Yentl Kohler, curator and educator, recently joined the University of Cape Town’s Irma Stern Museum staff. Director, Nadja Daehnke, had a conversation about the ambitions Kohler brings to her new post.
Here is an extract from their exchange as reported by News24.
Nadia Daehnke (ND): You have now been at the UCT Irma Stern Museum as curator and educator for a couple of weeks. What I just loved is how you came with such enthusiasm, but also such practicality. I saw how you are brimming with ideas and inspiration, but you also have these ideas firmly grounded in real life and with a passion for making sure that the ideas are practically and efficiently realised.
Yentle Kohler (YK): I think it comes from how I was raised and grew up. In our family we were always allowed to dream. Life wasn’t always easy, but we were always encouraged to work towards realising our dreams. And that is why in my studies, in my work and experiences I feel that I can do unconventional things that might not look like what anyone else is doing, but that are my version of my best.
ND: Talk a little bit more about your vision for the UCT Irma Stern Museum.
YK: I am so excited for the opportunity to be here and be part of this moment where the museum is busy expanding its ambit, and there are so many possibilities. The conversations around all those changes are for me incredibly exciting. I keep thinking about how I just want loads of people to experience this space. I want the imaginary sign we spoke about earlier to be removed. If it is there, I want that sign to be replaced with a feeling of welcome that should pervade this entire building, so that everyone can feel welcome.
I want to create programmes where people see this as not only Irma Stern’s former home, but as their home. I want this to be a museum where we can use art as a medium to teach, but also to heal, to bring together and to allow people to discover talent that they did not realise they had.
The UCT Irma Stern Museum is part of the University of Cape Town, it has strong links with the Western Cape Education Department and with various schools, it offers an inclusive education programme for youth with barriers to learning, and it is also loved and supported by Irma Stern scholars and a wider community of enthusiasts. I am very excited to meet the many people who have over many years visited and formed a bond with this site, to learn from them and make them feel even more part of this museum. See full conversation in News24 HERE
WHERE: Irma Stern Museum, 21 Cecil Road, Rosebank, Cape Town 7600
INFO: T 021 685 5686 | Visit
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