Newsletter 1/21
Dear Friends,
Did you know that doctors in Canada have started prescribing museum visits to their stressed patients? Read this article: Free art museum visits prescribed by Canadian doctors (leisureopportunities.co.uk). To us at the UCT Irma Stern Museum, this makes such sense – what better place for some renewal and re-thinking than a museum?
And one of the favourite places for rest and inspiration this time of the year is the museum’s Secret Garden. With early spring, the Camellias and Azaleas are a show of pink and white, Cape Holly and Waterberry are pushing out green shoots, and Strelitzia are full of blooms. Some of you might have met our talented Gardener, Jonathan Fritz, during a visit to the museum. Sadly for us, our Uncle Jonathan is retiring end of this year, but we will remember his wonderful work and quiet humour through the impressive garden he has crafted. Jonathan has worked at UCT since 1984, many years of which at ISM, and here is a link to a short video that celebrates Jonathan’s achievements and dreams during these decades of service:
With the improved weather, we encourage you to bring a picnic along to your next visit to the UCT Irma Stern Museum and spend some time socialising in the Secret Garden. We are also open on Heritage Day, 24 September, so book a bring-your-own picnic spot by contacting Lucinda on 021 650 7244 or irmastern@uct.ac.za.
As part of our garden theme this month, we are delighted to be working with sculptor Right Mukore and crafter Mthobeli Aaron Bakana to host their work in the ISM garden. This project is made possible by the support and collaboration of the Montebello Design Centre as part of the centre’s focus theme for 2021, which considers the significance of trees, both indigenous and exotic, in the urban environment. Right and Aarons’ interactive sculptures are constructed and carved from reclaimed wood and hacked alien trees. We invite you and your children to crawl into Aaron’s Nest and stand inside Right’s Tree. See more at on our dedicated page wood sculptures of Right Mukore and Mthobeli Aaron Bakana at the Museum.
We look forward to seeing you all again at the UCT Irma Stern Museum.
With best wishes from the ISM Team
