The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum is located at St George’s Park, on the corner of Rink Street and Park Drive. It is home to a comprehensive collection of South African art and craft and specializes in the art of the Eastern Cape Province. There are three exhibition halls that are re-hung throughout the year to accommodate our collections as well as our programme of special exhibitions.
Originally named the King George VI Art Gallery, the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum was founded by the Port Elizabeth Municipality on the 22 June 1956 and, from 1960 to 2007, operated under the control of an independent Board of Trustees. The Board was established by a resolution of the PE City Council on 28 July 1960 and was formally constituted with effect from 1 January 1961. The Board was “entrusted with the entire management and financial control of the affairs of the Art Gallery” and comprised nine statutory members and nine additional co-opted members. The statutory members were appointed by their respective authorities. The co-opted Trustees were elected by the Board of Trustees. The statutory members represented the City Council, the PE Technikon, the University of Port Elizabeth, the Cape Provincial Administration, the Eastern Province Society of Arts and Crafts, the Director of the Port Elizabeth Museum (subsequently re-named Bayworld), and the King George VI Art Gallery Association (subsequently re-named the Friends of the Art Museum).
With the proposed re-naming of the Art Museum (which was approved by Council in December 2002) the Board entered into protracted negotiations with the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Council regarding the Art Museum’s function within the metropole.