SINGING FREEDOM

SINGING FREEDOM

SINGING FREEDOM

SINGING FREEDOM

An exhibition about the music of the struggle against Apartheid.

An exhibition about the music of the struggle against Apartheid.

An exhibition about the music of the struggle against Apartheid.

An exhibition about the music of the struggle against Apartheid.

Client

Iziko Museums of Cape Town

Roles

Creative director, designer, content wrangler, project manager, client service

Type

Printed vinyl, touchscreen, Arduino listening stations, MP3 player radio

singingfreedomexhibit_hero
BACKGROUND AND BRIEF:

Pixel Project won the tender to design the Singing Freedom exhibition which was hosted at the Slave Lodge in Cape Town’s CBD. The exhibition examines the role of music in the liberation struggle in South Africa, telling the story through various musicians and artists who were involved in crossing over between music and politics. The Slave Lodge is a significant historical landmark in Cape Town, so it was quite an appropriate venue for such an exhibit. 

BACKGROUND AND BRIEF:

Pixel Project won the tender to design the Singing Freedom exhibition to be hosted at the Slave Lodge in Cape Town’s CBD. The exhibition examines the role of music in the liberation struggle in South Africa, telling the story through various musicians and artists who were involved in crossing over between music and politics. The Slave Lodge is a significant historical landmark in Cape Town, so it was quite an appropriate venue for such an exhibit.

APPROACH:

I produced the creative for the exhibition as well as curated the content provided and guided the writers and academics to supply an exhibition pack. I also set up a content tracking system to monitor the status of the content. Using print panels, listening stations, historical artefacts, touchscreens and music - visitors were taken on a politically-charged musical journey back through time.

Most of the archival photos would be black and white, and this inspired a colour theme to match. I used a stave containing the music for Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika and wrapped it around both rooms to link the content panels and visually link exhibit. Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika is an African hymn that is one of South Africa's national anthems and has great historical significance in the fight for liberation. It culminated in being held by a fist, which was the symbol of defiance and uprising against oppression. This image was the first concept visitors would see entering the room as it was directly opposite the entranceway.

There were two adjoining rooms that I had at my disposal, so I decided to invert the second room visually. The first room was white with black text and the second room was dark charcoal with white text. I wanted to create an ambience to match the mood of the content - this room’s content dealt with the struggle timeline and highlighted information from a very critical time in South Africa’s political history.

Some colour was brought into the exhibit from the t-shirts on display, artefacts and some posters.

There were also 2 “listening” stations mounted with headphones where visitors could listen to a selection of these freedom songs. The second room contained two touchscreens with a straightforward music quiz.

APPROACH:

I produced the creative for the exhibition as well as curated the content provided and guided the writers and academics to supply an exhibition pack. I also set up a content tracking system to monitor the status of the material. Using print panels, listening stations, historical artefacts, touchscreens and music - visitors were taken on a politically-charged musical journey back through time.

Most of the archival photos would be black and white, and this inspired a colour theme to match. I used a stave containing the music for Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika and wrapped it around both rooms to link the content panels and visually link exhibit. Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika is an African hymn that is one of South Africa's national anthems and has great historical significance in the fight for liberation. It culminated in being held by a fist, which was the symbol of defiance and uprising against oppression. This image was the first concept visitors would see entering the room as it was directly opposite the entranceway.

There were two adjoining rooms that I had at my disposal, so I decided to invert the second room visually. The first room was white with black text and the second room was dark charcoal with white text. I wanted to create an ambience to match the mood of the content - this room’s content dealt with the struggle timeline and highlighted information from a very critical time in South Africa’s political history.

Some colour was brought into the exhibit from the t-shirts on display, artefacts and some posters.

There were also 2 “listening” stations mounted with headphones where visitors could listen to a selection of these freedom songs. The second room contained two touchscreens with a straightforward music quiz.

APPROACH:

I produced the creative for the exhibition as well as curated the content provided and guided the writers and academics to supply an exhibition pack. I also set up a content tracking system to monitor the status of the material. Using print panels, listening stations, historical artefacts, touchscreens and music - visitors were taken on a politically-charged musical journey back through time.

Most of the archival photos would be black and white, and this inspired a colour theme to match. I used a stave containing the music for Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika and wrapped it around both rooms to link the content panels and visually link exhibit. Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika is an African hymn that is one of South Africa's national anthems and has great historical significance in the fight for liberation. It culminated in being held by a fist, which was the symbol of defiance and uprising against oppression. This image was the first concept visitors would see entering the room as it was directly opposite the entranceway.

There were two adjoining rooms that I had at my disposal, so I decided to invert the second room visually. The first room was white with black text and the second room was dark charcoal with white text. I wanted to create an ambience to match the mood of the content - this room’s content dealt with the struggle timeline and highlighted information from a very critical time in South Africa’s political history.

Some colour was brought into the exhibit from the t-shirts on display, artefacts and some posters.

There were also 2 “listening” stations mounted with headphones where visitors could listen to a selection of these freedom songs. The second room contained two touchscreens with a straightforward music quiz.

APPROACH:

I produced the creative for the exhibition as well as curated the content provided and guided the writers and academics to supply an exhibition pack. I also set up a content tracking system to monitor the status of the material. Using print panels, listening stations, historical artefacts, touchscreens and music - visitors were taken on a politically-charged musical journey back through time.

Most of the archival photos would be black and white, and this inspired a colour theme to match. I used a stave containing the music for Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika and wrapped it around both rooms to link the content panels and visually link exhibit. Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika is an African hymn that is one of South Africa's national anthems and has great historical significance in the fight for liberation. It culminated in being held by a fist, which was the symbol of defiance and uprising against oppression. This image was the first concept visitors would see entering the room as it was directly opposite the entranceway.

There were two adjoining rooms that I had at my disposal, so I decided to invert the second room visually. The first room was white with black text and the second room was dark charcoal with white text. I wanted to create an ambience to match the mood of the content - this room’s content dealt with the struggle timeline and highlighted information from a very critical time in South Africa’s political history.

Some colour was brought into the exhibit from the t-shirts on display, artefacts and some posters.

There were also 2 “listening” stations mounted with headphones where visitors could listen to a selection of these freedom songs. The second room contained two touchscreens with a straightforward music quiz.

APPROACH:

I produced the creative for the exhibition as well as curated the content provided and guided the writers and academics to supply an exhibition pack. I also set up a content tracking system to monitor the status of the material. Using print panels, listening stations, historical artefacts, touchscreens and music - visitors were taken on a politically-charged musical journey back through time.

Most of the archival photos would be black and white, and this inspired a colour theme to match. I used a stave containing the music for Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika and wrapped it around both rooms to link the content panels and visually link exhibit. Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika is an African hymn that is one of South Africa's national anthems and has great historical significance in the fight for liberation. It culminated in being held by a fist, which was the symbol of defiance and uprising against oppression. This image was the first concept visitors would see entering the room as it was directly opposite the entranceway.

There were two adjoining rooms that I had at my disposal, so I decided to invert the second room visually. The first room was white with black text and the second room was dark charcoal with white text. I wanted to create an ambience to match the mood of the content - this room’s content dealt with the struggle timeline and highlighted information from a very critical time in South Africa’s political history.

Some colour was brought into the exhibit from the t-shirts on display, artefacts and some posters.

There were also 2 “listening” stations mounted with headphones where visitors could listen to a selection of these freedom songs. The second room contained two touchscreens with a straightforward music quiz.

EXHIBITION IMAGES
CHALLENGES:

The Slave Lodge is a historical building, so there was to be no drilling into the walls or ceiling, which meant I couldn't install new fixtures. I had to use the existing panels mounted on the walls. 

The budget was also minimal, so there was no budget to build display units, so the museum provided these.

Another challenge was whittling the content down so it would fit within the panels. There was so much content and so many stories, but the curators worked diligently to provide the most pertinent information.

CHALLENGES:

The Slave Lodge is a historical building, so there was to be no drilling into the walls or ceiling, which meant I couldn't install new fixtures. I had to use the existing panels mounted on the walls. 

The budget was also minimal, so there was no budget to build display units, so the museum provided these.

Another challenge was whittling the content down so it would fit within the panels. There was so much content and so many stories, but the curators worked diligently to provide the most pertinent information.

CHALLENGES:

The Slave Lodge is a historical building, so there was to be no drilling into the walls or ceiling, which meant I couldn't install new fixtures. I had to use the existing panels mounted on the walls. 

The budget was also minimal, so there was no budget to build display units, so the museum provided these.

Another challenge was whittling the content down so it would fit within the panels. There was so much content and so many stories, but the curators worked diligently to provide the most pertinent information.

RESULT:

The exhibition attracted a broad international audience due to Iziko’s affiliation with international academic institutions. Singing Freedom received wide praise from Brown’s University and the Smithsonian Institute.

RESULT:

The exhibition attracted a broad international audience due to Iziko’s affiliation with international academic institutions. Singing Freedom received wide praise from Brown’s University and the Smithsonian Institute.

RESULT:

The exhibition attracted a broad international audience due to Iziko’s affiliation with international academic institutions. Singing Freedom received wide praise from Brown’s University and the Smithsonian Institute.

RESULT:

The exhibition attracted a broad international audience due to Iziko’s affiliation with international academic institutions. Singing Freedom received wide praise from Brown’s University and the Smithsonian Institute

EXHIBITION DESIGN PLANNING PROCESS

VISUAL IDENTITY AND LOOK AND FEEL

Design mock-ups that show the flowing stave around the room and the use of large portraits.

Design mock-ups that show the flowing stave around the room and the use of large portraits.

Design mock-ups that show the flowing stave around the room and the use of large portraits.

singing_freedom_lookfeel-8
DESIGN ROLL OUTS
singingfreedom_room1_exile
singingfreedom_room1_1980s
singingfreedom_room1_end
singingfreedom_Room2_panel2