South African Student Protests and Art Reviews in October 2015

In October 2015, South African university students protested under #feesmustfall, demanding free education, decolonization, and an end to outsourcing of workers. Police responded with tear gas, stun grenades, water cannons, rubber bullets, and mass arrests, reminiscent of the 1976 Soweto uprising. The minister of higher education, the president, and vice chancellors initially dismissed demands but later conceded under pressure. ArtThrob published two pieces analyzing media coverage of the protests and the president's response. Concurrently, Hank Willis Thomas curated 'Young Gifted and Black' at Goodman Gallery, a group show inspired by Nina Simone's lyrics, featuring American and South African artists, reviewed by Same Mdluli amid rising student movements. 'Death Speaks' at 6 Spin Street presented a large independent group show of emerging artists drawing from Vanitas painting, reviewed by Thuli Gamedze. Candice Breitz's video work 'Him + Her' featured 23 Jack Nicholsons and 28 Meryl Streeps in confrontational edits, discussed in an interview with Tim Leibbrandt. American academic John Peffer organized events on intermedia and social critique, examining retouched Apartheid passbook photographs, analyzed by Chad Rossouw. These events were covered in an online exclusive published on 11 November 2015.