Constitutional Court Art Collection

A woman in a torn yellow dress stands tall inside Johannesburg’s Ponte Towers. She faces the camera with quiet strength, embodying survival, resilience, and reclaiming dignity after gender-based violence.

The Kingdom (2018) by Elisa Iannacone, photographed in Ponte Towers, shows a woman and a rape survivor reclaiming her dignity after violence.

Shared in solidarity with the G20 Women’s Shutdown, honouring the 15 women lost to GBV daily. A tribute, a memorial, a call for justice.
#gbvmustfall #Art

Word Children's Day 🌏👪

Today,we celebrate children-their creativity,playfulness,and the rights that protect their future and safety.

Mgusha by Thabang Lehobye is inspired by jumping the game,and the artwork reflects both the right to play and the right to eduducaton.
#childrensday #Art #Painting

A black and white Linocut by Thami Jali showing three women standing together under the umbrella 🌂,symbolizing unity 🤝 in diversity.

Free Language and Free Culture (1996) by Thami Jali.

The artwork reflects the right to speak one's language and participate in cultural life – a celebration of South Africa’s diversity and the unity we continue to strive for.

#Art #Collection

🎥The Legend of the Death of Hlopheka by Noria Mabasa(2004)

This powerful sculpture, carved from fig 🪵 , tells the tragic story of a boy struck by a bull, witnessed by his community.
Mabasa's work Inspired by Venda mythology,ancestry,and her visions, highliting resilience,and tradition. #art #wood

Nice painting✨🖼️

A group of homeschoolers and their parents standing inside the Constitutional Court ⚖️

The curator of Constitutional Court Art Collection 🎨 guiding group of homeschoolers inside Court.

Homeschoolers and CCAC curators explore "Through the barrier" artwork by Georgia Papageorge (1956)

Aluta continua Exhibition ⛪️

Friday's homeschoolers's tour at Constitutional Court was such a joy 😊
Seeing young people (ages 8-16) connect with art, history, and justice ⚖️ . They asked the good questions and really showed willingness to learn more about art 🎨.
✨️Join us for the art and justice ⚖️ tour on November 15th. 🗓

Law clerks stand in the Aluta Continua exhibition area, next to Keiskamma art projects🎨 titled Freedom, Equality,and Human Dignity.

The curator stands with law clerks outside the Constitutional Court, speaking about Dumile Feni's welcoming sculpture inside Court "History"2003

A group of Constitutional Court law clerks @concourttrust.bsky.social gathered near artworks from Constitutional Court engaging in a discussion of how art and architecture reflect themes of justice ⚖️, freedom, and peace.
Read more: ccac.concourttrust.org.za
#Art #Rights #Justice

Alison Gilchrest, Director of Yale’s IPCH, and Yiuan Yiuan Chen, IPCH’s photography expert, observing the painting and guiding the students during Phase 2 of conservation.

CCAC curatorial intern standing with UP master’s students in Tangible Heritage Conservation and Museum Studies in front of Ernst Ullman’s Untitled, discussing the painting’s condition.

Alison Gilchrest, Director of Yale’s IPCH, and Yiuan Yiuan Chen, IPCH’s photography expert, observing the process and discussing details.

Phase 2 of conserving our largest painting, Ernst Ullman’s Untitled (2225 × 4823 × 77 mm), focused on technical photography using UV and other imaging methods. Alison Gilchrest, Director of Yale’s IPCH, and Yiuan Chen shared incredible insight. Read more: ccac.concourttrust.org.za/news/2025/a-...

The @concourttrust.bsky.social is looking for recent graduates with a keen interest in visual art and justice in South Africa to apply for a full-time paid internship opportunity working at the Constitutional Court Art Collection.

Info: ccac.concourttrust.org.za/news/2025/cu...

Baobab at CCAC🌴

The baobab tree- a symbol of resilience, life, and the connection between nature and culture comes alive in this striking sand on canvas painting🎨.San rock art, bringing the ancient and the present, and reflecting constitutional Court principle: Justice Under a tree🌴 #Art&Justice

On Heritage Day🌍🎇, we celebrate the South African Flag at the Constitutional Court. Created in 2006 by 8 women and 1 man from KwaZulu-Natal, each panel was worked on for several months before being joined into this vibrant textile. Their dedication brings the flag to life, making it more heritage.

"The truth Tree" Bethesda arts Centre🎨 (Bushman Heritage) 2006 Applique #heritagemonth #JusticeUnderATree #constitutionalcourt

The Truth Tree 🌳.
This artwork is inspired by justice under a tree from the constitutional Court’s logo.15 women stitched their stories into this textile. Each leaf carries voices of resilience, struggle, and hope, reflecting everyday places where challenges like hunger,abuse, and education rights.

🫀 September is Health Awareness Month.
Today, we share Body Map 10 (life-sized print) by Nondumiso Hlwele, part of the Long Life Project Body Maps (2002). Through her body map, Nondumiso found the strength to live with HIV/AIDS and share her journey of resilience, family, and healing.
#Health #CCAC

All Shall be Afforded Dignity(1996) by Norman Kaplan. At the Centre, a mother and child remind us that respect for dignity begins at birth and must extend to women, workers, and people with disabilities, as well as those often overlooked by society. 30years of democracy, this artwork reminds us that dignity belongs to everyone and must always be protected. #womensmonth #humanrights #dignity #constitutionalCourt

Women's month👑

All Shall Be Afforded Dignity(1996) by Norman Kaplan.
At the Centre, a mother and child remind us that respect for dignity begins at birth and must extend to women, workers, and people with disabilities, as well as those often overlooked by society.
#Dignity #womensmonth #CCAC

Caring for our collection ✨️

We learned so much about the care of paintings - from how the simplest materials can cause long-term damage to how hidden dirt and dust can quickly affect the artwork. This session helped us to know that conservation is not only about repair but also for prevention.

✨️Caring for our collection

Our largest painting, Ernest Ullmann's Untitled (1956), was recently taken to the conservation lab for careful treatment. This artwork depicting twelve figures, speaks to the values of community and togetherness🫂. #ArtConservation
#ErnestUllman #ArtRestoration

US artist Elizabeth Catlett's 1946 print honours Phyllis Wheatley (1753-1784), who was sold into slavery at the age of seven and later became the first published African-American female poet #womensart

And he is off! Wishing Zolile Shude, former law clerk to Justice Theron at the Constitutional Court of South Africa and the Franklin Thomas Fellow for 2025-26, all the best for his LLM studies at Notre Dame Law School! ‪@notredamelaw @fordfoundation.org‬

Women's Month👑
On 9th of August, we welcomed visitors for a tour honoring the strength 💪 and resilience of women.
Our tour guide took guests through stories and artworks that gives women respect for their contributions to our history and culture. #womensmonth #WomensDayTour #constitutionalcourt

My new article on possibilities and challenges of engaging men in resisting #antigenderism toward #genderequality and #socialjustice for lasting social transformation is published in Humanities & Social Sciences Communications @springernature.com
#openaccess here: rdcu.be/eyoBH

WOMEN WRITING AFRICA VOLUME 4: THE NORTHERN REGION edited by Fatima Sadiqi, Amira Nowaira, Azza El Kholy, and Moha Ennaji (2009; associate editors Fatima Bouabdelli, Abena P.A. Busia, Sahar Hamouda, Nadia El Kholy, Marjorie Lightman, Zahia Smail Salhi, and Khadija Zizi; contributing editors Mohamed El-Sayed Abd-el-Ghani, Ali Ouahidi, Heba Sharobeem, and Zakia Iraqui-Sinaceur; text editor Florence Howe. The fourth and final volume of this landmark series from the Feminist Press at the City University of New York, WOMEN WRITING AFRICA: THE NORTHERN REGION includes more than 100 texts in nine different languages from six countries – Algeria, Egypt, Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan, and Tunisia. Drawing on oral and written sources, the entries span several millennia and range from an ancient Egyptian queen's marriage proposal to modern women advocating new marriage and family laws. Writers such as Leila Abou Zeid, Amina Arfaoui, Salwa Bakr, Assia Djebar, Nawal El Saadawi, and Fatima Mernissi explore love, marriage, polygamy, the veil, the struggle for nationhood, and the right to employment.

A selection of life-altering books beloved or enjoyed by The Emperor of Solitude across the decades of a long life and in the many incarnations of the #LateImperialLibrary.

🫅🏾📚🤓📖📝🗝🚪🌳🌍

📚💙 📚🖋 881

August is #WomensMonth in South Africa to commemorate the Women's March of #9August1956

Artwork featuring a woman holding her strong arms over the heads of three young children in protection

"Seed Corn Must Not Be Ground" final lithograph of Käthe Kollwitz, 1942. The death of her son in battle in 1914 profoundly affected the artist, who expressed her grief by creating many prints on the theme of mothers protecting their children from the horrors of war #WomensArt

Fancy a teacake? 😋

New to Art UK – it's #WorkOfTheWeek time.

'Cake (18/25)' by Fiona Watson (b.1952) © the artist. 📷 @artatstirling.bsky.social

👉 buff.ly/S4QbEKm

👩🏾‍🎓 Did you know that only 8% of Nigeria’s police force are women?

Think you know more facts about women in Africa? 🎯 Take our Women’s Month quiz and test your knowledge!

👉🏾 africacheck.info/womens_month... #WomensMonth #FactCheckYourself

10-Minute Challenge: Bosch’s ‘Garden of Earthly Delights’ We’d like you to look at one piece of art for 10 minutes, uninterrupted.

Art folks, here's something beautiful to start your day. Enjoy! www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

We are currently preparing a publication that will focus on the artwork, "Through the Barrier - 1956 Treason Trial Frieze and Ladder," by Georgia Papageorge. This publication will delve into the #conservation of the photo frieze and ladder.

This work references the biblical healing pool of Bethesda with Nelson Mandela stirring the water at the centre. The first outward ripple represents the coming of democracy in 1994, the second, the indigenous people of Nieu-Bethesda learning about and reclaiming their Bushman origins and mythology, and the third, the artists spreading their \Xam culture through storytelling, in light of the wider ongoing effects of constitutional democracy. In 2023, the artwork was restored by the Bushman Heritage Museum. In order to reflect their growth as an artistic collective, they deemed it necessary to redefine the overoptimistic symbolism used in the 2007 work. While keeping the original structure of a pool of healing with Mandela at the centre, newly drawn figures were used to "update" the work as per the collective's views in 2023, stating that the meaning freedom, to them, lies in cultural expression amidst - pervading inequalities.

In "Freedom", #Mandela stirs the healing waters at the centre of a sacred pool. The #BushmanHeritageMuseum centred on healing, but with a truth: Freedom isn't a final ripple. It’s ongoing. It’s cultural voice in the face of inequality.It’s storytelling as resistance.

UP conservation experts Dr Isabelle & Salome assessed Ernest Ullmann’s striking painting at the Court, where 12 interconnected figures, echoing the apostles, reflect community and justice. Their sharp analysis in minutes. A masterclass in conservation prep. #ArtMeetsJustice #HeritageCare

Several CCAC artworks are now on loan to @ZeitzMOCAA for their upcoming exhibition, "Spring Is Rebellious: The Art & Life of Albie Sachs"! Opening July 24th, this exhibition explores the journey of judge Albie Sachs, revealing how art intertwined with the fight for freedom in South Africa.

We're excited to announce a change in the Curatorial Internship position. We bid a fond farewell to Dayne Staightfill and we are thrilled to welcome Kamohelo Mokoena to the CCAC team.
Visit our website to discover more about the Youth Development Program: ccac.concourttrust.org.za/youth-develo...