Robben Island and the Culture of Reconstruction in South Africa

Bibliographic Data

ID4052901
AuthorsAndor Skotnes
Year2023
Volume2023
Issue146
Pages178-202
Publication date2023-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueRadical History Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0163-6545 • E-ISSN: 1534-1453
PublisherDuke University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1215/01636545-10302947
OpenAlexW4377965244
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited1

On the fifth anniversary of Nelson Mandela's release after twenty-seven years in political prison, and nine months after his election as South Africa's president, his new government and its allies held an important event. On February 11, 1995, 1,200 ex-political prisoners traveled to Cape Town for the Robben Island Reunion. The first day was held at the former maximum-security prison, the site of subjugation and struggle for many of the participants. The day culminated with a creative happening, as the former prisoners enthusiastically smashed rocks in the Limestone Quarry, negating this once oppressive labor and transforming it into an affirmation of freedom. On ensuing days, the reunion celebrated and demanded support for the ex-prisoners and set Robben Island on the path to becoming the country's first national peoples' museum and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Drawing on oral histories and photographs, this article examines the museum's process of becoming and its subsequent trajectory in the continuing struggle for liberation

Ancient history · Archaeology · Art history · Cape · Happening · Performance art · Political science · Politics · Prison · Sociology · African history and culture studies · History · Law · Legal Issues in South Africa · South African History and Culture

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