A Very Brief History of Rust-en-Vrede
Rust-en-Vrede was originally built in the 1840’s as a prison and police headquarters. It also served as a magistrate’s court. It is here that the first Village Management Committee meetings were held. In 1901, with the registering of Durbanville as a Municipality, the first council meetings were also held in the building.
In 1927 the building was sold to Mr Robert John Meneely, a clock maker. During this time the building was converted into 4 semi-detached houses, The Oaks, Ingle Nook, My Vreugd and The Retreat, with the Meneely’s occupying the main section. Mr Meneely was a charming, but eccentric gentleman, who during his retirement years, filled the house with a great number of antique clocks, all ticking away lustily!
After the demise of Mr and Mrs Meneely the Municipality bought the property from the Meneely estate in 1978 and the slow process of restoration began. It was during this time, in 1981, that the Durbanville Cultural Society was officially established. It was decided that, in conjunction with the council, the Durbanville Cultural Society would run the building as an Arts and Culture centre. The complex now houses a Gallery, Clay Museum, various Art Studios and the Rust-en-Vrede Coffee Shop.
The building was declared a national monument in 1984.
The Art Gallery
The well-established Rust-en-Vrede Art Gallery showcases works of art by established and emerging artists. There are three exhibition spaces at Rust-en-Vrede.
The main gallery consists of two rooms and are referred to as Salon A and Salon B. Salon C is in the entrance room, which is a more informal space used for small solo- or group exhibitions.
Gallery Hours are Monday - Friday 09:00 - 17:00 and Saturday 09:00 - 13:00. ( The exhibitions change monthly and are freely open to the public.) Artists who wish to exhibit at Rust-en-Vrede are requested to submit work and a short proposal to the Gallery Management.
The members serving on this committee are nominated at the Annual General Meeting in August. They meet monthly to assess new applicants for exhibitions with the curator. Local artist, Theo P. Vorster, is the chairperson of the Gallery Management.
Durbanville Cultural Society
The Durbanville Cultural Society is a non-profit organisation and the Lessee of the Rust-en-Vrede property.
The Society was established in 1981 to assist the then Durbanville Municipality in the promotion of cultural activities. It was chaired by a local artist, Con Purchase, since passed away, who was instrumental in obtaining the building as an Arts and Cultural Centre. The centre was officially opened on 14 February 1984 by die Hon. E. Louw (Administrator of the Cape) with several hundred people attending. From that time onwards, many people from this community have actively been involved by serving on the various committees or as members of the Durbanville Cultural Society.
The Society has since been operational – as custodians of the first Clay Museum in South Africa - in promoting and supporting young and emerging artists by exhibiting their work - in offering art classes and workshops to promote cultural activity in the community - in organizing monthly craft markets where individuals can sell their works and thereby facilitating job creation.
The Durbanville Cultural Society, under the chairmanship of Susan Liegner, employs a curator, Monica Ross and assistant Hamlin Jansen van Vuuren, to manage the daily affairs of the centre
The Clay Museum
The museum contains an exclusive, mainly contemporary collection of South African ceramics that represents the various techniques of making, decorating and firing. This is highly appropriate to Durbanville’s history of having some of the best clay quarries and brickfields in the Western Cape. It was this aspect of Durbanville’s past that inspired the foundation of a Clay Museum, which was the first of it’s kind in South Africa. Maartin Zaalberg was the chairman of the Clay Museum sub-committee who initiated the drive for the Clay Museum. It was officially opened on Sunday 26 October 1986, by the well-known master potter, Esias Bosch.
The museum is not only frequented by adults, but also by school learners doing art projects and needing information on certain artists. The display is continually augmented with new work and also includes the “Oude Meester” Collection, Linn ware and ethnic pottery.
The exhibition changes frequently, incorporating yearly retrospective exhibitions. We work in conjunction with the Ceramics SA (Western Cape) who also uses Rust-en-Vrede as their administrational address. As part of our Skills Development programme we have successfully trained potters who are now working full-time in various studios in Cape Town.
We regularly host well-attended ceramic workshops where less experienced potters and students are shown the finer techniques by master potters.