The exhibition, born from over a decade of research by Rasha Salti and Kristine Khouri, traces its origins to the investigation of the 1978 International Art Exhibition for Palestine in Beirut.
Many artist networks from around the world collaborated to create works for this pivotal event to raise awareness about the Palestinian struggle.
Salti and Khouri's research unearthed similar movements, including 'Artists Against Apartheid' and 'Art for the People of Nicaragua,' alongside the International Museum of The Resistance's homage to Salvador Allende.
Through diverse mediums such as documents, photographs, pamphlets, press clippings, posters, interviews and videos, the exhibition weaves together multiple narratives, offering a comprehensive exploration of historical solidarity movements and their enduring impact.
Master’s student Sindisa Monakali was inspired by how the lived experiences of those who had resisted human rights atrocities were showcased.
“It was an amazing experience to see how this exhibition had travelled around the world, exhibiting material from Palestine, Chile and South Africa, and how contemporary histories interact with the past.”
The first edition of the exhibition took place in Barcelona in 2015, then in Berlin, the following year and the third was produced in Beirut.
The latest iteration, according to the Zeitz Mocca website, “brings home stories of international solidarity in the arts with the struggle against Apartheid and has provided the opportunity to access local archives and to engage with militants, historians, and scholars, and create an additional chapter that foregrounds the vibrant resonance of local militant artistic practice from the 1970s and 1980s with kin practices worldwide”.
In 2022, The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) and UWC initiated a year-long fellowship programme developed to educate a new generation of art and museum professionals in Africa.
The programme aims to contribute towards a redefinition of curatorial practice as well as art history scholarship on contemporary art discourse from the continent.
This pan-African museum fellowship programme is jointly supported by Zeitz MOCAA, Africa No Filter and AKO Foundation as funders.
