District Six Museum

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 achievemen

t 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.

Last week Thursday our Seven Steps Members had the privilege and joy of meeting with members of the Kensington Home of t...
21/05/2026

Last week Thursday our Seven Steps Members had the privilege and joy of meeting with members of the Kensington Home of the Aged.

We handed over the beautiful knitting and crocheted items that came out of the Kewpie Knitting and Crochet Circle project. A spirited group effort with novice and expert knitters helping each other along.

Thank you Kensington Home for the Aged for regaling us with so many stories, and sharing of themselves. We learnt that they are expert knitters themselves and that that they have a choir, so challenge accepted!

We love Kewpie for all she represents, and in this moment her kindness, love and care for others was felt in the room. She is a stalwart of the struggle. She is Mother. She is Love 🌷

15/05/2026
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.

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

13/04/2026

It has been 60 years since District Six was declared “Whites Only,” leading to the forced removal of over 60,000 residents. The Kewpie Collection is one of the shards that we have been left with by the fracturing of this vital community. Salon Kewpie: The Legacy Project works with District Six Museum to remember District Six in its full kaleidoscopic complexity.

As we witness the continued repetition of these same colonial mechanisms, at a time when Black and Indigenous q***r and trans people are facing a global assault on our lives, this work is more important than ever.

As we build up towards the 2026 Salon Kewpie Legacy Ball, we remember its important history.

Tickets for the ball can be purchased here: https://www.quicket.co.za/events/361407-salon-kewpie-the-legacy-ball-2026/ #/

Thank you to Friends of Cuba Society (FOCUS) for a meaningful programme this past Monday.
25/03/2026

Thank you to Friends of Cuba Society (FOCUS) for a meaningful programme this past Monday.

A reflection on Alex La Guma, Cuito Cuanavale and Cuba’s role in Southern African liberation, marking two centenaries and a shared struggle.

Staff at the Museum are from the 1976 generation and some were children in the last decade of apartheid. We have born-f...
21/03/2026

Staff at the Museum are from the 1976 generation and some were children in the last decade of apartheid. We have born-frees and now Gen Z brings new worlds into the mix none of us recognise.Some were born in the era of television, others have been streaming information since they were in the womb.

But we still find ourselves not clearly knowing what Sharpeville means for all of us.

Sharpeville Day became Human Rights Day in the transition to democracy. Some things were included in this change and other experiences were left out.

In 1960 69 South Africans participating in a peaceful campaign of defiance against the pass laws were shot and killed. Many were injured. Sharpeville was a rallying point for the anti-apartheid struggle.

One of our favourite images is that of a young PAC organiser, Philip Kgosana, marching down Buitenkant Street in defiance, and in support of those who experienced the massacre a few days before. He was not alone.

Perhaps we need to go back to Sharpeville Day. We are losing some things in translation.

Wherever you find yourself today, talk to each other about this day.



Slamat to all our family, friends and colleagues who celebrate today, and those who celebrate tomorrow.We look forward t...
20/03/2026

Slamat to all our family, friends and colleagues who celebrate today, and those who celebrate tomorrow.

We look forward to two bakkies barakat!

🌼

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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