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Professor Sandra Klopper Curriculum Vitae

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Professor Sandra Klopper Curriculum Vitae Narrative Prof Sandra Klopper is currently Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Pretoria. She did her undergraduate studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, where she obtained her Honours in Art History (cum laude) in 1978. Her MA, from the University of East Anglia, was on Art and Social Reform. She lectured in Art History at the University of the Witwatersrand from 1981 to 1988, where she also obtained her PhD, which traces the socio-political histories of various traditionalist art forms from present-day northern KwaZulu-Natal. She was appointed as lecturer (specialising in African art) at the University of Cape Town in 1989. While at UCT, she was promoted to Senior Lecturer, then Associate Professor, before accepting an appointment as Head of Visual Arts at the University of Stellenbosch in June 2001. Following her subsequent appointment as Vice Dean: Arts (Drama, Fine Arts and Music) at that university in January 2006, she accepted an additional appointment as Acting Head of the Music Department in mid-2006. She was appointed by the University of Pretoria as Dean of the Faculty of Humanities in October 2008, after being approached to apply for this position in early 2008. Prof Klopper has written extensively on the traditionalist art of southern African communities, including the expressive culture of migrant labourers and their families; on African fashion, textiles and beadwork; on various aspect of contemporary South African youth culture; and on the work of several contemporary South African artists. She has collaborated with photographer Peter Magubane on the publication of three books and has served on the editorial boards of African Arts (UCLA) and NKA: Journal of Contemporary African Art (Cornell). She has been awarded a B2 NRF-rating, valid from 1 January 2012. Prof Klopper has long-standing links with colleagues at various universities and museums in the USA and the UK. She also has close ties with colleagues at Makarere University in Uganda and at the University of Dar es Salaam, where she supervised a PhD thesis funded through UCT’s USHEPiA initiative. She continues to collaborate with her former Tanzanian student, Rehema Nchimbi, on various projects. Prof Klopper has played an active role in spearheading curriculum developments at UCT, Stellenbosch and Pretoria. She currently chairs the Humanities Faculty’s Teaching and Learning Committee at the University of Pretoria. She has also served as a member of the Senate Library Committee at UP and, before that, at Stellenbosch. While at Stellenbosch, she was tasked to develop strategies for securing senior academics appointments from the so-called designated groups, and she oversaw a major refurbishment of the Visual Arts department’s building and facilities. To support the latter project, she secured a R5.5 grant from Anglo Platinum to build and equip a platinum studio for the department’s Jewellery division, and to fund substantial bursaries for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. In 2006, she also secured THRIP funding to ‘match’ this Anglo Platinum grant. Prof Klopper has played an active role in various community projects and initiatives. She was for many years the treasurer of the Visual Arts Group (a subsidiary of the now defunct Cultural Workers Congress of the Western Cape). From 2004 to 2006, she also chaired the committee formed by the Western Cape Government to commission the Peace Laureate sculpture project at the Waterfront in Cape Town. ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS Degree/ Higher education Field of study Year Distinctions Diploma institution University of Witwatersrand 1978 Cum Laude BA Hons History of Art University of East Anglia 1980 MA Arts and Social Change PhD The Art of Zulu- University of Witwatersrand 1992 Speakers from Northern KZN WORK EXPERIENCE Name of employer Capacity and/or type of work Period University of Pretoria Dean of Faculty : Humanities October 2008, to date University of Stellenbosch Vice Dean: Arts (Drama, Music & Visual 2006- Sep 2008 Arts) and Acting Head: Department of Music University of Stellenbosch Head & Professor: Dept of Visual Arts June 2001 Dec 2005 University of Cape Town Associate Professor Dept of Historical 2001 Studies University of Cape Town Senior Lecturer Dept of History of Art 1995-2000 University of Cape Town Lecture Dept of History of Art 1989-1995 University of Witwatersrand Lecturer Department of Art History 1981 - 1988 University of Witwatersrand Tutor Department of Art History 1979 February - Aug MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE DUTIES At the University of Pretoria 2010 to the present Member of the Senate Library Committee 2009 to the present Member of the University of Pretoria Arts Committee 2009 to the present: Chairperson, Teaching and Learning Committee, Faculty of Humanities October 2008 to the present Membership of Senex and related Executive committees as part of my duties as Dean of the Faculty of Humanities At the University of Stellenbosch 2008 Member of Research Sub-Committee A 2008 Member of Senate Appointments Committee (ASK) 2006-2008 Member of Humanities Faculty Research, Teaching and Learning and Community Engagement Committees as part of my duties as Vice Dean: Arts 2002-2008 Member of Senate Library Committee 2004-7 Member of the Senate Academic Planning Committee (ABK) 2004 Chairperson, Task Team 3: Equity Development at Senior Academic Level, Stellenbosch University. Report tabled in March 2005 2002 -2004 Member of the Academic Submissions Committee (AAK), Humanities Faculty 2001-2005 SAUVCA appointee for NSB02. (South African Qualifications Authority) Also the university link person (Stellenbosch and prior to that UCT) for the SGB on Art, Craft and Design. At the University of Cape Town 2000 Convenor, Texts in Context, Humanities Foundation Course at UCT (900 students) From July 2000 to June 2001 (when I left UCT) Convenor, Humanities Faculty Cultural and Literary Studies Programme. 2000 Board, Museum Studies Diploma Committee, UCT, UWC and the Robben Island Training Programme. 1993&1994 Member of the Board of the Centre of African Studies, UCT. 1993&1994 Member of the Management Committee of the Harry Oppenheimer Institute, Centre for African Studies, UCT. RESEARCH NEARING COMPLETION 1. The Mat racks of Tivinyanga Qwabe An paper on the relief panels of this early-20th century Nongoma-based artist, titled „Tivinyanga Qwabe and the Invention of Zulu Tradition‟ will form part of a book on Indigenous Modernisms edited by my Toronto-based colleague, Ruth Phillips. 2. The cosmological concepts of traditionalist Zulu-speaking communities For an exhibition catalogue, as part of an exhibition that will open at the National Museum of African Art (Smithsonian Institution, Washington) in mid-2012, titled African Cosmos: Stellar Art, curated by Chris Kraemer. 3. African Art at the University of Stellenbosch Paper for a book of essays on the German-born/South African-based African Art collector, Egon Guenther, to be edited by my Indiana-based colleague, Paula Girshlik 4. Returning the Gaze: The Gendered Art of Deborah Bell This paper will be included in a book of essays on the artist, Deborah Bell, which is due to appear in September 2011. CURATED EXHIBITIONS April 2004 to March 2005 Democracy X: Marking the Present, Re-Presenting the Past. I was one of three chief curators on this project, which was awarded a budget of R2.5 million by the Department of Art and Culture. The Royal Academy voted this exhibition one of the 15 „must see‟ international exhibitions for 2004. Aug-Sep 2002 Willie Bester 15 Years. Sasol Art Museum, University of Stellenbosch. Dec 1999-Feb 2000 Other People’s Property. An exhibition of hiphop spraycan art held at the South African Museum, Cape Town. (Co-curator, hiphop „writer‟, Falko). April 1999 Writing Religiously. An exhibition of hiphop spraycan art held at the University of Stellenbosch Art Gallery, Stellenbosch. (Co-curator, hiphop „writer‟, Falko). 1985 One of several curators for the Women‟s Art Festival, Johannesburg. This ambitious project witnessed the display of work by South African women artists in virtually every commercial and non-commercial gallery in Johannesburg over a two-month period. EDITORIAL BOARDS 2004 Appointed as the South African editor for African Arts (UCLA) 2003 Appointed as a contributing editor for NKA: Journal of Contemporary African Art (Cornell) COMMUNITY SERVICE 2004-2006 Chairperson, Technical Committee, Nobel Peace Laureate Sculpture Project, Waterfront Cape Town. (Funded by the Western Cape Government). I oversaw the planning and erection of sculptures of Chief Albert Luthuli, former presidents Nelson Mandela and FW De Klerk, and, Archbishop Desmond Tutu by Claudette Schreuders and a further work by Noria Mabasa, titled „Peace and Democracy‟. The process of negotiating with, and convincing all stakeholders to sign off on the project was extremely demanding, but this public sculpture project has been a major success, drawing countless local and international visitors who interact daily with the sculptures and have themselves photographed standing next to one or other of the peace laureates. 2003 Wrote part of the South African Schools Syllabus (Grades 10, 11, and 12) for Art and Design 2003 Invited Guest Speaker at the CT launch of VANSA (Visual Arts Network of South Africa). 2002 Invited Guest Speaker at the 21st Anniversary of the Community Arts Project. 1998 National Judge for the FNB Vita Now Craft Awards. 1998 Lectures on key aspects of African art for school teachers from the greater Cape Town area. 1998&1999 Deputy Chair of the Board of Trustees, Community Arts Project, Cape Town. 1997 July Appointed to the Board of Trustees, Community Arts Project, Cape Town. 1995 Mounted display on southern African beadwork for the “UCT and You” exhibition at the South African Museum. 1994 Lectures/seminars on Baroque, Mexican and New Deal murals for the Mural Arts students at the Community Arts Centre in Woodstock, Cape Town. 1994 Began co-ordinating the South African Association of Art Historians' initiative to publish material on contemporary South African art for use by art educators in secondary schools and in the non-formal educational sector.
Recommended publications
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  • Representations of African Bodies in the 1983 Contre

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  • Apartheid: History Through an Artistic Lens Sarah Latimer • St

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  • Sarah Baartman Sculpture Reignites Art Dialogue at UCT

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  • Willie Bester: an Artist Resisting the Injustices of Post-Apartheid in South Africa

    Willie Bester: an Artist Resisting the Injustices of Post-Apartheid in South Africa

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  • Research Report

    Research Report

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  • The Democratisation of Art: Cap As an Alternative Art Space In

    The Democratisation of Art: Cap As an Alternative Art Space In

    THE DEMOCRATISATION OF ART: CAP AS AN ALTERNATIVE ART SPACE IN SOUTH AFRICA BY EBEN LOCHNER SUBMITTED IN FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR MASTER OF ARTS AT RHODES UNIVERSITY. 02 JUNE 2011 SUPERVISOR: PROF. RUTH SIMBAO. Declaration of originality. I declare that this thesis is my own work and that all the sources I have used have been acknowledged by complete references. This thesis is being submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for Master of Art at Rhodes University. I declare that it has not been submitted before for any degree or examination at another university. __________________ __________________ Signature Date This thesis is dedicated to the late Dr. Michael Herbst who made me enthusiastic about Art History during my 1st year at university. He supported me with his time and his advice and his presence is sorely missed. Abstract While formal arts education was inaccessible to many during Apartheid, community-based centres played a significant role in the training of previously disadvantaged artists. By engaging in a socio-political critique of the history of South African art, this thesis argues that even though alternative art spaces are often marginalised, they remain essential to the diversification and democratisation of contemporary South African art today with its re-entry into the international art scene. According to Lize van Robbroeck (2004:52), “some of the fundamental ideals of community arts need to be revised to enrich, democratize and diversify [South Africa's] cultural practice.” The aim of my Thesis is to investigate this statement in relation to the contribution the Community Arts Project (CAP) in Cape Town (1977-2003).
  • Willie Bester

    Willie Bester

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  • South African Family Stories Reflections on an Experiment in Exhibition Making

    South African Family Stories Reflections on an Experiment in Exhibition Making

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