A row has erupted over the closure final yr of the Irma Stern Museum (ISM), based in 1971 to rejoice one in all South Africa’s best-known artists, amid persevering with uncertainty over when and whether or not it can reopen.
Irma Stern (1894-1966), whose work was displayed on the Venice Biennale a number of occasions within the Fifties and was the topic of an exhibition at Berlin’s Brücke Museum final yr, is recognised each domestically and internationally. Her dad and mom have been German-Jewish however she was born in Transvaal and all through her life travelled extensively, notably to Germany the place she was initially related to the German Expressionist painters of the time.
Having settled in South Africa within the Nineteen Twenties, she moved right into a home known as The Firs in Rondebosch, Cape City, and remained there till her dying. She left her collections in belief for the encouragement and promotion of artwork: artefacts she had collected, plus her personal artworks. Some rooms have been saved considerably as they have been when she lived there – most notably her studio along with her paintbrushes, easel, rags and artwork. The gathering was owned by a belief, and the museum was administered by College of Cape City (UCT) on behalf of the trustees.
However in October, the college and the Irma Stern Belief issued a joint assertion saying the top of their 56-year partnership, which they mentioned paved the way in which for “renewal”. In accordance with the assertion, the collections will probably be moved to a different storage facility and The Firs “repurposed”.
The museum’s closure the next day triggered outrage: the choice had “left individuals offended and deeply suspicious”, in response to Phillippa Duncan, a heritage researcher. “Employees have been faraway from the museum with out readability about their future, the general public was saved at midnight, and the official announcement got here solely after stress,” she says. “There’s been a whole lack of transparency.”
UCT mentioned on the time that the explanations for the closure have been “operational”, with out giving particulars, and that the cancellation of the settlement and sale of the property was “a matter of unhappiness.” Requested to remark additional, a spokesperson says the college was “regrettably not able to remark additional on the matter at this stage. UCT and/or the Irma Stern Belief will problem additional updates as and when obligatory—both collectively or individually—sooner or later.”
After the closure announcement, the chairman of the South African public sale home Strauss & Co, Frank Kilbourn, issued an announcement saying: “We at Strauss & Co, in addition to many Capetonians and artwork lovers internationally, have been shocked and brought aback by current, surprising bulletins in regards to the closure of the ISM.”
Funds raised for preservation
In 2022 a sale of artwork organised by Strauss raised round 22m Rand (virtually $1.3m) meant for the preservation of the museum.
The belief belongs to a monetary providers firm now known as Nedgroup Non-public Wealth. Going through a public outcry and a petition demanding transparency and accountability, Nedgroup organised a public session in November and afterwards mentioned it could type a administration committee and advisory board, to be introduced earlier than the top of 2025 (although, as we went to press, no announcement had been made).
“The relocation of the artworks is below approach however not but full. It might take a number of months to decommission the museum. The brand new storage facility is within the Nedbank Clocktower Constructing within the V&A Waterfront, Cape City,” the assertion mentioned.
Nedgroup mentioned the proceeds of the 2022 sale had been invested and can be used for managing and sustaining The Firs. “The Irma Stern Assortment and The Firs will proceed in a rejuvenated guise; new exhibition and branding partnerships, and new plans for the way The Firs will dwell on, are all presently developed and will probably be introduced when the mandatory preparations and agreements are in place,” it mentioned.
Kilbourn, the previous vice-chairperson of the Irma Stern Museum’s committee, says the museum’s trustees and UCT ought to have reached out to a wider public earlier to save lots of the museum.
“I consider the state of affairs requires a renewed effort by Nedbank and the trustees of the Irma Stern Belief to enter right into a dialogue with affected function gamers and leaders within the artwork trade to look at the deserves of different methods to cope with the challenges they face,” Kilbourn says.
