Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa known as Zeitz MOCAA is a contemporary art museum located at the V&A Waterfront, Silo District in Cape Town, South Africa. Zeitz MOCAA collects, preserves, and exhibits 21st-century art from all over Africa. It is the largest museum dedicated to contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora.
The museum hosts international exhibitions support educational and enrichment programs and encourages intercultural understanding. It is a great museum to visit if you like modern contemporary art.
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Grain Silo to Museum
Thomas Heatherwick and his team of architects at the Heatherwick Studio were asked to redesign and reimage a Grain Silo Complex at the V&A Waterfront to house the Zeitz MOCAA museum. They have done an outstanding job.
The forty-two 33 meter high concrete tubes, each with a diameter of 5.5 meters resembles an alien ship than a grain shaft. The space is so open and functional and pays tribute to its original industrial design. The soul of the building shines just as much as the art it houses.
See a short slide story of the museum here
The Grain Silo that once stood as the tallest building in the Cape Town skyline now stands prouder housing the largest collection of Contemporary Art in Africa. The top floors house The Silo Hotel (with the bubble windows).
The Silo Hotel was built in the grain elevator portion of the grain silo complex occupies six floors above Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA). The exterior of the building was designed by Heatherwick Studio as well.
The glass windows inserted into the geometry of the hotel floors are an ingenious idea and makes for some amazing views. Even if can’t manage a stay in one of their 26 rooms, you can visit The Granary cafe for dinner or drinks and enjoy the unique perspective and view of the waterfront.
Don’t miss a visit to the museum or stop for a drink at the Silo Rooftop when you are visiting the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, South Africa. Visting and photographing the museum building is a design lovers dream.
Artworks in Zeitz MOCAA
A virtual museum walk at Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art. Like all modern art, I leave these to your own interpretation.
El Anatsui’s wall hanging work breaks away from the traditional cast of sculptural practice to invoke a multi-layered, sensory re-imagining of our material world. Reviewing the first major retrospective of his work, El Anatsui, art historian Terry Smith marvelled, “In his wall hangings … El Anatsui has accomplished one of the very few genuine breakthroughs in contemporary art anywhere in the world today.”
Anatsui’s art weaves together the discarded materials of production, trade, and consumption made prevalent in Africa during the colonial expansion of Europe and the Americas. He was best known for his repurposing of alcohol bottle caps into large-scale hanging installations, Anatsui’s art weaves together the discarded materials of production, trade, and consumption made prevalent in Africa during the colonial expansion of Europe and the Americas.
El Anatsui’s sculptures have been collected by major international museums. This includes the British Museum (London), the Centre Pompidou (Paris), the de Young Museum (San Francisco), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), Guggenheim (Abu Dhabi), Osaka Foundation of Culture (Osaka), the Tate Modern (London), and the Museum of Modern Art (New York).
Additional information for visiting Zeitz MOCAA
Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) is located in Cape Town. See here for more information about their international exhibitions. Daily admission rates are R200 per adult. Annual Membership is R290.
Free entry for kids under 18 ( ID required ) Free for African citizens on Wednesdays, from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m with an ID.
I hope you enjoyed this virtual walk in Zeitz MOCAA and visit the museum when you are in Cape Town, South Africa.
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