OCTH Walkabout "The Siege and the Sanctuary" l Mental Health Day

This World Mental Health Day, we invite you to join us at the historic Desmond Tutu House (The Old Granary Building) for a quiet, reflective journey through our latest exhibition, “The Siege and the Sanctuary”, curated by Aaliyah Ahmend. Hosted by Our Cape Town Heritage, this special walkabout moves away from standard gallery viewing, offering an intimate and gentle space to process complex experiences that are often difficult to put into words. Together, we will explore the powerful dialogue between struggle and repair created by contemporary artists Alfred Kitsi and Jaden Wells. Visitors will receive direct insight into the artists' inspirations, technical processes, and the hidden narratives woven into their pieces, witnessing how creative practice can become a vital tool for healing.

Honouring Our History & Learning Together

The exhibition is grounded in the research of the Digital Archive Research Library (DARL) https://ourcapetownheritage.org/mental-health- .

Led by Curatorial Assistant Zainab Abrahams, this walkabout serves as an educational space to gently unpack the historical cycles of surveillance and exclusion that have shaped mental health in Cape Town. Sharing the historical insights gathered on how marginalised communities at the Cape were treated under colonial and Apartheid systems, from the confinement of the Slave Lodge to the isolation of Robben Island. By learning about these structural roots, we hope to foster a deeper understanding of the persistent public stigmas and modern inequalities that still affect our communities today.

At its heart, this walkabout is an invitation to look back at our past with honesty, while looking forward through the language of resilience, recovery, and collective care.

Visit ourcapetownheritage.org for more information.

More about the Host:

The Desmond and Leah Tutu Foundation serves as a vital custodian of the late Archbishop's enduring commitment to human rights, social justice, and reconciliation. Based at the historic Desmond Tutu House in Cape Town, the foundation actively promotes the core values of its founders by fostering critical dialogue, supporting community-led initiatives, and advancing the profound African philosophy of Ubuntu. The foundation works to heal fractured societies and ensure that the pursuit of truth and restorative justice remains central to building a more equitable world. Constructed between 1808 and 1813, the building is one of Cape Town’s most complex and layered structural artefacts. Over its 200-year history, the site has transitioned through several institutional iterations, serving sequentially as a private residence and bakery, a British customs house, a town granary, a magistrates' court, and a civil engineer's office.