Christopher Till to step down as Founding and Curatorial Director of the Javett Art Centre at the University of Pretoria

Published 21 October 2020 in Press Release

The Arts Centre Foundation (ACF), which manages the Javett Art Centre at the University of Pretoria (Javett-UP), has announced that Christopher Till will be leaving the Javett-UP at the end of October 2020 after being involved since the inception of the construction phase of the project in 2015.

Christopher was appointed as the founding director and curator of the project, and during his period in office has put the Javett-UP firmly on the stage as one of the leading arts centres in South Africa. He was responsible for the launch of the centre on Heritage Day in 2019 with the highly acclaimed 101 Connecting Conversations Signature works of a Century exhibition, showcasing significant South African artworks from public, corporate and private art collections. He was also responsible for securing the AngloGold Barbier-Mueller Gold of Africa collection and worked closely with Dr Sian Tiley-Nel in establishing a permanent exhibition of the Mapungubwe Gold treasures within the Gold of Africa galleries at the Javett-UP. He further secured the loan of the South 32 (previously the Gencor/Billiton) connection together with three major donated works and a significant financial donation. During the Covid-19 lockdown he introduced various online activities which enabled Javett-UP to maintain a virtual presence until its physical reopening for visitors on Heritage Day 2020. The board of trustees of the Arts Centre Foundation wishes to thank Christopher for his leadership and curatorial excellence, and wishes him well in his future endeavours.

Christopher said "It was my privilege to have been approached by Michael Javett, Stephan Welz and Dr Conrad Strauss to realise their vision and to establish a new and innovative art centre linked to the University of Pretoria. The successful launch of the Javett-UP in 2019 was a proud moment in achieving this vision with a young team whose enthusiasm and dedication will no doubt energise the continued development of the Javett-UP in a post-Covid-19 era".

An announcement about Christopher’s replacement will be made soon.