Buckling under years of neglect, the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum is facing a deepening crisis, with leaking roofs, a gutted staff structure and failing safety systems placing its priceless collection at risk.
Galleries have been closed for more than a year, mould has started to spread across stored works and there is no qualified conservator.
Nearly 20 years after its incorporation into the municipality — when it had a full team and a conservation unit — the museum now operates with a vacancy rate of 64%.
Essential functions such as preservation, cataloguing and restoration have effectively ground to a halt.
A damning report tabled before the sport, recreation, arts and culture standing committee on Thursday lays bare the extent of the decline.
“The artworks are at risk, and if they are found to be damaged they cannot be fixed or restored,” the report reads.
Known for showcasing a vibrant mix of local and international art, the museum will celebrate its 70th anniversary in July.
Its historical collection includes the works of South African pioneers like Frederick Timpson I’Ons, Thomas Baines, George Pemba and Gladys Mgudlandlu.
Contemporary South African artists also feature strongly, from painters Frank Pickford Marriott and Dorothy Kay to ceramicists Hylton Nel and Charmaine Haines.
The museum’s holdings extend globally with prints by LS Lowry, Robert Bevan and Norman Blamey, along with Asian ceramics and Japanese prints.
At the museum, Taryn Jade’s exhibition Sum Nil turns neglect into art, reflecting the abandonment that shapes both the museum and the city.
Through photographs, paintings and installations in steel, ceramics and wool, she probes the physical toll of urban neglect in Gqeberha.
Though the museum is closed due to the damage, Jade’s exhibition is accessible during the official operating times until May 18.
During the meeting, arts and culture acting executive director Kithi Ngesi told councillors the department had only spent 35% of its capital budget.
Ngesi presented a breakdown comparing committed funds with actual expenditures.
ANC councillor Mpumelelo Majola said the department regularly complained about being given the lowest budget, yet failed to spend its allocation.
“It pains me for that art gallery that just sits there.
“I’ve now looked at their challenges, and their challenges are serious.
“There is art that’s dying because it’s not taken care of.
“That art gallery must be fixed as of yesterday.
“The money must be spent as the staff are crying there.
“The lighting is bad, and poor lighting also kills the art.
“With time, artworks die because of a lack of care.”
Arts and culture acting political head Yolisa Pali said a contractor would be on site to assess the damage.
“On this item, they have struggled even to secure a contractor to assess the museum and its challenges, particularly the persistent electricity issues which have been a major source of frustration.”
However, she said the electricity and energy department had been contacted.
Despite the concerns, the report was deferred.
Meanwhile, leaks traced to gutter defects were dripping into storage areas, the report revealed, threatening some of the museum’s most sensitive works on paper.
The fire detection system was not fully operational, while the after-hours alarm contract lapsed in 2023.
The museum’s management has contacted the Mandela Bay Development Agency to assist with CCTV cameras.
“We continue to engage the metro’s facilities every week to assist with basic management of the leaks and other issues but there are delays in the response to our requests,” the report reads.
“There is no viable plan for an alarm currently in place, and if no solution is found the museum will be forced to pay for the service privately.”
The cost to start a new contract is R1,400, and thereafter R700 a month.
“The lighting issues have continuously been raised with the electricity and engineering department.
“Management chases this issue weekly with no result.”
Key posts, including that of a qualified conservator and technician, remain vacant, with recruitment stalled by unresolved job grading processes within the municipality.
“Existing gaps in other sections of the museum have been covered through an internship programme, and we have had very successful art students assist in the exhibitions and education departments.
“The contracts can only be extended for two years.”
In the conservation section, no-one monitors the students, and the Nelson Mandela Bay Graduate Insourcing Department requires that all students be placed under experienced guidance.
“This would also be a museum requirement to ensure the safety of the collection.
“The museum plans to implement a short-term service contract to procure a conservation expert to assist.
“A contracted person cannot replace a full-time post as the art museum collection requires full-time monitoring.
“The solution is proposed as an emergency interim solution to ensure the collection is correctly monitored.”
Artworks in storage are also showing signs of deterioration, including “foxing”, a form of irreversible mould damage that requires specialist intervention.
However, no conservation work is taking place.
In January, an artwork was damaged during handling.
The museum’s asset register has not been updated in five years, leaving parts of the collection inadequately recorded.
The report warns that the institution is now noncompliant with several pieces of legislation and professional codes governing museums, including requirements around conservation, record-keeping and the safeguarding of heritage assets.
“Infrastructure failures are currently placing the collection at risk,” the report reads.
“Delays in recruitment result in critical vacancies and noncompliance with basic museum standards relating to archive and collection management.
“The museum has been eroded over the past 15 years.
“[It] will turn 70 in July and its current condition reflects a sustained period of decline.
“The museum has not been open to the public for over a year and was closed for six months.
“While a temporary solution has enabled a contemporary exhibition to proceed, normal exhibitions remain unfeasible.”
The museum is, in the meantime, procuring digital drawings of the two buildings that make up a cost of R100,000.
It had requested R2.5m to start repairs but this was rejected.
A structural assessment conducted in 2023 identified the extent of the roof and gutter defects.
Repair costs were R3m for both buildings.
“The recommended way forward is for the museum to apply for national grant funding to try to secure funding to repair and modernise the building.”
Meanwhile, Jade’s multimedia exhibition Sum Nil, which translates to “I am nothing” in Latin, is being showcased at the facility.
Rather than working around the decay, Jade leans into it, using the museum’s compromised state as both the backdrop and the subject of her work.
“I developed the exhibition as part of my master’s in visual art,” Jade said.
“It draws on my research into the Gqeberha region and unpacks the visible and emotional toll of urban neglect on the environment of Gqeberha and the people of the city.
“I noted how the space has fallen apart, and urban life has been neglected.
“The works reflect a broader sense of abandonment, linking physical decay to issues such as homelessness, inadequate RDP housing and persistent service delivery failures.”
With the work installed in a darkened section of the museum with no functional lighting, Jade introduced her own lighting to illuminate the pieces, while the building itself remains unrestored.
This deliberate contrast heightens the immersive quality of her exhibition.
Through a combination of photographs, paintings and sculptural installations, Jade interrogates how deteriorating environments shape human experience.
“I wanted to highlight how people perceive the government, and what leads to people not caring.
“Some feel that the issues are too big and too complicated.
“The exhibition speaks about the issues, and showcasing it at the museum feels appropriate.”
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