Norman Kaplan: All Shall Be Afforded Dignity. The Portico Library, Manchester. 14th March to 24th April, 2025.
‘Norman Kaplan: All Shall be Afforded Dignity!’
This display of artwork marks 30 years since the first democratic elections in South Africa. Norman Kaplan’s linocuts and prints speak to what life was like under the apartheid regime and remind us of the enduring relationship between art and protest.
‘All Shall Be Afforded Dignity!’ is curated around the work (of the same name) that artist Norman Kaplan made in 1996 in response to a call for art to celebrate the Constitution of the new democratic South Africa. More information about the exhibition organisers, Anti-Apartheid Legacy, Action for Southern Africa and The Anti-Apartheid Movement Archives below.
His linocut, All shall Be Afforded Dignity, was awarded the first prize honour and is engraved into a window in South Africa’s Constitutional Court, on permanent display.
Through sharing the linocuts as well as political and satirical cartoons made by Kaplan, during a career that spans apartheid South Africa, exile in the UK, and the hopes of post-liberation South Africa, this exhibition weaves a narrative that explores the interconnected themes of dignity, democracy, and the enduring human spirit. For an online showcase of the works visit https://antiapartheidlegacy.org.uk/resources/exhibitions/asbad/
Showing at The Portico Library, Kaplan’s prints and political cartoons are displayed alongside three books from the nineteenth and early twentieth century on Southern Africa in the Portico Library’s collection. The display will ask visitors to consider the legacy of imperialism, conquest and romanticised visions of Africa, as depicted in Olive Schreiner’s Life on an African Farm and other selected items from the Portico’s historical collection.
The Portico Library
The Portico Library
Free admission
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday: 10am – 5pm
Thursday: 10am – 7pm
Saturday: 12pm-4pm
14th March -24th April 2025*
(*closed to the public on Fri 28 March, Thur 10 April, Sat 12 April)
Access
The Portico Library has no step free access. The Library’s main entrance is via the green doors on Charlotte Street at the corner with Mosley Street. There is an intercom button next to the doors, please press for entry. For more information about visiting The Portico Library, including nearest transport links, see the Portico Library’s Visit page.
Exhibition preview evening – 13th March
Thursday, March 13 · 6 – 7:30pm GMT. Doors at 5:45pm
FREE to attend but booking is essential : please find out more and book here.
For an online viewing of Norman Kaplan’s work visit the showcase on our website.
South Africa’s Bill of Rights
Linocut on Paper
Norman Kaplan, 1996
Following an open national competition in newly democratic South Africa, Norman Kaplan’s artwork, South Africa’s Bill of Rights, was selected as the cover for a print portfolio, ‘Images of Human Rights’, that was issued by the Artists for Human Rights Trust in 1996.
All the prints, including this one of Kaplan’s, and his All Shall Be Afforded Dignity, are engraved into windows in the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg.
South Africa’s Bill of Rights is the preamble to the 1996 Constitution, drawn from the 1955 declaration of the people known as the ‘Freedom Charter’, created by the Congress of the People – a multi-racial gathering of representatives for a two-day meeting in Johannesburg (Kliptown, Soweto) to create a vision for a South Africa free from apartheid.
‘Norman Kaplan: All Shall be Afforded Dignity’ has been organised and presented for display at The Portico Library by the Anti-Apartheid Movement Archives, Action for Southern Africa, and the Anti-Apartheid Legacy: Centre of Memory & Learning
A travelling exhibition, this version of ‘All Shall Be Afforded Dignity!’ has been delivered in collaboration with The Portico Library as part of their Reunited Programme of experimental events and pilot activities to explore potential exhibition themes and the legacies of themes in their historic collection. All Shall Be Afforded Dignity! will play an important role in thinking about how the library critically reflects on and engages audiences in their historic collection. All Shall Be Afforded Dignity at The Portico Library is made possible by National Lottery Heritage Fund and National Lottery Players.
This exhibition is part of the UK wide commemorative programme, marking 30 years of democracy in South Africa. It is convened by Action for Southern Africa and Anti-Apartheid Legacy: Centre of Memory and Learning; with the Anti-Apartheid Movement Archives and ACTSA Scotland, in partnership with the South African High Commission to the UK & Northern Ireland.
“All shall be afforded dignity” is our theme for the programme. It is both commemorative and a call to action for the future.
Our aim is to draw on the spirit of the 1994 election year, where hope with action were the key ingredients to achieving a new dawn for South Africa and for the world. More information about the 30 years anniversary commemorative programme here .
