groundWork

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

This exhibition, thoughtfully developed through a participatory approach in collaboration with the dedicated activists and professional workers from groundWork, offers a profound exploration of the organisation’s rich and impactful history alongside its partners over the past 25 years.

The exhibition focuses on six important environmental justice campaigns:

Climate and Energy Justice
Waste
Environmental Health
Just Transition and Coal
Environmental Justice Education
Communications and Media

The exhibition presents a comprehensive and dynamic archive featuring a diverse array of documentary photography, evocative posters, striking banners, informative publications, films and artefacts, which includes reports, affidavits and a range of correspondence. These elements vividly illustrate groundWork’s pivotal campaigns and highlight their substantial contributions to shaping South Africa’s socio-political landscape and pursuing environmental justice.

Curated by Vaughn Sadie, drawing from the extensive resources of groundWork’s archive, the exhibition is a powerful testament to community resilience, activism, and advocacy in the complex backdrop of post-Apartheid South Africa. It offers an opportunity to experience compelling narratives and hear the authentic voices of those passionately engaged in environmental justice, shedding light on the struggles

ACTIVITY
Choose a photograph from the selection provided and spend some time looking at it closely. Now, let’s use the See-Think-Wonder thinking routine to answer these questions:

SEE
What do you see in the photograph? Describe it in detail.

THINK
What do you think is going on in the photograph?

WONDER
What does it make you wonder?

Image Gallery

Africa Just Transition Network (AJTN) Environmental Justice School for Activists (EJS), September 2024. Musa Chamane from the waste team guided participants through a waste-sorting activity, explaining its importance for environmental justice and sustainability. Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, 2024 Photo Credit: Kevin Munyoli, AJTN

Pollution in south Durban is not limited to air. Dirty industries in the south Durban basin often discharge waste into local waterways, including the uMlazi Canal. This canal is a diversion of the uMlazi River, constructed in the 1950s to make space for the old Durban Airport and to allow for industrial expansion. Water monitoring in the 1990s revealed that the canal outlet was one of the most polluted sites along the South African coast, with extremely high E. coli levels and toxic chemical contamination. These results were linked to both industrial discharge and inadequate sanitation services in the uMlazi catchment. This situation highlights the combined impact of poor infrastructure, weak regulation, and historical planning decisions that prioritised industry over community health. It also shows how pollution affects multiple systems, including air, water, and soil, and increases the risks faced by nearby communities. Durban, South Africa, 1999 Photo Credit: SDCEA

Engen Oil Refinery is South Africa’s oldest oil refinery, commissioned in 1954. It ceased operations as an oil refinery in December 2020 after an explosion at the ageing facility damaged both the plant and the surrounding neighbourhoods of south Durban.

The contamination from the United Phosphorus Limited (UPL) chemical disaster led to prolonged beach closures along Durban’s north coast, severely affecting livelihoods dependent on marine harvesting, small-scale fishing, and the tourism industry. The incident compounded the economic hardships already experienced in the wake of the July 2021 unrest. At a time when many residents sought relief and recovery at the beach, particularly following the stress of COVID-19 lockdowns, access to these public spaces was cut off, deepening the social and emotional toll on affected communities. Durban, South Africa, 2021 Photo Credit: Ben Carnie

Within days of the United Phosphorus Limited (UPL) warehouse fire, the water in the Ohlanga River turned an unnatural turquoise, and dead fish began to appear (first reported on social media). The flow of toxic chemicals and the removal of contaminated soil and water have devastated the ecosystem of the Umhlanga Lagoon Nature Reserve. Once a vital refuge, breeding ground, and nursery for both freshwater and marine species, the reserve also served as an important habitat for migratory birds, amphibians, and reptiles. It was a valued site for ecological research and a popular recreational area, now severely impacted by the chemical disaster. Durban, South Africa, 2021 Photo Credit: Tony Carnie

ACTIVITY
Letters from home
Look ate the first image. Imagine you are the young child in this postcard. Write an imaginary letter to a friend or family member in another city and tell them about the place in the postcard, where your home is. Describe what it’s like living here and things that happen in the neighbourhood, how it feels and if you and your family are having a good time.

News Article
Look at the second and third image. Write an article for your local community newspaper, reporting on the impact of the 2021 United Phosphorus Limited (UPL) chemical disaster. In your report, be sure to consider the social, environmental and economic impact of this disaster, and include an imaginary interview with a resident of the affected communities.

Image Gallery

Photo from a random selection of timeless images that “speak for themselves”. This image by Goldman Awardee, Bobby Peek comes from his rich collection of photos taken with a keen eye for the layered language of documentary photography that speaks volumes as it captures the contradictions of the world we live in. in the context of a lifetime of campaigning for environmental justice, and from the perspective of directly affected communities living on the fence lines, “the personal is profoundly political that builds solidarity across the world” says Bobby.

ACTIVITY
Design and make a poster to create awareness about one of the following environmental justice campaigns:

Climate and Energy Justice
Waste
Environmental Health
Just Transition and Coal
Environmental Justice Education
Communications and Media

Create a design for a new, collectible R5 coin that highlights and celebrates our constitutional right to a protected environment. Try to feature indigenous South African fauna or flora that is endangered, to raise awareness and increase exposure to its plight.

groundWork

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