Iziko Slave Lodge — Attraction in Cape Town Ward 115

I have visited five museums in Cape Town and this one is the largest and most informative. Its MASSIVE! Theres soooooo much and I do wish to return for a longer visit. They cover South African and African slave history and also highlights the important tragic reality that slavery still exists in various forms. They have a couple of rooms devoted to the amazing Nelson Mandela- which left me inspired and with tears in my eyes as always… he's just such an incredible human being and I’m always left hoping and wondering whether I possess even a bit of his courage, humility, love and compassion- He really is my favorite person 💜 They have this fabulous timeline that traces Cape Town history, South African slave history and Slave history around the world simultaneously yet color-coded for better understanding- BRILLIANT! They have an interesting guns collection which I didn’t spend too much time in. They also highlight violence against women and talk about this epidemic which is necessary… violence towards women is merely another form of subjugation and suppression so Im glad for this section. What I truly loved more than the other aspects I loved are the voices given to living descendants. People today are able to speak about their experiences and growing up the descendant of an enslaved person. Its fascinating and reminds us that consequences of slavery which ended in the 1800’s is palpable and affecting to this day. In this way the museum is a living museum, an institution not just focusing on the past but inquiring and seeking ways to help those in the present and the future. It’s trying to be the change we want in this world. Truly magnificent exhibitions ✊🏽💜🌍 They also cover the role of music as an outlet for repressed peoples and talk about the lovely anthem for a beautiful new South Africa and its significance. Finally, of course they do cover apartheid which was also tremendously interesting and devastating but also inspiring because sooooooo many unknown people fought the good fight and died for the rights of all peoples. They feature lists of names of these heroes- a wonderful tribute and a humbling experience. There are many sections I haven’t mentioned such as an Egyptian section but I was a bit pressed for time. I left feeling deep profound complex thoughts about our species and these thoughts and questions are still fresh in my mind. In that sense this museum did a phenomenal job in educating and enlightening a horrible terrible part of who we are whilst reminding us that we are loving and strong and beautiful and incredible as a species nonetheless. That hope always...

My partner and I decided to visit, as we are lifelong Cape Town residents and have never been to the Slave Lodge. We visited on 8 January 2021, a very hot Friday. We arrived at around midday, knowing that the lodge closes at 14h30, and thinking that we will have at least 2 hours to explore and be enlightened. When we got to the door, we were informed that the lodge was closed for lunch, and will be reopening at 13h00. This was disappointing, but ok, we sucked it up and waited. When 13h00 came around, there were quite a few people waiting to get into the establishment. Due to COVID-19 protocols, this took some time. When we eventually got into the establishment, we started reading and walking around. There is so much history and reading to enjoy. We continued and explored all the areas there are to explore, or rather that we could explore. There were quite a few installations that were not in operation, but that is fine, and is expected to a degree. My partner and I were fully engrossed, taking everything in, spending time. It was great, for the most part. Quite a few of the rooms and installations didn't have sufficient lighting. One particular room had a video playing off a projector, and no indication of what it represents. Eventually we found a few printouts, in an obscure corner, indicating that it was an artist's depiction of women in mourning. I felt that there was no flow to the layout of the museum, there was no suggested path, there was no indication of where to start or where to end. We continued, and eventually decided to leave as there was little time left and lots still to explore. We got to the exit at 14h25, and at that point the doors were closed and locked already. There is no reminder (audible or otherwise) that the museum is closing or anything. The staff had to reopen the doors, remove padlocks, to let us out. I am not sure if there might have been more people in the museum, but this was not a good look from my point of view. Either way, I would be interested in visiting again, as I think this sort of establishment has lots to offer and is a good reminder of our...

5/5 for the actual information on the Slave Lodge, 1/5 for the rest.

When purchasing tickets at reception, there was no welcome and instead we felt like a nuisance for wanting to enter. During our visit 2 members of staff could be heard from multiple rooms away and the closer they got, the less we could hear the video exhibit infront of us. We gave up trying to listen, even after they passed as their voices echoed around the rooms. Unfortunately this repeated 30 minutes later when they returned. Staff here seem to be untrained in both customer service and general understanding of museum etiquette, especially in a setting as solemn as this.

Very informative regarding slavery in the Cape, however a lot was repeated which became rather taxing as there's a lot to read. There is also little logic to the order of things so there was no real flow of information or exhibits.

Headphones had been removed so you couldn't listen to quite a lot of interactive exhibits. Personally I felt a few rooms were out of place regarding the theme of the museum and as a result pretty irrelevant.

We arrived at 14:46 and left nearly 2 hours later after a member of staff began passive aggressively switching off lights and exhibits around us. We didn't read everything and we spent nearly 2 hours with rooms we still planned to visit, so I'd suggest allocating at least 3 hours if you want the full experience. A courtesy comment from staff advising they'd be switching things off 20 minutes before closing would have been appreciated so we could ensure we visited what we wanted to before leaving, but instead we were followed by a silent shadow switching things off like she was fed up of...