The Neglected Tradition

In 1987 when I was first approached by Christopher Till of the Johannesburg Art Gallery to curate an exhibition of art by 'black South Africans, I spent much time consulting artists, educators and members of community-based organizations to establish whether such an exhibition was indeed necessary or viable. There were some misgivings about separating a particular racial group, however, in virtually all cases, the idea was positively received because it was felt that the basic research needed to be done before an integrated history of South African art could be written.