Medu Art Ensemble Consolidation Project
Archive Overview
MEDU ONLINE places in the public domain the archives of Medu Art Ensemble, a collective of cultural activists and art-makers whose creative cultural work inspired and mobilized people’s engagement in South Africa’s liberation movement. Medu Online provides basic historical information and archival records about Medu’s work, using material mostly collected from personal collections of surviving Medu members. A reference group of Medu members ensures that the online resource accurately reflects the history.
University of the Witwatersrand Historical Papers Research Archive
MEDU ART ENSEMBLE was formed by South Africa exiles in Gaborone, Botswana, in 1978. The organisation produced a wealth of creative work across all major art-forms; the group further played a key role in shaping aesthetic and cultural theory and praxis within Africanist and liberation struggles. On June 14 1985, the South African Defence Force attacked the homes of Medu members and other activists in Gaborone, killing 12 people; Medu as an organisation ceased to exist.
Organization WebsiteType of entity
Archival consolidation project implemented by an activist archive in collaboration with former members of the organisation, and other institutions.
Activities to which holdings relate
Research
System of arangement
Organisational Background, Medu Posters, Medu Newsletter, Medu Cultural Work, Culture and Resistance Conference, Medu Member Collections, Post-Medu Art Ensemble.
Finding Aids
Digitised materialise searchable by series, as detailed under Categories in this spreadsheet, or by creator. It can also be searched by keyword across the multi institutional digital repository.
Searchability
The online archive can be browed or searched online via the Wits Research Archive. Users can browse and search by keyword across all collections in the multi-institutional repository, or within individual collections. Results can be narrowed by: Archival Institution, Creator, Name, Place, Subject, Level of description, and Media Type. An Advanced Search function allows users to filter by field: Title, Archival History, Scope and Content. Users can also choose to limit information to Repository and Top Level Description or filter results by y: Level of Description, Digital Object Available, Finding Aid, Copyright Status, All Top Level or Descriptions, and Date Range, Extent and Medium, Subject Access Points, Name Access Points, Place Access Points, Genre Access Points, Identifier, Access Code, Digital Object Text, Creator, Finding Aid Text, and Any Text Except Finding Aid.
Conditions of use
The collective process was a fundamental factor in Medu work, as well as the way in which individual artists changed and grew within the collective. The work of the Medu Art Ensemble that is displayed on the project website as part of the Consolidation Project, particularly Medu posters, are available for reproduction under the South African Creative Commons Copyright legislation. This stipulates that such items are free to use for educational, historical, cultural and not-for-profit use. If the use of an image or poster does not fit under the "educational, historical, cultural purposes", or is primarily for-profit, respective charges apply and permission must be obtained from the Medu Art Ensemble Project.
Address
University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Phone
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Main Contact
Acting Head / Archivist
Gabi Mohale
+27 11 717 1940