Founding and current Director of the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, Christopher Till will take part at the session dedicated to Creative Industry at the 6th Brazil Africa Forum: Youth Empowerment – transformation to achieve sustainable development. Alongside with Till will be Paulo Rogério Nunes, CEO of Vale do Dendê and Joseph Osae-Addo, Chairman of ArchiAfrika.
Christopher Till is a international well known museologist. He has created exhibitions on Steve Biko, Oliver Tambo and the Women’s March among many others. Till’s exhibition about Nelson Mandela’s life, permanent in the Apartheid Museum, is carried out in Brazil in a partnership with Brazil Africa Institute.
Till is the principal driver in the development of the Mandela Capture Site in Howick, KwaZulu-Natal with its new museum and renowned sculpture of Mandela by Marco Cianfanelli, as well as the Javett Art Centre at the University of Pretoria due to open in 2019.
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A rich experience
Christopher Till was educated at Hilton College and Rhodes University where he obtained a masters degree in fine art (cum laude). He began his career at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in 1977, becoming Director in 1980 before serving as Director of the Johannesburg Art Gallery from 1983 to 1991. During his tenure he was responsible for several groundbreaking exhibitions, including The Neglected Tradition: Towards a New History of South African Art, secured the Brenthurst Collection of African Art, and commissioned several major sculptures for the collection. As Director of Culture for the City of Johannesburg from 1991 to 2001, he established the city’s first cultural office and directed the formation of arts and culture policy. He was responsible for establishing the Johannesburg Arts Alive International Festival in 1992, and the Johannesburg Biennales in 1995 and 1997 as well as the re-building of the Johannesburg Civic Theatre (now Joburg Theatre). He was also a seminal role player in the establishment and development of the Newtown Cultural Precinct in Johannesburg.
Christopher is a founding board member of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) Fine Art Committee and a member of the International Committee for Exhibitions and Exchange and Chairman of the Cape Town Triennial Organising Committee. For the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, he was responsible for the Fine Art component of the festival, and the Standard Bank Young Artist Award. He has served on many selection panels including the Sasol New Signatures Award, and the Valparaiso, São Paulo, Abidjan, Ivory Coast and Venice Biennales. He co-curated the South African Pavilion for the 2015 Venice Biennale. He has also served on numerous boards including the Soweto Dance Theatre and the Market Theatre.
