Visual Century was published to great acclaim in 2011. More than a decade later, it has lost none of its appeal and is still the most comprehensive overview of South African art published since 1994.

Visual Century is an ambitious four-volume publication that reappraises one hundred years of South African visual art from a post-apartheid perspective. It is the first wideranging survey of its contemporary art to incorporate multiple writers and perspectives. By contextualising South African art within broader historical currents, Visual Century makes a major contribution towards the construction of an inclusive national archive, as well as to the development of an inclusive international art history.

Wide-ranging and in-depth essays by over 30 contributors, including many of South Africa’s leading art historians, cultural commentators and artists, make it an indispensable resource for curators, historians, students and artists. Lavish full colour illustrations, often of rare or seldom-seen artworks, make this collection a treasure for all art lovers with an interest in South African art.

Project initiator and director Gavin Jantjes is a South African artist currently based at Norway’s National Museum. Pallo Jordan, former Minister of Arts and Culture, supported the idea with seed funding to commission and develop the manuscript. Jantjes, together with editor-in-chief, Mario Pissarra of Africa South Arts Initiative (ASAI), commissioned and oversaw the exciting process of writing the book.

Given the need to construct a national archive, this work is a stellar example of what local productions (researching, writing, publishing) can mean as we tell our own stories, especially against the broader movement for a more inclusive, international art history that recognises and celebrates the contributions made in South Africa.

This project is the first to bring together such a wide range of local writers and perspectives. Project initiator and director Gavin Jantjes is a South African artist based at Norway’s National Museum. Pallo Jordan, former Minister of Arts and Culture, supported the idea with seed funding to commission and develop the manuscript. Jantjes, together with editor-in-chief, Mario Pissarra of Africa South Arts Initiative (ASAI), commissioned and oversaw the exciting process of writing the book.

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Troubling images

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Visual century volume two: 1945-1976

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Visual century (4-volume boxed set)

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