Medu Art Ensemble Consolidation Project

• Educational

MEDU ART ENSEMBLE was formed by South Africa exiles in Gaborone, Botswana, in 1978. The organisation produced a wealth of creative work across all major art-forms; the group further played a key role in shaping aesthetic and cultural theory and praxis within Africanist and liberation struggles. On June 14 1985, the South African Defence Force attacked the homes of Medu members and other activists in Gaborone, killing 12 people; Medu as an organisation ceased to exist.

The collective process was a fundamental factor in Medu work, as well as the way in which individual artists changed and grew within the collective.

The work of the Medu Art Ensemble that is displayed on this website as part of the Consolidation Project, particularly Medu posters, are available for reproduction under the South African Creative Commons Copyright legislation. This stipulates that such items are free to use for educational, historical, cultural and not-for-profit use. If the use of an image or poster does not fit under the "educational, historical, cultural purposes", or is primarily for-profit, respective charges apply. Also note, that this only refers to situations where the sole or main purpose of reproduction is financial gain, it does however not include images and posters reproduced as part of a publication recording historical and cultural events, and/or for educational purposes, where the publication is then sold to cover the costs of production.

The initial setup, archival description and upload of poster images was done by Ogone Phetlhu and Laurence Stewart.