MISC> Pretoria Art Museum
Gleason Sackmann
From: <ni...@orc.ru>
Pretoria Art Museum
http://www.ccp.co.za/pam/
Pretoria Art Museum - fine arts museum exhibiting paintings, sculpture,
graphics tapestries, photographic art, and ceramics of Europe and Africa
The Pretoria Art Museum opened in May 1964, and is the city's only fine
arts museum. The collection of more than 5000 works of art includes
paintings, sculpture, graphics tapestries, photographic art and ceramics
The City Council of Pretoria had already acquired works of art for its
official rooms
and offices during 1930, but it was only after the fine bequest by Lady
Michaelis in
1932 that the Council seriously began its collection of paintings. The
bequest by Lady
Michaelis included a number of outstanding paintings by 17th century Dutch
artists
amongst which are masterpieces by Willem van de Velde the Younger, Jan van
Goyen Cornelis de Vos and Joachim von Sandart. Fifty-six pieces were donated
and placed the City Council's collection in a strong position, after which
the Council commenced with the regular aquisition of works of art.
During the ' thirties, the country was suffering from serious financial
losses, and money for the buying of art was hard to obtain. At the same time
the Johannesburg Art Gallery, established in 1915, had already succeeded in
building up a fine collection of European art , and as Johannesburg is so
close to
Pretoria, the City Council of Pretoria began looking
more towards the work of South African artists of the past and present.
Whereas early acquisitions seemed to concentrate on major South African
artists, the scope
has broadened to include young contemporary artists and new techniques. The
work of black
artists has always been included. For example, two major Gerard Sekoto
paintings
were acquired in 1964 and 1969 . The Museum also kept a continual link with
its European and English past by acquiring mostly graphic works of masters
such as Paul Gauguin, Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Kathe Kollwitz, Salvador
Dali,
Antonio Tapies and many more. It also recognises the influence of
traditional or
"classical" African art, and has collected pieces from West and Central
Africa
for their artistic, and not merely their ethnographic value.
Mission :
The development and management in an innovative manner of all the art
historical
resources to the benefit of the whole community and visitors. The
present - and future - collections must reflect the art and cultural
historical diversity of South Africa. Community inputs are of vital
importance
Vision:
The involvement of the community, reflection of the cultural diversity of
the community and promotion of visual literacy by means of exhibitions of
the art historical resources.
GOALS:
Resource Development:
The development and management in an innovative manner of all art
historical resources (physical structure and collections) of the City
Council housed at the Pretoria Art Museum, to the benefit of the whole
community and visitors.
The present - and future - collections must reflect the art and cultural
historical diversity of South Africa. Community inputs on the contents of
these public collections are of vital importance.
Art historical resources:
The collection, preservation and research of art objects and art
historical buildings (architecture).
Art Exhibitions:
The involvement of the community, reflection of the cultural diversity
of the community and promotion of visual literacy through exhibitions of the
art historical resources.
Educational and information services:
To make the exhibitions more accessible by means of educational
programmes and information and thus promote the art resources and foster a
general appreciation and greater involvement among the community to thus
enrich their quality of life. The educational role of museums is at the core
of their service to the community.
Inter Disciplinary activities:
To supplement exhibitions and educational activities by means of
performing arts programmes as life-enriching experiences.
Outreach programmes:
Facilitating meetings and other activities of stake holders (regarding
the art and cultural historical resource) to the benefit of all the parties
involved, including the activities of cultural, youth and women's
organisations and the different community forums.
Specialist management:
Management by objectives to obtain effectiveness through a specific
financial, administrative and personnel structure.
Conservation:
Management of the art works and buildings by specialists (curators) in
order to utilise these resources in exhibitions and educational activities.
Publicity and marketing:
Supplying specialised press releases and information sheets regarding the
art cultural historical activities at the Pretoria Art Museum and
specialised marketing of the museums.
Museological research:
Making the resources more accessible to the general public by means of
research projects by the professional staff.