gala’s book revisits civil unions act

By Lesego Masike (BTM Reporter)

SOUTH AFRICA – May 21, 2008: For its Heritage Project, Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action (GALA) will be launching a book and three exhibitions which celebrate the history, culture and pride of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people in South Africa at the Apartheid Museum on 24 May 2008.

Edited by Melanie Judge, Anthony Manion and Shaun de Waal, the book, To Have and To Hold, was first launched in Cape Town on 13 May, and it is a collaboration between GALA and OUT LGBT Well-being.

With some documentation and analytical essays, the book reveals different perceptions of the Civil Union Act by LGBTI people.

According to GALA’s Archives Coordinator, Anthony Manion, GALA was invited by the Apartheid Museum to create a permanent exhibition that will add to those that already exist at the site.

The exhibition tells the story of how LGBTI people put brave front in the early 1990s ensuring that their rights are included in the South African Constitution. This will be added to the permanent exhibitions at the museum making it the first in the country to include permanent displays on LGBTI people.

Upon visiting the museum, visitors will also be given a 32-page booklet on LGBTI history in South Africa.

‘Tracks’, as one of the exhibitions, is a site specific exhibition compiled by Zethu Matebeni and Clive van der Berg to be flaunted at Constitution Hill from May until November this year, then move to another site map.

This project looks at Johannesburg and its history through the lens of gay and lesbian residents using archives and photographs by David Goldblatt and Zanele Muholi.

The other project entitled Home Affairs examines the different ways that people develop love and form relationships and families. It will be on display from May to September this year.

The exhibition aims to create a greater understanding of what family means in the South African context.

With these projects, GALA aims to challenge and fight homophobia in South Africa, and “it’s important for museum visitors, particularly school visitors to be exposed to information about the experiences of LGBTI people and basic information about rights”, Manion explained.

Manion further elaborated that Museums are a great way to reach specific target groups for GALA.

The book, To Have and To Hold, is on sale at bookstores or for purchase from the Jacana website. (www.jacana.co.za)