Totem Media

25/11/2025

Join us as we honour Europe’s and South Africa’s story of solidarity, courage and hope in ‘Threads of Solidarity: European Support for the Struggle Against Apartheid’ an exhibition developed by Totem Media.

📍Freedom Park, Pretoria
📅From 2 Dec 2025
🔗

The purpose of the Popi Act is to protect personal information, to strike a balance between the right to privacy and the need for the free flow of, and access to information, and to regulate how personal information is processed.

16/06/2025

“Storytelling for the Future. Powered by Youth.”

Today, young South Africans are reshaping design, innovation, and storytelling in the exhibition industry, and we're here for it.

We’re proud to invest in the next generation of exhibition designers through mentorship, collaboration, and real-world experience.

At the heart of one of our latest projects is the stirring poem Unclenched Fists by acclaimed spoken word duo Yamoria.

The poem and Beyond Borders exhibition pop-up were commissioned by the Dutch Embassy to celebrate 30 years of South African democracy.

You can experience Unclenched Fist and Beyond Borders in the Epoch Room at Freedom Park.

Tag a young creative you admire — let’s celebrate them this .

13/06/2025

Totem Media shares André Croucamp’s reflections from the G20 Culture Working Group, held in Johannesburg on 5–6 May 2025.

The two-day conference coincided with African World Heritage Day and focused on advancing the Durban Declaration, setting the stage for future cultural policy at a global level.

Read the full article on: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/local-reflections-second-g20-culture-working-a152f

14/03/2025

Totem Media is thrilled to have contributed towards The Arch – a powerful four-part documentary on the life and legacy of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.

Our team had the honour of conducting archival research and procurement, diving deep into history to help bring this incredible story to life. We can’t wait to see it all come together on the big screen!

Stay tuned for more updates. 🌍✨

12/09/2024

Totem Media is deeply saddened by the untimely death of Nicholas Wolpe, founder and former CEO of Liliesleaf.

Nic was a unique human being. As Totem Media, we worked closely with him, developing exhibitions and programmes at Liliesleaf over a period of about 14 years. Nic was a strict taskmaster and a perfectionist, and liked to push us, sometimes right over the edge. Working with him required stamina, an appetite for robust exchanges and, of course, a wicked sense of humour.

Nic created wonderful opportunities for us. At Liliesleaf there was never a dull moment. We were continually exposed to rich histories and fascinating personalities; we helped Nic hatch crazy plans and backed his relentless drive to defend memory against forgetting. The beautiful exhibitions at Liliesleaf speak to his vision and his can-do attitude, but most of all to his deep commitment to ensuring that the sacrifices of so many struggle activists would be acknowledged and preserved for future generations.

Rest in peace, dear Nic.

Please join us at: Auditorium, Nelson Mandela Foundation
107 Central Street, Houghton, Johannesburg and online (register here). RSVP to Peta Wolpe or Samantha Horowitz.

12/09/2024

Totem Media is deeply saddened by the untimely death of Nicholas Wolpe, founder and former CEO of Liliesleaf.

Nic was a unique human being. As Totem Media, we worked closely with him, developing exhibitions and programmes at Liliesleaf over a period of about 14 years. Nic was a strict taskmaster and a perfectionist, and liked to push us, sometimes right over the edge. Working with him required stamina, an appetite for robust exchanges and, of course, a wicked sense of humour.

Nic created wonderful opportunities for us. At Liliesleaf there was never a dull moment. We were continually exposed to rich histories and fascinating personalities; we helped Nic hatch crazy plans and backed his relentless drive to defend memory against forgetting. The beautiful exhibitions at Liliesleaf speak to his vision and his can-do attitude, but most of all to his deep commitment to ensuring that the sacrifices of so many struggle activists would be acknowledged and preserved for future generations.

Rest in peace, dear Nic.

26/09/2023

28/03/2023

We mark with profound sadness the passing of Mosie Moolla on 25 March 2023. The Totem team had great admiration for Moolla and was privileged with the opportunity to interview him.

In August 1963, Moolla, along with Abdulhay Jassat, Arthur Goldreich and Harold Wolpe audaciously broke out of Marshall Square Police Station, an event dubbed 'The Great Escape'.

Rest in Power Comrade Moolla. Your contribution to the freedom of South Africa will never be forgotten.

20/01/2023

It's finally here! We're proud to announce the launch of SuperScientists, an exciting exhibit funded by the High Commission of Canada in South Africa and collaboratively developed by Totem Media, SuperScientists and Clyde Beech.

We are also giving away 2000 copies of the comic Dig In! featuring some of our amazing SuperScientists, funded by GENUS Palaeosciences and developed by our dynamic duo Justin Yarrow and Clyde Beech!

Draw inspiration from our trailblazing heroes who are changing the world of STEM in South Africa and around the world!

13/01/2023

With 7 days to go until our exciting SuperScientists exhibition launch at Maropeng in the Cradle of Humankind, we would love to highlight each of our 7 incredible heroes in the world of STEM.

Our second hero  spends a lot of time in caves using trowels, brushes and toothpicks to unearth clues that help her tell the human story through the ages. Can you guess what type of scientist they are?

Leave your answer for us below!

         

12/01/2023

With 8 days to go until our exciting SuperScientists exhibition launch at Maropeng in the Cradle of Humankind, we would love to highlight each of our 7 incredible heroes changing the world of STEM.

Our first hero analyses marine aerosols to make predictions about climate change. Can you guess which scientific field they are in? Comment below!