Museums

The Western Cape has the largest concentration of museums in Africa. These include Declared Cultural Institutions, museums affiliated to the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS), those that are managed by municipalities, institutional museums managed by national government departments and agencies or tertiary education institutions, and the rest by the private sector and private persons.

Our Museum Service offers various education programmes and aims to promote respect for cultural diversity in South Africa and appreciation of our natural heritage. The Museum Service therefore sets out to build understanding and pride of our diverse heritage through the affiliated museums.

Our Objectives

• To establish, upgrade and maintain museum infrastructure.
• To facilitate access to museum facilities and programmes.
• To achieve international standards in collections care and management.
• To transform museum content and museum exhibitions.
• To entrench quality education services for schools and provide opportunities for lifelong learning for all.
• To ensure service excellence at museums in the major centres.

There are 31 affiliated provincial museums in the Western Cape. Each of these museums develops and promotes collections, exhibitions and programmes for educational purposes and the public interest.