IZIKO Bo-Kaap Museum under the cover with Ed Beukes
Treasuring tales of old on the border of the city centre are the colourful Bo-Kaap houses with cobbled stone streets and porches overlooking Table Mountain. At the top of Wale Street is a house dating back to 1760, and in this house, the story of the people unfold in the Bo-Kaap Museum.
IZIKO Bo-Kaap Museum was officially opened in 1978 after the Cape Dutch residence which is now home to the museum was restored in the 1970’s. Located at 71 Wale Street in Cape Town, it remains in walking distance from historical buildings found in lower Wale Street.
It continues to colour in the history and heritage of a people group that once lived in the Bo-Kaap and after generations still inhabit this neighbourhood at the foot of Lion’s Head.
After paying my R10 entrance fee, I was quickly drawn into a story of black and white prints with hints of colour as an array of typically worn Kaapse Klopse ‘gear’ shone in silky splendour through a display cabinet in the first room. Thereafter I was transfixed to the walls, drinking in more pictures and reading about the history of a Muslim community, about a people who lived with passion and were proud to share where they came from on the walls of the IZIKO Bo-Kaap Museum.
Furthermore I was pleasantly surprised to find a community centre at the back of the IZIKO Bo-Kaap Museum which was added in 1994 and is used for teaching, conferences, displays, gatherings and an official meeting place for some of the local groups who practise for the annual Minstrel Festival on the 2nd of January. Alongside the centre there is also a small courtyard at the back of the museum and while covered with umbrellas and cool shade, it remains the perfect place for a quick refreshment.
When walking down the veranda steps to my car, pensively, it dawned on me again; We are all part of one history and we are all part of one future with stories yet to be unfold. What will those generations read about in years to come when they see our faces, read our names and look at our portraits against walls (or on computer screens)? Will we be remembered as a people who loved? As a people who lived? As a people who still had the time among a rat race of events to stop and appreciate one another?
Still in deep thought, I drove off loving the sense of purpose that museums bring to me. I like to look upon the past and realize that each step I take, is a step in another unwritten story of the future where I can influence change no matter how small.
Where to go:
71 Wale Street, Cape Town
When to go:
Monday – Saturday 10h00 -17h00
Closed: Sundays, Eid ul Fitr, Eid ul Adha, Workers’ Day, Christmas Day and 2nd of January.
Entry Fee: Adults R10
Images & content: Ed Beukes