Johannesburg – The University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) turns one 100 years old, and to commemorate its centenary, the proudly South African tertiary education institution is hosting a range of festivities this weekend.
As part of The Wits Homecoming Weekend celebrations from Friday until Sunday, the university is giving the public a chance to experience its treasures, places of interest as well as art and performances.
There will be exhibitions, film screenings, musical and theatre performances, a park run, campus tours, food and drink stalls, and an arts and crafts market for people from all walks of life to enjoy
As the institution marks its 100th anniversary, it is also opening all its museums free to the public to experience the vast collections and some hidden treasures.
Wits Centenary Parade
The university’s centenary festivities will officially start on Friday morning during the Wits Centenary Parade where a procession will take to the Joburg streets to reimagine the RAG (Remember and Give).
This gathering will include floats, brigades as well as an open bus while Witsies, which includes students and staff, will dress up to participate in the parade which is set to depart from from the university’s Origins Centre.
Apart from the opening parade, Wit’s centenary celebrations will also include a host of other activities, celebrations and festivities. Here are some of them:
Kids, Tweens and Teens
The Yebo Gogga Yebo amaBlomo exhibition which is set to make its return following the Covid-19 pandemic which put the much-loved annual exhibition on hold. This free interactive science exhibition is for anyone who fancies racing cockroaches, sampling mopane worm pizzas, and experiencing fauna and flora, creepy crawlies.
The Yebo Gogga Yebo amaBlomo exhibition will take place:
Date: Friday and Saturday (3 and 4 September 2022)
Time: 08:30 – 15:00 (Friday) and 08:30 – 16:00 (Saturday)
Venue: Oppenheimer Life Science Building, Braamfontein Campus East
Family Fun
The university will host the #Wits100 Visible Resonance Light Show which is set to be an extravaganza where science meets wizardry and imagination fused with music and dance.
This multimedia extravaganza will be presented by acclaimed artists Marcus Neustetter, The Trinity Session and OMAi and is in collaboration with various participating artists, Harmonics, B&S Sound, the Wits Choir and the Wits Department of Theatre and Performance.
The #Wits100 Visible Resonance Light Show is set to be an improvised, interactive, euphoric, and entrancing experience.
Attendees are also expected to bring their own picnic baskets to enjoy under the Joburg sky.
No alcohol or no glass will be allowed but there will be beverages on sale.
Date: Friday, 2 September 2022
Time: 7pm-9pm
Venue: The Piazza, Wits Great Hall, Braamfontein Campus East
Museums and exhibitions
Celebrate the history of modern mankind by visiting The Origins Centre during the Wits Homecoming Weekend celebrations.
Attendees will be able to embark on guided tours of the 10 Centenary Objects Exhibition, which is a display of 10 iconic artefacts from Wits’ collection of the Earth Sciences Cluster as well as the Origins of early Sapien’s Behaviour Exhibition.
This is a showcase of unique archaeological discoveries that have been made at three sites and the exhibition presents the culmination of 30 years of archaeological research in the Southern Cape.
Date: Friday to Sunday (September 2 – 4, 2022).
Time: Daily from 9am to 5pm
Venue: The Origins Centre, Braamfontein Campus East
There will also be a farewell and an exciting welcome awaiting those who visit The Digital Dome (previously Wits Planetarium) during Wits’ Homecoming Weekend.
The dome will be open to all and visitors will be able to say their final goodbye to the old Zeiss projector while getting a sense of what is to come with the future Wits Digital Dome.
There will be live 10-min tours of the night sky on the hour with the old Zeiss projector; as well as a five minutes full-dome digital show played on repeat.
Music and arts
Art lovers can indulge in various exhibitions, musicals, shows and productions across Wits’ theatres and museums during the centenary celebrations this weekend.
This includes the Wits100 Free People’s Concert, which is a throwback to the daring and defiant concert hosted by Wits University in 1971.
The university was one of the few venues in the country that allowed groups of mixed races to gather and reimagine a different South Africa during the dark days of apartheid.
And the 2022 edition of the concert is set to cater for generations of South Africans as artists to perform include Mango Groove, Jesse Clegg, Big Zulu, Holly Rey and Samthing Soweto.
Date: Saturday September 3, 2022
Times: From 12pm (Saturday afternoon) to 2am (Sunday morning)
Venue: Dig Fields, Braamfontein Campus West
Tickets cost R100 and are available at Webtickets.
Meanwhile, The Wits Art Museum (WAM) will host three art exhibitions this weekend.
This includes Her eye on the storm, a tribute to photo activist Gisele Wulfsohn, Donna Kukama’s Away of remembering existing and WJK: In black and white by William Kentridge.
Dates: Friday to Sunday (September 2 – 4, 2022).
Time: Daily from 10:00am to 16:00pm
Venue: WAM, corner of Bertha (extension of Jan Smuts Avenue) and Jorissen Streets, Braamfontein
The School of Arts will also host Gideon Nxumalo’s 60th Celebration of Jazz Fantasia presented by Mdu Mtshali.
Nxumalo was commissioned by Wits University to produce the album Jazz Fantasia which is widely regarded as a seminal South African jazz record.
A musical genius, Nxumalo has been hailed as one of South Africa's greatest unsung musical and cultural heroes.
The 45-minute performance features piano, bass, drums, saxophone, vocals and two special guests on horns.
Date: Sunday, September 4, 2022
Time: 2pm
Venue: The new Chris Seabrooke Music Hall, Braamfontein Campus East
The performance is free, but seating is limited. Tickets at Web Tickets.
Arts and Crafts
The Rosebank Market will be part of the Wits’ celebrations with over 100 arts and crafts traders as well as food vendors.
Items on sale include decadent and tasty treats, unusual antiques, organic fruit and vegetables, original clothing, and an assortment of handmade arts and crafts.
Date: Saturday (September 3, 2022).
Times: All day
Venue: Hall 29, Braamfontein Campus West
Sports, Health and Relaxation
The Wits campus has expansive lawns and beautiful gardens that aid fitness and relaxation.
It is set to host the Wits ParkRun which starts at 8am on Saturday, September 3 outside the Wits Club.
Meanwhile, Yoga on the Lawns starts at 9.30am – 11am on the Wits Science Stadium Lawns.
The Wits Legends vs Orlando Pirates Legends game will also take place at the Wits Football Stadium on Yale Road.
In another rugby game, Witsies will be up against the Germiston Simmers.
There will also be a Wits netball legends match as part of the Wits centenary celebrations.
Founders’ Tea
The annual Founders’ Tea will be hosted on the beautiful Gavin Relly Green near the Wits Club and Barns Complex.
This special Wits tradition celebrates alumni who graduated more than 40 years ago.
Former deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke will be the guest speaker at this year’s event, with an introduction and welcome by Wits Chancellor Dr Judy Dlamini.
This year Wits welcomes the Classes of 1980, 1981, and 1982 to their first Founders’ Tea.
SRC Gala Dinner
The SRC Gala Dinner takes place on Sunday evening at the Wits Club.
It will reflect on how the SRC shaped our country’s socio-political trajectory and the opportunities that lie ahead.