Zeitz MOCAA opens in the Grain Silo at the V&A Waterfront
On 22 September 2017 the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa opened to the public in the converted 1920s Grain Silo at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town.
Photo: Michael Rowe · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa opened to the public on 22 September 2017, a week after a preview weekend for professionals and patrons. It occupies the Grain Silo at the V&A Waterfront, a concrete structure built between 1921 and 1924 for South African Railways and Harbours.
The London-based Heatherwick Studio, led by Thomas Heatherwick and working with South African architects, carved a large central atrium out of the silo's cluster of concrete tubes and turned the surrounding space into galleries over nine floors. The V&A Waterfront paid for the development, and the museum was founded in partnership with the collector Jochen Zeitz, whose collection is on long-term loan and formed the core of the opening displays.
At its opening the museum described itself as the world's largest museum dedicated to contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora.
Why it matters
The museum gave Cape Town a major institution for contemporary African art and gave a disused industrial landmark in the harbour a new public use.
Where it happened
Zeitz MOCAA, Grain Silo, Silo District, V&A Waterfront
The museum occupies the converted Grain Silo itself, so the point marks the building where it opened. Coordinates from OpenStreetMap; the photograph was taken from the forecourt beside it.
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Where it happened Exact site
Zeitz MOCAA, Grain Silo, Silo District, V&A Waterfront
The museum occupies the converted Grain Silo itself, so the point marks the building where it opened. Coordinates from OpenStreetMap; the photograph was taken from the forecourt beside it.
