Heidi Erdmann was not looking to open a gallery again. After completing a MA degree in Visual Studies in 2020 she decided to not return to the commercial gallery sector where she had been active for more than two decades. Instead, founded the curatorial agency, Legacy, which specialises in legacy and heritage projects, an underserved niche in the art world.
But then Heidi discovered Muratie Wine Estate. With its long and rich history, it felt like the perfect site for Legacy Gallery.
The gallery space, erected in 1699 was originally the home of Laurens Campher, his wife, Ansela van de Caab and their three children. In 1685, Campher, a German soldier from Mohrow, Poland was the first person to farm on De Driesprong, as Muratie was then known. He was instructed to ‘bezaayen, beplanten, bepoten, betimmeren’ the land. Ansela was born at the slave quarters at the castle in Cape Town, the daughter of an enslaved woman. She was emancipated on 28 June 1695. After a fourteen year-long courtship she was finally able to settle on Muratie. The oak tree that Campher planted for her still towers near the original homestead.
Contact the gallery at 072 356 7056 or rasch.heidierdmann@gmail.com.