Partnership with the City of Joburg (CoJ)

 

After the formation of the WMC, Khanya College provided its infrastructure (telephone, fax, security and other facilities to the CoJ (staff at the WM), cleaning, maintenance, heating and daily supplies – effectively subsidising the CoJ.

  • In 2003, the anti-War Coalition opposed the US war on Iraq, often met at the WM.
  • Khanya College continued to provide regular access and education and cultural programmes to working class communities, children, youth, women and workers there. This included:
    • documenting all the hostels in the CoJ before they were demolished;
    • the Closed Construction Exhibition on migrant labour held jointly with the CoJ in 2006.
    • supporting a network of community museums in the country to meet;
    • the International Conference on Migrant Labour at the WM in 2007;
    • Khanya College’s annual Winter Schools for activists from Southern Africa have taken place at the WM since 1999 and the 25th celebration of the Winter School took place in 2024 at WM&C.

The CoJ and Khanya College have also collaborated in other cultural areas:

  • In response to the poor education and culture of reading in all South Africa’s languages, the Jozi Book Fair Festival (JBF) was founded in 2009 at Museum Africa, in partnership with, the Directorate Arts, Culture & Heritage. This is the only FREE, city-based book fair ‘from below’ in SA; and has taken place annually, (online during Covid 19) every year.
  • The JBF is unique as the public hosts 50% of events. The books produced by Khanya – fiction and non-fiction, including the JBF’s Poetry Buddies (children) and Batjha Kaofela Short Stories (high schools), have been donated to the CoJ’s 83 libraries.
  • The JBF has been a partner of the CoJ’s Arts Alive; and was three-times listed in London’s Cultural List on Johannesburg.

Despite this long-standing relationship, the CoJ has now decided to evict Khanya College from a heritage space used by poor communities so that they can have administrative space as they have not maintained their own buildings!

Petition to Defend Working Class Public Spaces

1,002 signatures = 67% of goal
0
1,500

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