Contested memories and reinvention of spaces: case studies illustrating strategies in the preservation of public monuments in South Africa

Abstract

Throughout history, society has celebrated and elevated events and people with visible monuments, structures, or sculptures in prominent public positions for symbolic, historical, powerful veneration, admiration and education. Being in the open domain, these monuments have withstood the worst of changes in socio-economic conditions, historical reinterpretation, changes in state leadership and rapid urban growth. Their location too, has often placed these monuments at risk of physical damage and ongoing destruction. The debate on the continued presence of these monuments in a globalised world, post-colonial and post-democratic South Africa has greatly intensified in the past decade and challenges remain concerning the continued preservation of these monuments. Do they still have a place in this current contested political and social space, and should they even be preserved? Should we disown these works and how do we decolonize them? In 2015, the South African government initiated a task team for the transformation of the heritage landscape in an attempt to set guidelines for ‘contested’ and ‘offensive’ monuments, yet the report has yet to be released. This article does not offer new empirical evidence nor definitive answers to such challenging questions; instead, it offers fresh preservation perspectives by outlining case studies and illustrating strategies in dealing with and contributing to the debate on public monuments as contested memories and the reinvention of those public spaces.