Duduzile Philisiwe Madonsela
2022 IVLP Impact Award Project: Endangered Heritage PreservationSouth Africa
Duduzile Madonsela obtained a degree in Social Science at the University of Durban-Westville in South Africa, an honors degree in Developments Studies and a national diploma in Public Relations from the University of South Africa and a post-graduate degree in Monitoring and Evaluation Methods from the University of Stellenbosch. She started her career as an educator, but in 2002, she began working as a curator for the Abaqulusi Municipality Museums. In 2008, she left Abaqulusi Local Municipality to join the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, where she works as a curator and a public servant.
Duduzile has developed and implemented the Backlog Documentation Plan, which aims to develop a comprehensive archival system that ensures sustainable consumption of the museum content. Through individual initiatives and collaborations with local and international artists and curators, she has curated several photographic exhibitions. She has also initiated other social cohesion programs, public lectures and seminars to implement local, and national government objectives and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Throughout her career, she has organized several photography events and exhibitions, including an annual event to honor Dr. Bensusan, an annual photography seminar celebrating women photographers, the Womandla Photography exhibitions and the Pingyao International Photography Festival held in China. She has also produced monthly photo articles published in the Beijing-based photo magazine “The Photoworld.”
IVLP Impact Award Project: Endangered Heritage Preservation
The project established a comprehensive archival system to catalogue and preserve materials from important photography collections, laying a foundation for digitization of the collections so that they are globally accessible. A total of 710 photo records were properly catalogued and documented with information including an accession number, a barcode, and information about the artist. Among the highlights are a record of ordinary South African life during apartheid- removal, destruction of society and communal spirits, resettlement and relocation, Botswana before and after independence, Mozambique Civil Wars and refugees, life under apartheid South Africa, and influential socio-political figures and artists.
IVLP Exchange Experience
Duduzile participated in the IVLP Project Fundraising for Historical and Cultural Institutions before COVID-19 and in the Present, organized by the U.S. Department of State and CRDF Global, in partnership with the U.S. Department of State Office of International Visitors program branch in New York City, Global Ties Detroit, Charleston Council for International Visitors, WorldOrlando and Global Ties San Francisco.
U.S. Communities Visited Virtually
San Francisco, CA; Orlando, FL; Detroit, MI; New York City, NY; Charleston, SC