BLOEMFONTEIN – A new temporary exhibition at the War Museum of the Boer Republics in Bloemfontein, titled Defiance, is taking a look at women and the role they played during the Anglo-Boer War. Dr Vicky Heunis, collections manager, says the exhibition reminds her that history is not only made on battlefields.

“It is also made in homes, concentration camps, hospitals and communities – and often by people whose voices were not given the same prominence as those of the men who fought,” she believes. “We must remember the strong and courageous women who form part of our history. We should honour their legacy.” She says the role of a museum is not only to preserve objects, but also to preserve voices and create avenues for new generations to engage with the past.

A variety of artists’ work is on display. Included in this is Marie Antoinette Odendaal’s Twyfelhoek. It consists of a body of work along with a short film that reveals personal stories of her mother, on growing up on the farm Twyfelhoek near Vrede. Odendaal says in her artist statement that her mother would often return to memories and stories of the cave where women and children had hidden in fear of being taken to one of the deadly concentration camps during the war.

Stefan Rossouw’s Die Engelse Roos is a portrait of the humanitarian Emily Hobhouse. It tells something of the burden she carried due to turning against her homeland and sharing in the everyday hardships of suffering people.

St Andrew’s Bloemfontein learner Siyabonga Gans’s Triptych – SA War and modern endemic gender-based violence was commissioned by the museum. It explores the impact and resilience of women within society. Many more exceptional works will be on display here until November.