Dates: 8 August 2026 – 10 January 2027
Walkabout event: 11:00 on Monday, 10 August 2026
Venue: 1st Floor Main Building, Oliewenhuis Art Museum, 16 Harry Smith Street, Bloemfontein
Oliewenhuis Art Museum and the National Museum are proud to present A Touch of Red, a Women’s Day exhibition exploring the lives, histories and resilience of women through art and historical photography. What makes this exhibition even more significant is that it was conceptualised and realised by three female curators: Sudré Havenga, Head of Department: Collections Management & Library, Carien van Eck, Graphic Designer/ Artist: Design Department, and Yolanda de Kock, Collections Manager: Oliewenhuis Art Museum.
The exhibition features archival photographs and artworks from the following collections: the Collections Management & Library Department of the National Museum, the Oliewenhuis Art Museum Permanent Collection, the McGregor Museum, the War Museum, the Mayibuye Archives, the Drum Archives (african.pictures) and ArtbankSA Contemporary Collection.
Presented predominantly in black and white, the works are interrupted only by touches of red. This subtle use of colour forms a visual language of its own, speaking at once of love and courage, dignity and determination, and, on its counterpart, of loss, violence and lives forever changed by gender-based violence.
As South Africa marks the 70th anniversary of the historic Women’s March of 9 August 1956, the exhibition is dedicated to the more than 20,000 women who walked in courage, united in purpose, and forever changed the course of the nation’s history. Their legacy lives on in every woman who dares to lead, to nurture, to create, to resist, and to dream of a more just world. Their footsteps continue to echo in the timeless refrain of the 1956 march.
During Women’s Month, A Touch of Red honours the women who have shaped our communities, celebrates those who continue to build a more equal society, remembers those whose voices were silenced, and calls on each visitor to help create a future where every woman can live free from fear.
“Each touch of red becomes both a memorial and a promise,” the curatorial statement reads, “to remember those who came before us, to stand with those who face injustice today, and to ensure that future generations inherit a world worthy of the strength embodied in the words, Wathint’ Abafazi, Wathint’ Imbokodo”- you strike a woman, you strike a rock.
A walkabout will be conducted by the Curators on 10 August 2026 at 11:00 at Oliewenhuis Art Museum in the Main Building. Everyone is welcome to attend. Refreshments will be served.
The exhibition can be viewed until Sunday, 10 January 2027. Oliewenhuis Art Museum is located at 16 Harry Smith Street, Bloemfontein and is open to the public from Monday to Friday between 08:00 and 17:00, and on Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays between 09:00 and 16:00. Please note that the main gate closes to new arrivals at 16:30 on weekdays and 15:30 on weekends; however, visitors already inside are welcome to enjoy the museum until closing time. A ramp at the main entrance provides wheelchair access, while a lift provides access to the Permanent Collection display areas on the 1st floor. A parking fee of R10 per vehicle is charged, but entrance to the museum is free.
For more information on Oliewenhuis Art Museum please contact the Museum at 078 968 4300 or oliewen@nasmus.co.za. Stay up to date by following Oliewenhuis Art Museum on Facebook, Instagram and X for all upcoming exhibitions and events.
