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District Six Museum The District Six Museum, established in December 1994, works with the memories and histories of forc
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Up until the 1970s, District Six was home to almost a tenth of the city of Cape Town’s population. In 1966, the apartheid government, as it had done in Sophiatown in 1957, declared District Six “white”. More than 60,000 people were forcibly uprooted and relocated onto the barren plains of the Cape Flats. Over a century of history, of community life, of solidarity amongst the poor and of achievement against great odds, was imperiled. The District Six Museum Foundation was established in 1989 and launched as a museum in 1994 to keep alive the memories of District Six and displaced people everywhere. It came into being as a vehicle for advocating social justice, as a space for reflection and contemplation and as an institution for challenging the distortions and half-truths which propped up the history of Cape Town and South Africa. As an independent space where the forgotten understandings of the past are resuscitated, where different interpretations of that past are facilitated through its collections, exhibitions and education programmes, the Museum is committed to telling the stories of forced removals and assisting in the reconstitution of the community of District Six and Cape Town by drawing on a heritage of non-racialism, non-sexism, anti-class discrimination and the encouragement of debate.

12/10/2026
An amazing Heritage Day with a strong community of District Sixers, youth from Institute for Healing of Memories's Res...
01/10/2026

An amazing Heritage Day with a strong community of District Sixers, youth from Institute for Healing of Memories's Restoring Humanity group, partners from our Junior Movie Club, Ikhufu, and many more.

Thank you to Bonfire Freestyle Theatre Company for enacting our stories so wonderfully and with power. We were enthralled.

Klopse by the Western Cape Street Bands Association, led by the indomitable Melvyn Matthews... (If you know, you know!)

We hope Heritage month was joyful, complex and filled with stories.

D6 Heritage Month celebrations continue on Sunday, 27 September!
25/09/2026

D6 Heritage Month celebrations continue on Sunday, 27 September!

HERITAGE DAY AT THE DISTRICT SIX MUSEUMRe-membering District Six: Building a Future Heritage Earlier in the year, on 11 ...
21/09/2026

HERITAGE DAY AT THE DISTRICT SIX MUSEUM

Re-membering District Six: Building a Future Heritage

Earlier in the year, on 11 February, we marked 60 years since District Six was declared a White Group Area. Since then the Museum has explored questions of what it means to return to District Six – how do we reconnect with and reimagine community? Where are the 60 000 families who were forcibly removed? What do we hand over to the next generation?

From 11am, join us for a community arts day focused on ‘making your mark’ for District Six and exploring these questions through the arts. 💥

At 2pm Bonfire Freestyle Theatre Company will take the stories of District Six & develop them into live improvised theatre! 💥💥

Heritage month is a time when many people reconnect to their community and family histories. Join us as we celebrate the diverse communities and histories that make up our present! ❤️

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For South Africans, entrance to the Museum is free on Heritage Day. For us this includes those from the breadth of our continent who have chosen to call South Africa home.



To celebrate 50 years of the Hanover Park Library, our education team and Museum storytellers will be on site at the lib...
15/09/2026

To celebrate 50 years of the Hanover Park Library, our education team and Museum storytellers will be on site at the library from 9.30am – 3pm, until 17 September, to share stories and lessons from District Six. The exhibition will remain on display until 25 September. ❤️❤️❤️




Spend A Day With An Author - line up for tomorrow, Saturday 5 September!
04/09/2026

Spend A Day With An Author - line up for tomorrow, Saturday 5 September!

In collaboration with the District Six Museum and the GALA Q***r Archive, Salon Kewpie warmly invites you to our third a...
13/04/2026

In collaboration with the District Six Museum and the GALA Q***r Archive, Salon Kewpie warmly invites you to our third annual panel discussion, taking place at the Homecoming Centre this Wednesday 15th April at 6pm.

Together, our speakers will delve into the Kewpie Collection, its vital legacies, and our 2026 theme, care, unpacking the embodied, legal, and collective practices of care that are so important to the work of liberating and empowering our communities.

The panel will feature actor and intimacy co-ordinator Loren Loubser, Director Liberty Matthyse, Amava Oluntu Director Zaid Philander, and Kewpie Collection researcher Ruth Ramsden-Karelse.

🩷🩷🩷

Register for your free ticket at
https://www.quicket.co.za/events/361408-salon-kewpie-the-panel-discussion-2026

Address

25A Buitenkant Street
Cape Town
8001

Opening Hours

Monday 09:00 - 16:00
Tuesday 09:00 - 16:00
Wednesday 09:00 - 16:00
Thursday 09:00 - 16:00
Friday 09:00 - 16:00

Telephone

+27214667200

Website

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