Abstract
Abstract. The tradition of memorialising people and events through physical constructions such as statues and monuments like in many countries, has shaped the public space of a modern South Africa. Considering the colonial and apartheid history of South Africa, these physical markers, often uncontextualized, continue to maintain positions of prominence within the modern streetscape.Since the turn of the democratic era in South Africa, a pressing need has existed to assess the impact of the markers on the heritage landscape of the country. An endeavour made more difficult by a lack of a comprehensive inventory of these resources across the country.The National Audit of Monuments and Memorials (NAMM) was designed to address this gap through a full national survey of monuments and memorials, conducted under the auspices of a job creation stimulus package designed to create short term employment in the wake of the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. Undertaking this project under this funding mechanism required that all phases of the project be undertaken within a six-month period.The compressed timeframes associated with this project required an approach that could support a level of fluidity to address the challenges of undertaking a project of this nature, whilst ensuring that the data collected by field surveyors can be monitored and included in the inventory of the national estate in an effective manner.The aim of this paper is to discuss and showcase the tools and workflows used to roll out and manage the large-scale national audit of monuments and memorials across South Africa.
Highlights
The issue of Monuments and Memorials in South Africa, especially statues, and the need to reassess how South African heritage is presented has been a pressing concern from the turn of the democratic dispensation in 1994
The National Audit of Monuments and Memorials presented a unique challenge in terms of project management, heritage management practise, and data collection
This paper is aimed at discussing the tools used to facilitate a project of this nature, and whether they were successful in their intent to produce rapid results and streamline the process of data capture, review, and inclusion in the inventory of the national estate
Summary
The issue of Monuments and Memorials in South Africa, especially statues, and the need to reassess how South African heritage is presented has been a pressing concern from the turn of the democratic dispensation in 1994. With renewed public pressure brought forth by the Rhodes Must Fall movements, widespread discussions on decolonisation of colonial structures in modern day South Africa, and recently in the wake of global Black Lives Matter protest action, the need to identify and readdress the impact these markers have on the fabric of a post-apartheid South Africa became more imperative (Kiewit, 2020). This National Audit of Monuments and Memorials (NAMM) was designed to provide the first intervention, through a national survey aimed at identifying these markers. Whilst funding was provided for the employment of 260 participants, this source of funding presented its own challenges as it required that all planning and implementation be completed within a six-month period
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