Behind UCT’s Removed Art: the Writing on the Wall

Abstract

Editor’s note: This commentary was first published in the South African Art Times, and is reproduced here with permission.

During the past two years, fine art has been under attack at the University of Cape Town (UCT), with artworks defaced, intentionally destroyed by fire and blacklisted during various student protests. In response, some 74 works of art from the University’s collection—by some of the country’s most acclaimed artists—have been taken down or covered up “on the grounds of their vulnerability to potential damage” or because “some members of the campus community have identified certain works of art as offensive to them—for cultural, religious or political reasons.”