
Namibia SWAPO Will Make the Sun Rise
<p>South Africa conquered Namibia from Germany during World War I and ruled the country as a province from 1915 to 1990. Under this occupation, black Namibians were subjected to apartheid laws and denied political rights, economic opportunity, and social freedoms.</p> <p>This broadside and the adjacent one were made to support the South West African People’s Organization (SWAPO), a Namibian political party that led the country to independence in 1990. When Thamsanqa Mnyele presented the initial poster (left) to the Medu collective for feedback, fellow artist Mongane Wally Serote jokingly remarked that the language read like an advertisement for detergent. Unfazed, Mnyele streamlined his language and made a bolder depiction of the SWAPO guerrillas (right).</p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1981
- Dimensions
- 61 × 42.8 cm (24 1/16 × 16 7/8 in.)
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Artist
- Thamsanqa (Thami) Mnyele
Artist

Printmaking
Thamsanqa (Thami) Mnyele (South African, 1948-1985)
Full artist profile →More
More by Thamsanqa (Thami) Mnyele
African National Congress
1985 · Screenprint on off-white wove paper
Masekela Along with the Impressive Kalahari
1984 · Offset lithograph in red and black on white wove paper
This Is Our land
1984 · Offset lithograph in dark red ink on white wove paper
Forward with May Day!
1984 · Color offset lithograph on white wove paper
Dorothy Nyembe
1984 · Offset lithograph in black and green on white wove paper
This Is Our Land [Soweto]
1984 · Color offset lithograph on white wove paper
Record
Verified by WattsOS- Artist
- Thamsanqa (Thami) Mnyele
- Year
- 1981
- Dimensions
- 61 × 42.8 cm (24 1/16 × 16 7/8 in.)
- Watts ID
- WW-1981-100804
Source
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified





![This Is Our Land [Soweto]](/api/images/artworks/aic/244140.jpg)