In terms of the Cultural Institutions Act, 1998 (Act 119 of 1998), the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Mr G McKenzie invites members of the heritage fraternity and the general public to nominate persons to serve as members of Council of the following Cultural Institutions:

• William Humphreys Art Gallery (Kimberly, Northern Cape)
• National Museum (Bloemfontein, Free State)
• KwaZulu-Natal Museum (Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal)

Nominated candidates should possess a broad understanding and experience in the field of heritage; managerial; financial expertise; legal; marketing and liaison; fundraising; education and cultural/social research; corporate governance, as well as a willingness to render community service. The remuneration of the appointed nominees is in line with the remuneration scheme of the National Treasury guidelines as prescribed in the Cultural Institutions Act as amended.

Anyone wishing to nominate persons to serve as members of Council of the aforementioned Cultural Institutions should submit the following:

1. A letter containing full names, address, and telephone numbers of the nominee, giving reasons for nomination.
2. Recently updated Curriculum Vitae of the nominee, including three contactable references.
3. A brief statement signed by the nominee accepting the nomination and explaining his/her suitability for appointment.
4. Certified copies of qualifications and ID document.

No nomination will be considered unless all of the above are included. Correspondence will only be entered into with shortlisted candidates. Should you not be contacted within three (3) months from the closing date, consider your nomination unsuccessful. Suitability and background checks may be conducted prior to the appointment of recommended candidates.

Nominations are to reach the office of the Acting Director-General of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture by 28 October 2024.

Nominations are to be submitted by e-mail as follows:

• William Humphreys Art Gallery: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

• National Museum: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

• KwaZulu-Natal Museum: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Telephonic enquiries Mr B Dlamini on 012 441 3265

A Separate Nomination must be submitted for each Institution and the Name of the Public Entity must be stated in the Subject Line of the Email

Read all about the September happenings in the Museum in our latest newsletter!

120 Years in 120 Objects

Join the KwaZulu-Natal Museum in celebrating the museum’s 120^th year of orbiting the sun. Staff and guest curators have chosen one object or item per year of our existence to highlight to the public. Visit the website and our social media platforms regularly to see the latest object and keep an eye out for information about a physical exhibition later this year!

Today’s Object is from 1964

Orphaned but not Forgotten by Matabaro Ziganira, Research Technician, General Collections

As a long-lived research and collections institution, the KwaZulu-Natal Museum has many orphaned collections in the Department of Natural Science. ‘Orphaned’ simply means that there is no current dedicated specialist curator assigned to oversee the collection. The Arachnida collection, which comprises ticks and mites mounted on slides and complete specimens, among others is one of the most valuable collections in the museum. With more than 3000 specimens, the slide collection presents a rich diversity of localities of southern and eastern Africa as well as Madagascar. Established by Dr Reginald Frederick Lawrence, former Director of the Natal Museum from 1935 to 1964, the slide collection has remained an important tool for research in South Africa serving both academia and primary industry. When collections become orphaned they tend to remain static and do not grow; it is only once a specialist curator is appointed to oversee the collection that new energy is breathed into collecting, researching and exhibiting a collection.