Unlocking the value of university museums

AS SOUTH Africa celebrates Heritage Month, it is timely to reflect on the largely untapped value of university heritage collections.

- DR SIAN TILEY-NEL

Across the country’s 26 higher education institutions, fewer than eight are estimated to have museums or galleries, and less than half do not provide public access to their collections.

These inherited collections, often accumulated over decades or even a century, reflect the past, present, and future traditions of their institutions, yet they remain largely unknown and under-researched.

University museums are not merely repositories of objects — they are social constructs that contribute to civic society, provide spaces for teaching and learning, and serve as instruments for preserving and interpreting academic heritage.

In a South African context, recognising and leveraging these collections offers a crucial opportunity to engage with local and indigenous knowledge, to interrogate how knowledge is curated and represented, and to position university museums as multidisciplinary spaces that advance research, education, and broader social transformation.

A comprehensive mapping of the diverse collections held within higher education — including those associated with museums — has never been fully undertaken. The closest attempt is a 2019 report by the South African Cultural Observatory, which estimated that only 15.6% of museums in the country were university museums. In reality, this figure is, sadly, much lower.

Higher education institutional collections and university museums have immense potential to promote academic heritage and support teaching and learning.

But they are difficult to manage, as academic use can conflict with public access. Each collection has its own history, content, and significance. These collections also provide opportunities for further research and learning, and, importantly, require interrogation of how and why they ended up in these institutions.