Outing to the Zeitz MOCAA

Museum Educator, Mandisa Ngqulan, led us on an informative walkabout through the numerous floors of exhibits and touched on the details of the design and function of the museum, background to the numerous artists and their work, as well as the incredible number of specialists required to coordinate an exhibition, which roughly takes up to five years of preliminary planning.

The sheer range and variety of art and design on exhibit proved to be vast, if not overwhelming to take in, in one short visit.
Here are some of the comments made by the students:

Eye-catching art filled with culture and history. I loved seeing more artworks that were actually done by artists that are still alive. Each room felt like going into a different dimension or world completely designed by the artist down to the bright lights and floors. You feel almost obligated to stay forever and admire. Sibo, Year 12

What I enjoyed the most about the visit to the Zeitz MOCAA, was the building itself. It attracted me the first minute that I walked in. Gloria, Year 12

There was a lot to look at but I really loved the colouring on the windows with the sun reflection on it, reflecting the colours on the floor – that looked really nice. I also enjoyed looking at the photography. All the art pieces were very well done and inspiring. I loved how each artist perceived their art in their own way whether it was videos, photos, sculptures and paintings. Isabell, Year 12

Overall, the exhibition was well set out and each section had some good pieces. My personal favourite was the Seers, Seekers, Soothsayers exhibition. All of the work was beautifully done and rather captivating. Yanika, Year 12

The exhibition was quite inspirational, it highlighted how young people are gaining recognition for their work and it encouraged me to find an identity in my art. Art has always been a form of emotional expression, you see the emotions behind each artwork, the symbolism of every aspect. I can’t pinpoint which one I liked most because each one had its own uniqueness about it. The Zeitz MOCAA is definitely a must see museum. The experience was worthwhile in educating me on the different mediums used to convey meaning in art. Imitha, Year 11

Going to the Zeits MOCAA was an amazing experience. I was exposed to many beautiful artworks. I really enjoyed the room in the Mame-Diarra Niang’s Self As A Forgotten Monument. It was a visual and audio work. The motion and audio captivated me and almost put me in a sort of trance. All it was, was a moving human figure dancing on the floor with abstract shapes also being projected. I was inspired by how the artist was able to change me emotionally with a simple video clip and a choice of audio. Arella, Year 11

Although most of the artworks at the museum did not fit my theme as inspiration I did enjoy the blurry portraits of people and loved the cinematography in one of the rooms where towards the end of the short film it became quite creepy but I enjoy those sorts of things (very abstract). Overall I think the exhibition was a good experience. Ben, Year 11

Although I didn’t find most of the art to be something I personally liked, I enjoyed the experience and would likely go again once new exhibitions come in. Chloë, Year 9

It was very interesting to see all the different uses of mediums by other artists. I particularly liked a large oil painting with a mix of different mediums including photography. Antony, Year 9