SOAS Research Online

Abstract

The exhibition Scenes from the South, guest curated by Kai Easton of SOAS University of London and David Attwell of the University of York, marks the 80th birthday of Nobel Prizewinning writer J.M. Coetzee at the newly rebranded Amazwi South African Museum of Literature in Makhanda, Eastern Cape. Exploring South-South relations in Coetzee’s life and work, inspired by his own project, ‘Literatures of the South’ at the Cátedra Coetzee, Universidad Nacional de San Martín in Argentina, the key aims of the project are biographical, cartographical and curatorial: to expand and diversify readings of South Africa’s most distinguished writer – a leading figure on the world stage who has lived in Australia since 2002 and worked and travelled extensively in South America – and concurrently to facilitate curatorial connections, collections, and knowledge exchange with partners who share a decolonising agenda in museum practice, the heritage sector, and literary and historical archives. Exhibition Catalogue - Contents: 01 ‘Curating Across Southern Spaces’ South-North-South Itineraries Kai Easton 05 J.M. Coetzee | Scenes from the South by David Attwell 13 Southern Crossings | J.M. Coetzee @ 80 by Kai Easton 28 Travelling South with Coetzee by Kai Easton 33 Adelaide – Avontuur 36 Steinkopf – Stellenbosch 41 Rosebank – Rondebosch 46 Buffalo – Leeu-Gamka 54 Cape Town – Cradock 58 Roquefixade – Roussillon 64 Bahia – Buenos Aires 68 Archival Sources