How Cape Town's youth are reconnecting with their complex heritage
Renowned author Dr Nadia Kamies, from Oranjezicht, and Daiyaan Petersen, award-winning historian and chairman of the Cape Family Research Forum, from Kensington.
Image: Fouzia van der Fort
Award-winning historian and chairman of the Cape Family Research Forum, Daiyaan Petersen, says there is a growing urgency among youth to engage with complex and painful family histories.
He was in conversation with renowned author Dr Nadia Kamies, who drew on her extensive research into slavery, apartheid, and the nuances of "coloured" identity.
Their discussion was hosted by Our Cape Town Heritage (OCTH), a non-profit organisation dedicated to cultural preservation, showcasing marginalised artists and community empowerment, at the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, at The Old Granary Building, District Six, on Saturday, January 17.
Mr Petersen, from Kensington, highlighted the disconnect many feel from their past and the drive to break cycles of silence surrounding heritage, particularly that of slavery and the impact of apartheid.
Dr Kamies shared her personal journey, noting that the need to understand her own mixed background and place in the city fueled her "obsession" with genealogical research.
"It's the need to know where I belong," she said.
Attendees talk at an intergenerational discussion hosted by Our Cape Town Heritage (OCTH). It coincides with an art exhibition called Fra(u)gmented.
Image: Fouzia van der Fort
She reflected on the confusion felt by many from mixed backgrounds in a city still spatially and socially marked by apartheid.
Dr Kamies said that for generations, the memory of slavery was actively "made to be forgotten".
Mr Petersen said this often resulted in families augmenting their heritage, with narratives of exiled royalty to escape the stigma of slavery, of pain, and the ability not to ask questions in the past.
The discussion also touched on the need to make heritage work more accessible.
OCTH founder and director Tashneem Abrahams, from Mitchell's Plain, also shared the challenge of engaging youth who struggle with literacy, suggesting that creative, non-traditional methods - like art, performance, and social media - were vital.
The discussion coincides with an art exhibition called "Fra(u)gmented", also hosted by the OCTH at the Old Granary Building. Artists Ni-shaat Bardien, from Colorado Park in Mitchell's Plain, and Shalner Ching, formerly from Woodstock, now living in Brooklyn, have used everyday materials to transcend their original function, which have become masterpieces. Children's artworks, culminating from workshops with the OCTH are also on display.
For more information about the OCTH and the exhibition, visit their website.