Red Location Museum was created as a non-commercial entity by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality and is situated in the New Brighton Township. The Museum includes 15 concrete pillars along the length of the museum, each showcasing renowned political icons such as Govan Mbeki, Raymond Mhlaba and Molly Blackburn. Twelve “memory boxes” comprise large photo exhibits of different aspects of Red Location. There is also a boardroom, conference room, restaurant, 150-seat auditorium and museum shop. Outdoor facilities include 12 market niches on the eastern wall for local arts and crafts trading as well as a grassed gathering space with a huge screen for an outdoor cinema, which can comfortably seat 7 000 people.

The area, Red Location, derives its name from a series of corrugated iron barrack buildings. These are rusted a deep red colour and were part of a Boer Concentration Camp in Uitenhage. The buildings were moved in 1900 to Red Location where the first urban Black families settled from 1903.

Red Location became a site of struggle during the years of Apartheid. Many prominent political and cultural leaders were either born or lived in Red Location and a number of significant struggle events occurred here. 

Red Location Museum has scooped several prestigious awards. In December 2005 it won the World Leadership Award in the Best Architecture and Civil Engineering Category, and in June 2006 it received the inaugural Lubetkin Award from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and was also second runner-up in the Eastern Cape Leaders Achievers Award. The same month, the Dedalo Minosse International Prize was awarded to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality for commissioning this project.

The museum seeks to remember the past by depicting the nation’s memory, through portraying both the horrors of institutionalised racism and the heroic efforts of the anti-apartheid movement.

Free entrance for pensioners, otherwise-abled and primary learners
Free entrance for unemployed Wednesdays 12.30pm–4.30pm

Entrance: R12 (Adults); R3.50 (Secondary Learners); R6 (Tertiary Learners)
Open: 10am–5pm (Tues-Fri); 9am–3pm (Sat, Sun); Closed Mon
t 041 408 8400   f 041 408 8401
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www.freewebs.com/redlocationmuseum