Jan 23, 2023

MAXEKE: “This work is not for yourselves”

This production premieres at the Star Theatre at the District Six Homecoming Centre (formerly the Fugard Theatre) on the 7th February until the 11th February 2023.
Oct 10, 2022

Charlotte Maxeke at the CHR: Boschendal puppetry workshops and exhibition

In September 2022, the CHR’s artists in residence Siphokazi Mpofu and Sipho Ngxola and LoKO convenor Aja Marneweck, ran a puppetry workshop based on stories of Charlotte Maxeke, with young scholars from the Pniel area, culminating in an exhibition held in Boschendal on 17th September.
Sep 21, 2022

Imaginary Futures Live Performance at the Global Peripheries Conference Paris

On the 23rd and 24th September, CHR’s Aja Marneweck will be collaborating in the Imaginary Futures project on live performances at the Global Periphery Contemporary Imaginaries of Space, Multiple Voices Hybrid Conference at the Leonardo/Olats Observatory of Arts and Techno-Sciences in Paris.
Feb 25, 2022

Puppet Walk and Performance at Boschendal’s Plum Harvest Festival

After the great success of the elephant puppet walk at the Boschendal Plum Harvest Festival in 2021, we will be celebrating this year’s festival with giant puppets to raise awareness of the living waters and aquatic life of our planet.  
Feb 23, 2022

In the Press: Buhle Ngaba on CHR Charlotte Maxeke Production

CHR Artist in Residence Buhle Ngaba is writing a screenplay for a groundbreaking puppetry production on the life of Charlotte Maxeke.
Dec 15, 2021

What A Wonderful World

The 2021 Barrydale Puppet Parade and Performance centres on a family living in Barrydale and the connection a young woman has with an ancient indigenous tree, Old Gwarrie, as well as with the wonderful world she calls home.
May 31, 2021

List of Articles (2016-present)

Staff and Fellows of the Centre for Humanities Research regularly publish articles and reviews in local and international journals, applying the centre’s intellectual inquiries across a wide range of disciplines and interests.
Mar 18, 2021

A Celebration of Puppetry at the Boschendal Plum Festival

Life-sized elephant puppet Mnumzane strolled across the Boschendal Estate on Sunday 14 March 2021, accompanied by little elephant Alfie, their path criss-crossed by the boisterous Dassie puppet.
Mar 4, 2021

Animations and Activations: A Workshop Toward Embodying Memory Through Puppets and Plants

On 9 March 2021, the CHR’s Jane Taylor and Aja Marneweck will be participating in the puppetry workshop Animations and Activations with William Ellis (Dept. of Anthropology, UWC) and Marcus Neustetter as part of the Tri-Continental Partnership between the University of Missouri, the University of the Western Cape, and Ghent University.
Oct 26, 2020

Imaginary Futures

The CHR's Aja Marneweck, together with Nataniël Pokwas and Selanvor Platjies from Net vir Pret, the CHR's partners in the annual Barrydale puppetry production will be performing on the Brighton Fringe festival as part of the Imaginary Futures International arts project.
Jun 1, 2020

Die Virus

The song was inspired by a request made to Selanvor (who is fast becoming one of Barrydale’s celebrated young artists) from residents of the village, to create an artistic response to the virus and the time we are in now.
Nov 25, 2019

The Barrydale Giant Puppet Parade: mobilising creative ecologies in the Klein Karoo, South Africa

A new publication by Aja Marneweck explores the multifaceted process of creating the large-scale annual public puppetry event, The Barrydale Giant Puppet Parade, in the rural town of Barrydale, South Africa.

The CHR fellowship programme will continue in 2022 through online platforms and, where permitted, limited live events hosted in compliance with COVID-19 protocols. Please follow our events page for updates about events.

For queries, please email us at

centreforhumanitiesresearch@uwc.ac.za

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