About Iziko Museums

Iziko Museums of South Africa (Iziko) operates eleven national museums, a Planetarium, a Social History Centre (archive), and three collection-specific libraries in Cape Town.

The name Iziko, an isiXhosa word meaning "hearth", embodies the spirit of a transformed institution and its vision of African Museums of Excellence.

Traditionally, the hearth represents warmth, family, shared stories, ancestral knowledge and community. Iziko embraces this symbolism by creating spaces where all South Africans can gather to celebrate heritage, exchange knowledge and create new cultural legacies for future generations.

The three flames within the Iziko logo represent the institution's three core collections:

• Social History (Ochre)
• Art (Red)
• Natural History (Green)

These collections are made accessible through exhibitions, education programmes and public engagement initiatives for learners and visitors alike.

Functions & Mandate

Transformation extends far beyond restructuring and rationalisation. Iziko continues to reposition and reinvent museums and museum practice to ensure relevance, accessibility and long-term public benefit.

Every activity undertaken by Iziko is based on the understanding that museums can benefit all South Africans, particularly young people, by encouraging active participation, critical thinking and lifelong learning.

Understanding both contemporary and historical culture helps build collective knowledge, strengthens social cohesion and contributes towards sustainable social and economic development.

Iziko museums are more than spaces that preserve history. They are places where new knowledge is created, communities connect, and cultural diversity is celebrated.

Inspired by its vision of becoming "African Museums of Excellence that empower and inspire all people to celebrate and respect our diverse heritage" Iziko has become one of Africa's leading heritage institutions and serves as a benchmark for museums throughout South Africa.

Iziko consists of five formerly independent museum clusters that were amalgamated under the Cultural Institutions Act of 1998 as a Schedule 3A Public Entity. This restructuring formed part of government's transformation programme to establish national heritage institutions aligned with the Constitution and the White Paper on Arts, Culture and Heritage.

Its Strategic Plan supports these national priorities while contributing towards social cohesion, nation building and inclusive economic development.

Museums within Iziko

Iziko operates the following national museums and heritage sites:

• Iziko South African Museum & Planetarium
• Iziko South African National Gallery
• Iziko Old Town House
• Iziko Slave Lodge
• Iziko Bertram House Museum
• Iziko Bo-Kaap Museum
• Iziko Koopmans-De Wet House Museum
• Iziko Groot Constantia Manor House Museum
• Iziko Rust en Vreugd Museum
• Iziko William Fehr Collection (Castle of Good Hope)
• Iziko Maritime Centre (V&A Waterfront)
• Iziko SAS Somerset Museum Ship (V&A Waterfront)

About the Museum

The Iziko South African Museum houses more than 1.5 million scientifically important specimens, making it one of the country's most significant natural history museums.

Its collections span an extraordinary period of history, from fossils dating back almost 700 million years, to insects and fish collected in recent times. Visitors can also discover stone tools created more than 120 000 years ago, traditional clothing from previous centuries, and contemporary cultural objects that reflect modern South African life.

Established in 1825, the Museum moved to its present location in the historic Company's Garden in 1897. Since then, millions of local and international visitors have explored its galleries, exhibitions and collections.

Through its exhibitions and educational programmes, the Museum promotes a greater understanding of the Earth's biological, geological and cultural diversity, both past and present.

Collection Highlights

About the Gallery

The Iziko South African National Gallery is South Africa's premier art museum, housing exceptional collections of South African, African, British, French, Dutch and Flemish art.

Works from the permanent collection are rotated regularly, allowing visitors to experience an ever-changing programme of temporary exhibitions featuring paintings, works on paper, photography, sculpture, beadwork, textiles and architecture.

The Gallery provides valuable insight into the rich artistic traditions of South Africa, the African continent and the wider international community, showcasing centuries of creative expression.

Collection Highlights

About the Collection

Located at the historic Castle of Good Hope, the William Fehr Collection contains remarkable paintings, decorative arts, furniture, prints, ceramics, glassware and historical artefacts relating to the Cape.

William Fehr, born in Burghersdorp in 1892, was a businessman whose passion for South African art led him to build one of the country's finest private collections. Beginning in the late 1920s, he collected paintings, prints, drawings, furniture and decorative objects of historical importance.

In 1952, his collection was placed on public exhibition at the Castle of Good Hope. The South African Government later purchased much of the collection, while Fehr generously donated his collection of works on paper to the people of South Africa.

Today, the collection provides an exceptional record of the people, landscapes, architecture and cultural life of early colonial South Africa, making it one of the country's most valuable public heritage collections.

Collection Highlights

About the Museum

The Iziko Slave Lodge is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Cape Town. Throughout more than three centuries it has served many purposes and has been known by several names, including the Slave Lodge, Government Offices Building, Old Supreme Court, and the South African Cultural History Museum.

In 1998 the museum officially became the Iziko Slave Lodge, acknowledging its complex and often painful history. Once associated with oppression and inequality, the building now serves as a place of remembrance, reflection and education.

Iziko has transformed the Slave Lodge from what was once described as "a site of human wrongs to human rights". Today it encourages conversations about freedom, equality, justice, dignity and the protection of human rights.

Through exhibitions, educational programmes and public engagement, the museum connects visitors with South Africa's past while inspiring dialogue about building a more inclusive future.

Exhibition Themes

About the Museum

Situated in the historic Bo-Kaap, the Iziko Bo-Kaap Museum celebrates the history, culture and traditions of the local Muslim community, many of whom were descendants of freed slaves.

The surrounding neighbourhood, known for its brightly coloured houses, steep cobbled streets, historic mosques and vibrant atmosphere, forms an important part of Cape Town's cultural landscape.

Established in 1978 as a satellite of the South African Cultural History Museum, the museum is furnished as a nineteenth-century Muslim family home, providing visitors with an authentic glimpse into daily life during that period.

Today, the museum tells the story of the Bo-Kaap community within the broader social, political and cultural history of South Africa.

Museum Highlights