Back home with Uropa's art

Christian missionaries once brought works of art from South Africa to Germany. Suzan Skhosana from Kgabalatsane near Pretoria also wants to bring a cultural heritage from Lower Saxony back home with sculptures by her great-grandfather.

As a writer, museum founder and activist, she is committed to reclaiming the cultural heritage of her homeland. For many years, she has been researching the whereabouts of works by her great-grandfather Micah (Miga) Kgasi (1864-1956), a preacher, teacher and sculptor.

Some of them are now part of the collection of the Evangelical Lutheran Missionary Organisation in Lower Saxony (ELM) in Hermannsburg. Skhosana would like to bring them back to South Africa this year. A return to the roots is important for the future, she said in an interview with the Evangelical Press Service (epd). According to its advisor Dr Joe Lüdemann, the ELM supports the return of the Kgasi sculptures and has already planned a return ceremony.

"I have been tirelessly searching for my great-grandfather's works since I was young, since 2004, and seeing them and touching them with my own hands will be a great adventure," said Skhosana. She has published an illustrated book with works by Kgasi and founded a museum in Kgabalatsane near Pretoria. She is convinced that the return of the sculptures could be part of a "healing of history" for South Africa. Putting them back where they belong will allow young people to "see tangible evidence of their artistic excellence and their history", she explained. "This fosters a sense of pride and belonging that is essential for our future development."

"My goal is the complete and respectful return of these artworks to South Africa," emphasised Suzan Skhosana. The author plans to come to Hermannsburg in person in the autumn. She is currently endeavouring to secure funding for the project in South Africa. The works should form the cornerstone of an expanded museum project. This could inspire local artists to reconnect with their cultural heritage. "For me personally, this is a kind of homecoming," she said. "It's about honouring my ancestor and reclaiming a narrative that has been withheld from us for far too long."

She explained that research such as that carried out around 1997 by South African art historian Elsa Miles Botha for a book on early black artists had initially come to nothing. A pastor who worked for the missionary organisation in South Africa for a long time and his wife then sent her photos of an exhibition of Kgasi's artworks from Hermannsburg. This made it clear that these sculptures were part of the missionary organisation's collection.

The missionary organisation is currently having its collection researched by a provenance researcher in collaboration with the Lower Saxony State Museum. This also involves property rights.

Text/Photo: Karen Miether/epd