On May 10, 1994, Nelson Mandela became the first democratically elected president of South Africa, marking the end of decades of systematic and legalized racial segregation known as apartheid. This installation commemorates the thirtieth anniversary of the end of apartheid through a presentation of South African prints and works on paper from the High’s collection. The eight artists featured make observations about South African social and cultural life, employing their art to resist, witness, and reflect.
Many of these artists attended the Rorke’s Drift Art and Craft Centre. Since apartheid policies excluded or otherwise limited Black artists from attending university art programs, informal art schools such as Rorke’s Drift offered an alternative. Founded by evangelical Lutheran missionaries in rural KwaZulu-Natal province, it was renowned for its printmaking program.