UCT exhibition depicts violence during protests
STUDENT leaders active in the #FeesMustFall movement have reflected on the violence experienced during the protests and how this has impacted their well-being, through a photographic exhibition.
The UCT Department of Student Affairs, in partnership with the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), is exhibiting Aftermath: Violence and Wellbeing in the context of the student movement. It will run from May 3-5 at the Molly Blackburn foyer, UCT Upper Campus.
The student-led protest started on October 12, 2015. More than 600 people were arrested, and there was more than R800 million in infrastructural damages. Protests also led to no tuition increases in 2016, as a result.
The HSRC research team held photovoice workshops with student leaders and activists on five university campuses which experienced high levels of violence during the 2015/16 #FeesMustFall protests.
More than a hundred images and related captions and narratives were gathered during the workshops, with the exhibition comprising 34 of the images taken and/ or supplied by the student leaders.
HSRC research director Dr Thierry Luescher said the photovoice methodology is an action research method that uses photos taken by the student participants to help them articulate difficult experiences such as violence and how they have regained a sense of well-being.
“The exhibition’s purpose is not to ascribe fault or ask who shot the first bullet or who threw the first stone but what the experience of being a witness, perpetrator or victim of violence means to students in its aftermath and the well-being effects that this has,” Luescher said.
Co-Principal Investigator from the University of Venda Dr Keamo Morwe said after the #FeesMustFall protests, the ongoing mental health challenges of former student activists and students in general became prevalent.
The exhibition is expected to travel to other universities. It is available at South African History Online.