‘Interruptions’ Poster Exhibition

WORDS Debbie Loots

There’s a selection of striking resistance posters on show at the Open Design Festival that not only celebrates the essence of the festival, Design is for Change, but also marks our 20 years of democracy.

What makes it even more special is that it’s exhibited in the place where Nelson Mandela made his first public speech after his release from prison in 1990 – Cape Town’s City Hall.

This collection of handmade posters tells the story of hundreds of brave South Africans who risked prosecution during the apartheid years when they took to design to help bring about change.

Selected from the University of the Western Cape’s (UWC) Community Arts Project Archive, these images were created by everyday South African citizens, all secretly part of various anti-apartheid organisations, in collaboration with artists aligned with their cause.

Titled Interruptions: Posters from the Community Arts Project Archive and curated by Emile Maurice on behalf of the Centre for Humanities Research at UWC, the posters were mostly displayed in townships and at political rallies and meetings, enlivening outdoor areas and depicting historical moments such as June 16 and Sharpeville, as well as fallen anti-apartheid heroes like Solomon Mahlangu and Ashley Kriel. Often they were enjoyed purely for their colourful visual appeal, on walls in homes.

The exhibition aims to get people talking about the relationship between politics and art-making, and so create awareness and participation in post-apartheid South Africa.

Here’s everything you need to know about Open Design Cape Town, running until 23 August 2014.