DISTRICT 6 - THE MINISTRY OF NOSTALGIA

by Julie Oti

The project delves behind the scenes of the Capetonian makeup in South Africa. The social commentary of the project is manifested in the strong diverse community of District Six. The community of District Six (and many others) lost their homes and 60000 people were forcefully relocated and since then the land. The chosen site is also a living heritage site which is to be dealt with sensitively through a civic shell while memorialising the remains frozen in time. The revival of memory, archiving, archaeological preservation and restoration of the cultural heritage are the foundation of the project and will be tackled within the Ministry of Nostalgia that collectively aims to order, restore and add to the cultural heritage and awareness of the rich site, while addressing the cultural dispossession and impact of forced removal. This a return home, to lands of yester-years, which builds up on the narrative of memories and traces of artefacts of what was.

Ministry of Nostalgia now bridging the urban divide through collective civic interventions, pays tribute to these addressed spaces. Returning Home draws attention to the realities of South Africa from lenses that looks beyond the Rainbow Nations façade and focuses on the socio-political issues where these liminal spaces collide, through new forms of municipal engagement that transcend the historic dividing of the land but celebrating its resilient nature.