The changing face of art in South Africa

During the 1980s, the fight against apartheid reached its peak. For many artists, playwrights, writers and musicians, the act of creation became a political one. This ‘cultural struggle’ was symbolised by images of defiance painted on walls, portrayed on stages and printed on t-shirts and badges. Art became a weapon in the struggle to make people aware of the realities of South African society under apartheid.

The struggle of apartheid through South African art

What made this aspect of the cultural struggle so successful was its accessibility to a broader public. A public not used to seeing art unless it was hung upon gallery walls. Now coffee mugs, placemats, badges and walls have become the new medium for anti-apartheid messages.

Today, with apartheid a thing of the past, these artworks serve as corner stones of a thriving, independent crafts industry.