Touring exhibition Mandela: The Official Exhibition premieres today (Friday 8 February) at 26 Leake Street next to Waterloo Station. The show invites visitors on a personal journey through the life and times of one of the world’s most recognised and admired activists and political leaders and celebrating his legacy.
I tagged along for yesterday’s press preview and left the exhibition feel invigorated but grounded. The world has changed a great deal since 11 February, 1990 when Nelson Mandela was released from being in prison for 27 years and his moral authority has been missed sorely since his death 5 December 2013 at the age of 95.
Enlightening and engaging, the exhibition offers an interactive timeline of Mandela’s life from child to young activist, from political prisoner to president, from South African freedom fighter to elder global statesman. How he evolved to be the leader he became is examined within the context of South Africa’s Apartheid system and his own rural upbringing in the Transkei District of eastern South Africa.
The end of Apartheid, the events leading up to Mandela’s release from nearly three decades in prison, and his time as the first black President of South Africa are major focal points for the show. Artefacts such as the ceremonial leopardskin headdress awarded to Nelson Mandela by King Xolilzwe Sigcawu of the Xhosa people; Apartheid era signage and advertisements; a club used by police against anti-apartheid protestors; handwritten letters by Mandela from prison; lots of activist ephemera and political memorabilia and more punctate the experience of the exhibition. Plenty of photographs and inspiring quotes by Mandela fill it out.
If I may put a personal spin on this, some of my happiest days were spent travelling in South Africa and its neighbouring countries during the 90s. It was an exciting time to be there. Attending the Mandela press preview brought back feelings and memories of hope that positive change was on the way. I wonder if we’ve turned out back on the message of Nelson Mandela and the example he set. I’m glad to have had the opportunity to given those concerns some consideration and to remember Mandela’s heroic struggle and profound fate.
Mandela: The Official Exhibition runs from Friday 8 February to Sunday 2 June 2019 at 26 Leake Street, SE1 7NN. Find out more at book tickets at mandelaexhibition.com.
