HLOYASE - Casa-Museu Malangatana yesterday hosted the launch of the Beyond Mayibuye project, an initiative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which aims to "promote exhibitions and programs inspired by Malangatana's work and thought, highlighting his role as a pan-African artist and citizen of the world".

The project, which involves the Mafalala Museum and HLOYASE - Malangatana House-Museum, aims to transform African museums and cultural centers into living spaces for learning, dialogue and reconciliation.

"Malangatana Valente Ngwenya was more than an artist - he was the conscience and witness of a time in turmoil. In his painting, sculpture, poetry and words, he embodied the resistance, the wounds and the hope of his people," say the organizers of the initiative, describing that "his work transcends the national territory, dialoguing with the struggles of the Southern region: the resistance to apartheid in South Africa, the independence of Zimbabwe, the construction of a free Africa, in solidarity and affirmed in its dignity."

They also say that Malangatana was part of a generation that understood art as a weapon and a shelter - as a tool for liberation and collective healing.