One of the most admired contributions the Bartel Arts Trust and the Phansi Museum have made to the enrichment of the cultural life in KwaZulu Natal is the annual Art • Craft • Tradition calendar.  This annual publication, now in its 22nd year of production will be officially launched on Wednesday, 7 December 2016.  Each year, the Museum distributes 1 000’s of calendars to schools in cities, villages and in faraway rural areas, clinics, libraries, community centers and educational institutions across the province.

The 2017 calendar features panels from the 1992 Universal Declaration of Rights and the 1994 Interim Bill of Rights murals painted on the surfaces of the east and south walls surrounding the former Central Prison in Durban.  Both these murals laid the foundations for the 1997 Human Rights Mural of the Final Constitution.  Just as the Rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the Interim Bill of Rights inspired the drafters of the Final Bill of Rights in Chapter 2 of the South African Constitution of 1996, so the works of the artists of the 1992 and 1994 murals came to inspire the artists who painted the 1997 Human Rights mural.   

Whilst the rest of the world commemorates International Human Rights Day and the 68th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 on 10 December 2016, the Phansi Museum will celebrate the launch of the Human Rights Mural Calendar of 2017 three days earlier.  The 2017 Human Rights Mural calendar aptly also pays tribute to late Terry-Anne Stevenson, (1950 -  2016) who initiated the Community Mural Projects and who tirelessly mustered the artists in Durban including Thami Jali, Sfiso Ka Mkame, Derick Nxumalo, Zamani Makhanya, Sibusiso Duma, Lalelani Mbhele and Joseph Manana to interpret the Bill of Rights on the prison walls and transform the streets of Durban with paint.     

Finally, to coincide with the launch of the calendar and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Phansi Museum in collaboration with Community Mural Projects, the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal and Street Law will launch the Human Rights Art and Essay Competition for learners in Grades 7, 11 and 12.  The objective of this competition is to get learners from as many schools in KwaZulu Natal who see the calendar to illustrate their vision and understanding of our Human Rights.

The calendars for 2017 in poster and desktop format will be available from the Phansi Museum and other retail outlets from 7 December 2016.  

For additional information please contact the  Museum on 031-206 2889 or admin@phansi.com    

Sharon Crampton Director