News | Works of Art Collection

Discover the UCT Works of Art Collection (WOAC), a lively presence in university life, showcased through the committee’s initiatives, events and exhibitions held on and off campus.

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Khumbula/Philanathi: performing memory/archives

VIDEO: Khumbula/Philanathi remember/heal

A processional performance of remembrance. Khumbula/Philanathi seeks to crack the concrete of collective amnesia, allowing buried memories to resurface and reclaim their space.

screenshot of the video footage of Exuberance – A Performance Celebration

VIDEO: Exuberance – A Performance Celebration

The University of Cape Town has for many years benefited hugely from Professor Jay Pather sharing his immense scholarship and practice as an award-winning curator, choreographer and director.

UCT art collection: more than décor

Students spend a lot of time on campus wondering what they should be doing. Luckily, the University of Cape Town (UCT) supplies lots of art to catch the eye in times of boredom.

Vibrant tribute to Prof Jay Pather’s transformative artistry

The stage belonged once again to Professor Jay Pather – this time not as performer or director, but as the honoured guest of a moving celebration. Laughter lit up his face as performers transformed the University of Cape Town’s...

The UCT art collection: past and present

From the sculptures you see as you eat your lunch to the photographs you rush past to get to a tutorial – there’s a lot more to each piece of art around the University of Cape Town (UCT) campus than just aesthetics.

IN THE MEDIA: Varsity Newspaper

I, like most students, spend a lot of time on campus avoiding the things I should be doing. Luckily enough, the university has been kind enough to supply ample items to look at while you’re bored or amid procrastination in the form of...

The art of transformation

During the 2015 Rhodes Must Fall protests, students raised concerns that the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) art collection lacked representation and did not reflect institutional transformation. In response, UCT formed...

artwork depicting person in student uniform balancing books on head

Thirty years of freedom: Transforming UCT’s art collection

“Art speaks beyond what we can say verbally. It allows us to address pertinent, worldly issues that we simply don’t have the words for and view them through a very different lens. So, by transforming the University...

Crew installing artwork on university campus

VIDEO: Art and transformation: UCT’s vision for a just society

The University of Cape Town’s Works of Art Collection (WOAC) committee is advancing its exploration of art’s transformative power to foster inclusive spaces for critical discourse and knowledge creation.

Participants of the WOAC Workshop at UCT Libraries, September 2024. Photo: Lerato Maduna

Changing the art at UCT Libraries

The Chancellor Oppenheimer Library is the heartbeat of the University of Cape Town (UCT). Now, this central space for learning and research is set to transform its existing art display with a new installation of...

The Fire This Time

The Works of Art Committee is pleased to welcome four new live art commissions to the university art collection. A set of provocations, The Fire This Time invites us to think anew, to feel, to see, and to hear the affective resonance...

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