District Six Museum

The District Six Museum caters for locals as well as foreigners, and is an educational experience for both adults and children. Visitors learn about this once colourful hub for musicians, artists, and ‘good’ and ‘bad’ gangsters, that faced a 20-year long period of demolition and forced removals during the apartheid era. Engage with photographs, recordings and testimonials, which offer further insight into the turbulence of apartheid. In between exhibitions, share in the stories of District Six with engaging and friendly staff members, the majority of whom were displaced residents themselves and have intimate and personal stories to share

• Understand the history and impact of racial segregation in Cape Town
• Learn about the vibrant community that was forcibly removed from the historical District Six area of Cape Town
• Engage and interact with staff members who have personal, intimate stories to share about their life in District Six

District Six Museum History

The Apartheid Museum was not always a powerfully moving home for the stories of the area's former residents. Prior to its current purpose, it was a wine shop until the Methodists took it over in 1883 and founded the Buitenkamp Methodist Mission Church. The District Six Museum Foundation was only established in 1989, and the museum itself came into being in 1994. Currently, the apartheid museum serves as a remembrance of the once lively multi-racial area that was forcefully removed during apartheid in the 1960s and 1970s.