Everything you need to know about The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town
Cape Town is a truly stunning city. It has Table Mountain as a back drop and extensive white beaches, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The city itself is rich in culture, with a strong modern urban edge. It is packed with great bars and craft breweries, and is seen as a ‘foodie’ destination, with many options, from high-end restaurants to hipster cafes.
There is a vibrant art community here, with an abundance of street art and murals and many art galleries. It is also home to the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, or Zeitz MOCAA as it is commonly named. MOCAA is the largest museum of contemporary African art in the world. The Zeitz MOCAA first opened in 2017 and is located within a disused concrete grain silo, which has quickly become a favourite landmark amongst the locals. A visit to the Zeitz MOCAA is a must on any visit to Cape Town to experience its architecture and see the wonderful exhibits. In this post, I have provided an in depth guide to help you plan your visit.
The details I’ve included are correct at the time of writing this blog post, but please check current details before your visit.
Table of Contents
The Artworks and Exhibitions at Zeitz MOCAA
Where is Zeitz MOCAA located?
Zeitz MOCAA is located in the Silo District at the Victoria & Alfred (V&A) Waterfront in Cape Town, South Africa.
The V&A Waterfront Silo District is a very popular area in Cape Town with tourists and locals alike. It has a special atmosphere, being a working harbour that is overlooked by the iconic Table Mountain. Since the 1990s, this area has developed into a bustling commercial and cultural centre within the city, with extensive shopping, and an abundance of gourmet food options.
The Zeitz MOCAA is the key landmark and has acted as a catalyst for cultural development in the area.
The full address is Zeitz MOCAA, V&A Waterfront Silo District, S Arm Rd, Waterfront, Cape Town, 8001
Zeitz MOCAA’s Architecture
Irrespective of the outstanding exhibitions and events held at Zeitz MOCAA, the building itself is worth visiting to be in awe of the architecture.
The building was originally built as a giant concrete grain silo in 1921, but was decommissioned in 2001. This building, once the tallest in Africa, extends to 57m in height and contained 42 concrete cylindrical structures. It reopened as the repurposed Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in September 2017.
Designed by Heatherwick Studio, the conversion of this building to create an international gallery was sympathetically undertaken with appreciation of the structure's industrial heritage. The concrete cylindrical structures were carved open to create a number of galleries and a large central atrium. Indeed a visit to the atrium alone is jaw-dropping and is a stunning space to be in.
Zeitz MOCAA is arranged over nine floors with 6,000sqm of exhibition space, with additional educational spaces, a sculpture garden on the lower part of the roof, as well as a cafe, restaurant and shop. The galleries wrap around the atrium, creating a circular flow, with spiral stairways connecting the floors, and a glass lift set within the silo cylinders, with dramatic views over the atrium. Through a clever use of glass, some of these spaces are filled with natural light, creating a cathedral-like atmosphere.
The Artworks and Exhibitions at Zeitz MOCAA
Zeitz MOCAA’s 80 gallery spaces have a diverse mixture of temporary exhibitions, on display for a few months at a time, and permanent pieces that remain on constant display.
The museum also features a large number of artists from the African continent, as well as international artists. You are bound to find an exhibition or artist that suites your particular tastes.
Some notable exhibitions in 2022 include:
Goldendean – Soft VXNXS
Soft Vxnxs is a large-scale, inflatable sculpture installation by South African artist Goldendean (Dean Hutton).
This installation explores the theme of personal and political hypervisibility in the context of being both visible (as a fat, queer, trans body) and invisible, unimportant at the same time (as a fat, queer, trans body). Their Tenderqueer sculptures are round, soft, flexible and inviting. Visitors are encouraged to touch and engage with this work.
The exhibition runs until the end of May 2022.
Tracey Rose: Shooting Down Babylon
In 2022, Zeitz MOCAA will be presenting an exhibition by South African artist Tracey Rose, whose works respond to flaws in institutionalised cultural discourse. She is best known for her performances, video installations, and photographs.
The exhibition at Zeitz MOCAA, titled ‘Shooting Down Babylon (The Art of War)’, reflects on varied exorcist and cleansing rituals from non-Western communities and explores several post-colonial themes. The exhibition will encompass film, sculpture, photography, performance, print, painting and multi-layered participatory elements, with the body and performativity being central to every aspect.
This exhibition is supported by GUCCI and the Ammodo Foundation.
When We See Us Webinar Series
The ‘When We See Us Webinar Series’ is a free event on Zoom, that is taking place on selected Tuesdays from 29th March until 8th November 2022. This webinar series is being held by Zeitz MOCAA in collaboration with the Institute for Humanities in Africa (HUMA) at the University of Cape Town (UCT).
The ‘When We See Us Webinar Series’ is an online programme that seeks to explore the deeper historic contexts and networks of complex and underrepresented artistic genealogies that stem from African and Black modernities and span several generations from the early 20th century to the present. It will include discussions around topics such as global Black subjectivity and Black representation from the premise of artistic production.
What are the Zeitz MOCAA’s entrance costs?
The cost of admission to Zeitz MOCAA is R210 per adult (about €12.5, US$12, £10.50 or AU$18.50). However, the Zeitz MOCAA has a number of offers and concessions to encourage greater engagement. These include:
Children and young adults under 18 receive free entry.
Free admission between Tuesdays and Sundays, during your birth month, if you can show a valid South African ID or African passport.
All African citizens receive free entry between 10am and 1pm on Wednesdays, with a valid South African ID or African passport.
Where is the restaurant located at Zeitz MOCAA?
The Gantry Cafe at the Zeitz MOCAA is located on the sixth floor, and is a destination in its own right, as it boasts stunning views of Table Mountain and 270° views of Cape Town. This venue serves hot and cold food, and has an extensive cocktail and wine menu.
You will be spoiled for food options though, as outside the Zeitz MOCAA, the Silo Precinct is filled with many great restaurants and cafes to suit all tastes and times of the day.
I hope you have found this post about the Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town useful. If you have visited the Zeitz MOCAA, I would love to hear your thoughts or if you feel something is missing from this post, please email me and let me know at [email protected].
