The National Gallery was such an inspiring experience! The building itself is majestic set in the oldest garden in Cape Town, a well-kept garden with an amazing array of plants, flowers and herbs (and not one piece of litter in sight 🙏🏽). So nice here. The artworks are diverse and while each piece has the artists name and date , I really wish they had added information on each piece thus offering us context and/ or glimpse into the artist themselves. They do offer us time periods which help us figure out some context for ourselves for example art produced in the midst of apartheid protests usually indicate a stance one way or the other but experiences are so much more complex- I would have liked to have known who the artist was as a person, their ideas on the political climate, their thoughts whilst making the piece. Adding a little extra would have turned each piece into its own adventure. Besides this, the art is amazing! It’s emotional and cathartic to see all these people, ordinary people fighting for freedom, people who never gained recognition nor wanted recognition for doing the right thing- standing up for people basic human rights. I especially loved the Nelson Mandela inspired works and the photos of protests- it left me emotional. The green room was my favorite for sure! The burning of the pass books was truly inspiring- seeing people stop playing by rules that were designed specifically to be a disservice to them. The dedication to gender issues also really spoke to me. Im so glad this museum provides a platform to discuss the complexities of gender identity. The museum felt like a safe space to explore ideas and analyze the past. The pieces are outstanding and I left wishing to know more about this amazing recent history- theres just so much! Finally I found it pleasantly shocking that it was only $5 for 3 people! What an amazing deal :-) I hope arts funding is a thing here because Cape Town has some truly exceptional phenomenal artists 💜