On March 31, Deputy Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, Ms Buyelwa Sonjica and Netherlands Ambassador for Cultural Cooperation Jan Hoekema opened Group Portrait,South African Family Stories Exhibition, giving some indication of how important the event is. The exhibition describes contemporary South Africa through the lifestories of nine South African families. It was curated by Faber the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam and drew huge audiences in Holland last year. South African Family Stories deals with the history of the South African society in the last century. It does so in a special, unusual way. Instead of providing an overview of a complex history of a complex society, the exhibition takes the micro-approach. It tells the story of the country through the lives of nine real families, with different social, cultural, economical and geographical backgrounds. Their stories will be followed, from the end of the 19th century, up until present day. The exhibition follows each family through successive generations. One or two members in each generation will lead the public through the ups and downs of their families, related to South African history. A teenager, who also expresses ideas about the future, will represent the last generation. So in each family a string of main characters is formed, drawing nine twisted lines through history. It is a big challenge to transfer this human, personal way of history writing, into an authentic and exciting three-dimensional exhibition. This task has been undertaken by a large group of South African professionals. Around each family a separate team has been formed, consisting of a writer/researcher, an artist, a photographer and a designer. In some cases a filmmaker has been added. This multi-disciplinary approach should establish an intense, emotional interaction between the people whose lives are portrayed and the visitors to the exhibition. Nine photographers and 11 artists produced work on commission, based on the nine family stories, in co-operation with the family members themselves, and the other team members. The photographers and artists together form an interesting representation of the South African art world, with several renowned names, but also relatively young and promising artists. The researchers were involved in collecting personal artefacts, historical photographs and documents. The theme of the exhibition is especially attractive because of the many educational possibilities for a wide variety of people. Imbali has developed educational material to be used for secondary school children at different levels. The material can be used in relation to different subjects as Social Skills, Art and Culture, History. Educational value lies in the understanding of historical processes, the importance of family relations, insight into issues of identity, living in a multi-cultural society, the value of art and culture in understanding and coping with life. The nine families have such different backgrounds that identification is always possible. Together with the exhibition, Kwela Books in Cape Town and KIT Publishing Amsterdam published a book: "Group Portrait". It is richly illustrated with more than 200 images of the photographs and art works from the exhibition, as well as historical material. The book is available at all major bookstores.