A class of postgraduate students from the Wits History of Art and Heritage Management Department have curated an exhibition titled Artist Unrecorded. Taking place at Wits Art Museum from 2 - 26 May 2019, Artist Unrecorded comprises texts, images and a selection of cultural material objects originating from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which were acquired by Wits Art Museum from various sources and moments in the museum’s history.

As the residual legacy of colonialism and the anthropological bias of historical collection strategies continues to provoke important questions about the role and implication of museums and their collections in contemporary society, Artist Unrecorded engages this legacy and its implications through the presentation of these objects and found texts and images, some related and unrelated to the history of the museum and this collection. 

Acquired at various points in Wits University’s and Wits Art Museum’s history, much information about these cultural material objects have been lost, misunderstood, or misrepresented. Most notably the names and perspectives of the individuals who made them. Likewise, many other documents that pertain to the history of these objects and their collection have been lost.

Treating this absence as a conceptually productive starting point, this exhibition aims to revisit, reflect, and (re)present such objects and narratives. It includes a non-linear timeline, which is intended to expose the lacuna in the archive, highlight particular moments in this collection’s history, and provide a general map of the motivations and theoretical concerns underpinning the collection and representation of such objects. Another component of this collaboration was a public programme, which featured talks by artists and academics, such as photographer and associate lecturer at Wits’ Social Anthropology department George Mahashe.

 This exhibition formed part of an ongoing project by the Wits History of Art and Heritage Management Department and Centre d'art Waza, Lubumbashi, held in collaboration with Wits Art Museum and the Musee National de Lubumbashi. The project was funded by Standard Bank and the Goethe-Institut, and forms part of an ongoing conversation about collection histories and museological practices that we hope the public will contribute to.