Rust-en-Vrede gallery and clay museum

Rust-en-Vrede gallery and clay museum on Wellington Road is one of Durbanville’s oldest surviving buildings. The complex dates from the early to mid-19th century, although parts of the original building may date back as far as about 1808. Around 1850 it became the magistrate’s offices, and jail cells were added. Over the years, the complex was also used as a police headquarters, school, town hall and private residences.

The building was acquired by the Durbanville Municipality in 1978 and restored before being converted into a cultural centre. It was declared a national monument in 1984.

Today the former civic and prison complex has a very different purpose. Rust-en-Vrede houses an art gallery, studios and the Cube + Clay Museum, which opened in 1986 and was the first museum of its kind in South Africa, dedicated to South African ceramic art. The collection includes mainly contemporary ceramics by South African artists.

There is something rather fitting about the change: a building that once contained a magistrate’s court and jail cells is now a place where people come to look at art, ceramics and exhibitions. The old building has retained its heritage character while being given a completely different role in modern Durbanville.

Rust en Vrede has been a national monument since 1984.  The venue is also the home of the only clay museum in the Western Cape and houses a mosaic studio, a jeweller, a design studio, and a florist. The Whisky Library is also here.

10 Wellington Road, Durbanville 

rustenvrede@telkomsa.net