A new exhibition at the Stellenbosch University (SU) Museum is creating a space for conversations that might otherwise never take place, by inviting staff to tell their stories through art.

For I Am Because We Are, more than 50 academics, lecturers and professional administrative support staff members have each assumed the role of curator.

Each was invited to select a work from the museum’s permanent collection that resonated with an experience, memory or aspect of their life at the university, and to share the story behind their choice.

Inspired by the spirit of ubuntu, the exhibition forms part of the museum and Human Resources Division’s ongoing commitment to critical dialogue, inclusive knowledge production and community-engaged curatorial practice.

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Prof Nico Koopman, SU’s former deputy vice-chancellor for Social Impact, Transformation and Personnel and current acting chief people officer, writes in his foreword that the result is “not a single story of SU. It could never be. It is a collection of many stories – sometimes harmonious, sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes joyful and sometimes deeply searching”.

Sello Molapo, director of Employment Equity, chose Sella Capensis – “Die Baas se Stoel” by Rolf Streuber” to represent an early professional experience at SU when he sat in what he would later discover was the chair’s seat. “That moment revealed to me how deeply power, position, identity and status were embedded in institutional culture,” he said. The ‘baas se stoel’ represented positional authority, institutional hierarchy, control and symbolic ownership of power.”

Jason Claassen, assistant librarian: acquisitions, chose Maggie Laubser’s “Twee seilbote en roeibote” to express appreciation for the support he received.

He arrived at SU with a Grade 10 certificate and later completed his matric through the then Matie Community Service. With SU support, he has since completed a BA in Arts and Communication.

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“I no longer see myself as the rowboat,” he wrote. “I am a sailboat. Guided by purpose, moved by opportunity, and strengthened by the people who have supported me along the way.”

The exhibition took about six months to bring to life, said Ulrich Wolff, curator of the SU Museum’s Permanent Art Collection. Staff could respond individually or as a collective, and many works were previously housed in the museum’s archive.

Koopman, who issued the call for staff to participate, spoke at the opening about the “festivity” he could sense, linking the exhibition to the idea of co-ownership: inclusivity is not simply about being welcomed into a space, but about recognising that the space belongs to all. “Dignity is a relational concept,” he said. “There is only dignity if we say we journey together.”

• I Am Because We Are runs at the Stellenbosch University Museum until 2027. Entry is free.