Constitution Hill is celebrating Women’s Month (August) with a solo exhibition by well-known actress and director, Mmabatho Montsho. The exhibition depicts the history of the Methodist Women Manyano organisation.

The artworks seek to address the stereotypes and prejudices that black women have had to address in South Africa. In contextualising the exhibition, Montsho says her inspiration came from the long line of religious women on both sides of her family.

She explains that the Manyano Women’s movement in its inception sought to address the key issues of the day faced by women, particularly women in the church. “In this series, I focus mostly on the everydayness of being a prayer woman. The simple things such as going to and from work, washing their uniforms and so on – because revolutions are not always ceremonious; sometimes they sit in the everyday banalities of life.”

The exhibition is open to the public for the month of August and can be found in the Women’s Jail Atrium.