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.

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!

Come listen, engage, ask questions and experience the power of stories in a space where so many stories live. 💙📍 Memoria...
01/09/2026

Come listen, engage, ask questions and experience the power of stories in a space where so many stories live. 💙

📍 Memorial Hall, District Six Museum
🕙 Starts at 10:00
📆4 - 5 September
📲 Scan the QR code on the poster to RSVP or follow link in bio

Whether you’re a reader, writer, student, educator or simply someone who believes in the importance of preserving and sharing stories — this day is for you.

Come for the books. Stay for the stories. Leave with something to remember.❤️

Featuring:


Sedick Crombie
Pat Fahrenfort
Patricia Schonstein Pinnock
Fakier Jessa



PUBLIC LECTURE INVITATIONBurn/t Out: The Legacy of Forced Displacement During North(ern) Ireland’s ‘Troubles’The Distric...
17/08/2026

PUBLIC LECTURE INVITATION

Burn/t Out: The Legacy of Forced Displacement During North(ern) Ireland’s ‘Troubles’

The District Six Museum and the Centre for Humanities Research (CHR) of the University of the Western Cape is pleased to invite you to a public lecture by Dr Brendan Ciarán Browne.

*

As a result of the outbreak of the ‘Troubles’ in North(ern) Ireland, approximately 45 - 60,000 people were forced from their homes, becoming “burnt out”. Those forced to leave their homes either crossed the border in Ireland and became refugees or stayed in North(ern) Ireland as internally displaced persons.

The lecture by Dr Browne, a visiting fellow at CHR, will reflect on how the narrative of violent displacement remains underappreciated in current narratives and memory work around the ‘Troubles’. He will be sharing insights into the work done with victims and survivors and reflect on some of the challenges that remain in dealing with this violent legacy.

For those of us in Cape Town, 60,000 people were forcibly removed from District Six alone, but violent displacement happened over centuries, through many laws and guises. This legacy remains part of the physical and emotional landscape of our country.

We hope you can join us in this lecture to engage with what displacement looks like elsewhere historically, and what this legacy looks like today.

Date: Tuesday, 25 August 2026
Time: 18h00 for 18h30
RSVP: [email protected]
Venue: District Six Homecoming Centre, 15 Buitenkant Street.

Congratulations to our beloved neighbours in the Methodist Church Complex in Buitenkant Street 🥳🥳🥳
05/08/2026

Congratulations to our beloved neighbours in the Methodist Church Complex in Buitenkant Street 🥳🥳🥳

The Museum was asked to speak at the opening of ‘District Six: People lived here’ - link to the reflection below. The p...
30/07/2026

The Museum was asked to speak at the opening of ‘District Six: People lived here’ - link to the reflection below.

The photographic exhibition features the images of Jansje Wissema, who, in the 1970s, was commissioned by the Cape Institute for Architecture to document District Six. She produced 500 images.

The exhibition is currently on display at the Cape Town Museum Memory Centre, housed at the Cape Medical Museum, in Portswood Road, Cape Town.

https://d6mwhatson.wordpress.com/2026/07/23/district-six-people-lived-here/

District Six photographed before the removal, c1970. Photographer: Jansje Wissema (Cape Institute for Architecture) The District Six Museum was asked to speak at the opening of ‘District Six:…

18/07/2026

Julle chatGPT posters gie ôsse oë conjunctivitis.

15/07/2026

Constitutional Court has ruled that the W...

15/07/2026
14/07/2026

We work to broaden access to well-located land and affordable housing. Through our campaigns, Ndifuna Ukwazi combines community organising, research, advocacy and litigation to advance urban land justice and fuel systemic change.

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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