Infecting the City

 

 

The Cape Town Museum of Childhood joined this year’s “Infecting the City” Public Arts Festival with a statement piece showcasing over 100 headline posters that relate to the violence against children in Cape Town.

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On Thursday, 21 November 2019, the Cape Town Museum of Childhood participated in the “Infecting the City” Public Arts Festival. Over the past year the museum has been collecting newspaper headline posters that relate to state of children in Cape Town. “Every day we pass these posters but they no longer impact us” says Chanel Fredericks, event organiser at the Cape Town Museum of Childhood, “We have become okay with Cape Town being a dangerous place for children.” According to the latest Child Gauge Survey, the national child murder rate is 4.3 murders per 100 000 children and the rape rate for children is 83 rapes per 100 000 children.

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Through exhibiting their collection of posters, the Cape Town Museum of Childhood wanted to remind the public of their accountability to the safety of children. In addition to this, the museum hoped to get the public thinking about what they can do to make Cape Town a safer place for children.

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The museum’s statement piece took place along Government Avenue and Wale Street in the Cape Town city centre. The museum welcomed the public to collect a poster and stand in solidarity for this cause. Participants included ECD teachers and principals from Delft, Bontehuewel, Grassy Park and Wesbank and representatives from various non-profit organisations such as The Justice Desk, Inclusive Education, Breadline Africa, SAEP,  Philisa Abafazi Bethu and Little Lions Child Coaching, to name a few. The statement piece was well supported and well received by commuters passing by.