I am an independent curator specializing in heritage and legacy projects. My scope in this space is multidisciplinary with photography as an area of specialization.

Bruce Arnott. Numinous Beast, bronze sculpture, 1978

"Be yourself everyone else is taken."
- Oscar Wilde

Heidi Erdmann. Art Basel. Hong Kong (2018).

About Heidi Erdmann

Heidi Erdmann is an award-winning curator with over three decades of experience in the visual arts. She began her career in 1993 and developed a strong interest in contemporary photography during her tenure at the South African National Gallery (1994-1997). She later served as curator at AREA (1997-1999), South Africa's first gallery dedicated to lens-based media, where she oversaw a groundbreaking exhibition program that earned a Business and Arts South Africa (BASA) nomination.

In 2001, Erdmann founded the Photographers Gallery ZA, which became a vital platform for launching the careers of South African photographers. She expanded her curatorial vision with the founding of Erdmann Contemporary in 2004, a multidisciplinary gallery that embraced international exhibitions, publishing, and participation in global art fairs.

In 2018, she exited the commercial gallery world to pursue further studies in Art History and Law. In 2021, she launched Legacy, a curatorial agency focused on heritage and legacy-driven projects.

Erdmann has conceptualized and curated numerous exhibitions and projects both locally and abroad, with work documented in exhibition catalogues and published articles. She is a regular jury member for Critical Mass, hosted by Photolucida in Oregon, USA.

Qualifications

Administration of Deceased Estates. South African Law School. 2022.

Determining Value. Sotheby’s Institute of Art. New York. 2022.

MA (Visual Studies) (Cum Laude). University of Stellenbosch. 2021.

BA (Psychology, History). University of Stellenbosch. 1987.

Author of Manfred Zylla arts and resistance (2012). Editor of 120 Days of Sodom Manfred Zylla (2015) and Intertwined: A Selection of Photographs by Nomusa Makhubu 2005 to 2017 (2017).

Erdmann’s academic research interrogates national imaginary construction, through the critical analysis of exhibitions hosted at national museums in the global South. Her current research centers Indian Ocean slave memorialisation in South Africa and Mauritius.

Amazwi South African Museum of Literature (Makhanda, South Africa). Council Member (2020 – 2024).

Afrikaans Taal Museum en Monument (Paarl, South Africa). Council Member (since 2020).

International Council of Museums (ICOM). Individual Member (since 2022)

Friends of the Cape Town Museum. Founding Board Member (since 2022)