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03 March 2021 | Story Giselle Baillie | Photo Supplied
Residence members who led the project, included: Bohlokwa Rantja, the Residence Prime, and Transformation Committee members Nsuku Mutemela, Ofentse Motlakeng, Phindile Tjale, Madinku Mabala, Mmapopi Motshoso, Karabo Shuping, and Tagane Sekete.

The University of the Free State (UFS) Council approved and adopted Lehakwe House as the new name for the NJ van der Merwe residence on the Bloemfontein Campus. The approval on 26 November 2020 followed a lengthy process of deliberation, consultation, and public engagement that has taken place since November 2019 and is aligned with the UFS Policy on Naming and Renaming. The name-change process was initiated by the Prime and Transformation Committee of the residence, guided by the Unit for Institutional Change and Social Justice and supported by a multi-stakeholder committee representative of the residence, the Housing and Residence Affairs Office, the Department of Student Affairs, the Student Representative Council, and alumni.

Lehakwe – a precious gem

Following a lengthy evaluation process of the names submitted through a public voting and recommendation platform in July 2020, ‘Lehakwe’ – a Sesotho word referring to a ‘precious gem’ – emerged as the front runner. As many current and past members of the residence attest, this womxn’s residence has come to occupy a significant space within the hearts and minds of UFS students and the UFS community, given that its spirit has always been closely aligned with the constitutional values of dignity, equality, and freedom and with the human values of ubuntu. In this vein, the new name of ‘Lehakwe’ presents a consolidation of constitutional and university values into the day-to-day thinking, learning, living, and legacy spaces of students, as well as everyone who interacts and engages with the UFS. 

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Award-winning artist and UFS intertwine
2017-06-10

Description: Nomusa Makhubu Tags: Nomusa Makhubu

Nomusa Makhubu’s work will be exhibited for the next
few weeks at the Johannes Stegmann Art Gallery.
Photo: Kara Schoeman

“It is this sense of ownership, or the loss thereof, that I would still like to explore.” Exploring issues of identity, and more particularly, the sensitive issue of representation through the medium of photography, is exactly what Nomusa Makhubu sets out to do in her exhibition entitled Intertwined 2005 – 2017.

The issue of self-representation
This solo exhibition is a survey of Makhubu’s practice as a lens-based artist working mainly with portraiture, performance and space-time politics. Her exhibition includes the series entitled, Trading Lies, Self-Portrait Project, Inquietude, The Flood and In Living Colour.

The exhibition, in association with Erdmann Contemporary, is on display in the Johannes Stegmann Art Gallery at the University of the Free State from 24 May to 23 June 2017. She has exhibited in Africa, Europe, the US, and China.

Throughout this exhibition, Makhubu focuses on the issue of self-representation, but also brings in geographical locations to question the assumed universality and objectivity of time and place.

Not only an artist, but a writer too
As an award-winning artist, academic and a full-time lecturer at Michaelis School of Fine Art at the University of Cape Town, Makhubu is a force to be reckoned with in the art world. She has also contributed her writing to Critical Arts, African Arts, the Journal of African Cultural Studies and Third Text, as well as other book projects and catalogues.

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