Image via Adobe Stock
Extraordinary SA women honoured with new Google Arts & Culture exhibition
The exhibit, titled ‘Voices of Empowerment: 24 South African Women’, profiles “ordinary women with extraordinary stories”. Here’s what you need to know.
Image via Adobe Stock
For this year’s Women’s Day, the Nelson Mandela Foundation will be collaborating with Google to commemorate 24 extraordinary South African women by unveiling a new Google Arts & Culture exhibit.
Fun fact, the Foundation was one of the firsts to partner with Google Arts & Culture eight years ago. In February 2020, the pair collaborated again to launch a digital project titled Nelson Mandela: 30 Years of Freedom.
‘Voices of Empowerment: 24 South African Women’
The exhibit, titled Voices of Empowerment: 24 South African Women profiles “ordinary women with extraordinary stories”, from anti-apartheid activist and politician Winnie Madikizela-Mandela to fashion designer Collette Dinnegan.
Winnie Mandela
“To those who oppose us, we say, ‘Strike the woman, and you strike the rock’.”
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
Graça Machel
Preventing the conflicts of tomorrow means changing the mindset of youth today.
Graça Machel
Caster Semenya
When you walk out of your apartment, you think about performing; you do not think about how your opponent looks.
Caster Semenya
According to Google, the women included in this exhibition are “game-changers who have helped elevate the status of women in South African society. Foundation Chief Executive Sello Hatang explains:
“The struggle against patriarchy continues in our country. COVID-19 has both highlighted and magnified the deeply-rooted and systemic oppression women still experience. We want this exhibit to inspire both women and men to keep working for the change that we need”.
The exhibition will celebrate the 24 selected women by highlighting their contributions to contemporary history, amplifying the voices of women everywhere and showcase how fierce South African women can be.
In addition, Google SA head of communications and public affairs, Mich Atagana, says the team hopes “this exhibit will elevate the voices and achievements of the women we are profiling and aid in that fight”. She adds:
“Winnie Madikizela-Mandela put it perfectly when she said, ‘It’s still a struggle to uplift the lives of women. As a result, our generation and the generation that followed us are still not as educated as our men; we’re still fighting for total equality’.”
How to view the exhibit
The women being profiled include:
- Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
- Graça Machel
- Nicky Asher-Pedro
- Audrey Brown
- Collette Dinnigan
- Zamaswazi Dlamini-Mandela
- Joanne Fedler
- Qaqamba Gubanca
- Zelda la Grange
- Ronni Kahn
- Gail Kelly
- Zaziwe Manaway
- Zoleka Mandela
- Nokwanele Mbewu
- Hlubi Mboya Arnold
- Shanthie Naidoo
- Masako Osada
- Ingrid la Roux
- Caster Semenya
- Nomvula Sikhakhane
- Gillian Slovo
- June Steenkamp
- Mpho Tutu van Furth
- Sahm Venter
Simply head over to g.co/voicesofempowerment to view the exhibition. While there, you’ll find “treasures, stories and knowledge of more than 2 000 cultural institutions from 80 countries at your fingertips”.
Google Arts & Culture aims is to “make the world’s information more accessible […] to anyone, anywhere”. It has everything from Van Gogh’s bedroom paintings and showcasing Kenya’s communities to celebrating Nigerian food and exploring ancient Maya temples.
