Centre for Humanities Research

What Centre for Humanities Research does

The Centre for Humanities Research (CHR) is an academic research centre housed at the University of the Western Cape in Cape Town, South Africa, operating under DSI-NRF Flagship status awarded in 2016. It conducts interdisciplinary scholarship across three research thematics — Aesthetic Education, the Becoming Technical of the Human, and Migrating Violence — organized into research platforms (Aesthetics and Politics, Becoming Technical of the Human, New Ecologies of the Subject) and supported by three named chairs: the DSI/NRF SARChI Chair in Visual History and Theory, the Andrew W. Mellon Chair of Aesthetic Theory and Material Performance, and the UK-SA Bilateral Chair in Culture and Technics.

CHR's product surface spans graduate fellowship and postdoctoral programmes, the annual Winter School (14 years of programming supporting roughly 1,200 students and faculty), the Iyatsiba Lab at Greatmore Street (housing the Laboratory of Kinetic Objects, Sound Working Group, and documentary film programme), the New Archival Visions digital curatorial fellowship, the Factory of the Arts, and public-facing exhibitions and puppetry productions including Facts and Fabulations and MAXEKE. Underlying technology centres on digital humanities tools, archival digitization, augmented reality installations that extend archival materials, and sonic humanities media — used to make archives such as the Mayibuye and Robben Island collections publicly accessible.

The centre does not sell products or charge tuition; it is funded primarily through institutional grants from DSI-NRF, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences, and the British Academy. Its customer base is academic — graduate students, emerging scholars, visiting international researchers, and the Cape Town arts community — with approximately 300 Masters and Doctoral graduates reported at a 98% placement rate in universities, research institutes, and public institutions.

Name

Centre for Humanities Research

Legal name

Centre for Humanities Research

Website

https://chrflagship.uwc.ac.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Centre for Humanities Research is an academic research centre at the University of the Western Cape in Cape Town, funded through DSI-NRF Flagship and foundation grants, running interdisciplinary humanities scholarship, graduate fellowships, a Winter School, and the Iyatsiba Lab for graduate students, scholars, and the arts community.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Research Center

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts, Humanities & Creative Research Universities (EDAHABAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Humanities & Arts Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAE), Conference Proceedings & Research Reports Publishing (EDAGAFAL), Research & Lab-Based Short-Term Programs (Undergraduate/Graduate) (EDAIAIAF)

Keywords

• Humanities research
• Academic research center
• Fellowship programs
• Digital humanities
• Arts research

Headquarters

HQ city

Cape Town

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government and Foundation Grants: Funding from DSI-NRF Flagship, National Research Foundation, Department of Science and Innovation, and international foundations such as the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support research programs and fellowships.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Centre for Humanities Research (CHR) is an academic research center at the University of the Western Cape in Cape Town, South Africa, awarded DSI-NRF flagship status in 2016. It carries out humanities scholarship organized around three thematics — Aesthetic Education, Becoming Technical of the Human, and Migrating Violence — delivered through six programmatic units: the Iyatsiba Lab, the New Archival Visions Programme, the Factory of the Arts, the Laboratory of Kinetic Objects (LoKO), the Winter School, and the Fellowship Programme. Its offerings serve postgraduate scholars, fellows, and the broader arts and academic community.

Product overview

The Centre for Humanities Research (CHR) at the University of the Western Cape operates as an interdisciplinary research hub focused on humanities and arts scholarship, not a commercial product company. Its portfolio comprises research platforms (Aesthetics and Politics, Becoming Technical of the Human, New Ecologies of the Subject), specialized labs (Iyatsiba Lab housing LoKO and Sound Working Group), academic programmes (Winter School, Fellowship Programme), archival initiatives (New Archival Visions Programme), and public-facing exhibitions and productions (Facts and Fabulations, MAXEKE). The CHR serves as an academic/research institution rather than a technology product vendor.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Iyatsiba Lab A research laboratory and exhibition space at CHR that supports interdisciplinary humanities research, installations, and scholarly experimentation, including augmented-reality and other digital humanities outputs.
• New Archival Visions Programme A CHR programme that convenes researchers around unconventional archival practice, drawing on the UVA Cape Town photographic and digital archives housed at UWC.
• Factory of the Arts A CHR public arts programme under the Aesthetic Education thematic, convened by Itumeleng Wa-Lehulere, that supports contemporary arts practice and exhibitions.
• Laboratory of Kinetic Objects (LoKO) A CHR programme focused on kinetic and puppetry objects, supporting research, fabrication, and performance in collaboration with Handspring Puppet Company.
• Winter School An annual intensive academic programme run by CHR for postgraduate students, fellows, and emerging scholars aligned to CHR's three thematics.
• Fellowship Programme A CHR postdoctoral and senior fellowship programme supporting emerging and established scholars to undertake research aligned with CHR's three thematics.
• Facts and Fabulations Exhibition A public exhibition produced by CHR that engages general audiences in critical humanities content.
• MAXEKE Puppetry Production A CHR puppetry production developed in collaboration with Handspring Puppet Company, delivered to public audiences under the Aesthetic Education thematic and LoKO programme.

Quantifiable outcome

• 98% graduate placement rate at universities and research institutions
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and notable.

• British Academy / National Research Foundation UK-SA Bilateral ProgrammecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBilateral programme convening an international study network that traces how the exercise of power relates to the co-evolution of the human and technology. Supports the UK-SA Chair in Culture and Technics.
• Handspring Puppet CompanymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLongstanding partnership collaborating on puppetry performances, artistic research, and explorations of subject/object relations. Collaborated on productions including 'Carnival of the Bear' and Centre for the Less Good Idea.
• Ukwanda Puppetry and Design CollectivemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResident puppetry group collaborating on productions including MAXEKE, Warona, and Barrydale Puppet Parade. Partners on the Greatmore Street initiative.
• University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ)notableStrategic or Co-development PartnerSouth-South collaboration through Superior School of Design (ESDI), involving visiting scholars and digital curatorial fellowships. Prof. Marcos Martins leads collaborative projects.
• Princeton UniversitynotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership through postdoctoral research affiliations. Prof. Marcos Martins completed postdoctoral research at Princeton in 2018.
• Ruth J. Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery & Justice at Brown UniversitynotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on 'In Slavery's Wake: Making Black Freedom in the World' workshop examining enduring legacies of slavery and Black freedom.
• Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and CulturenotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on slavery and Black freedom research, contributing to international dialogues on historical legacies and contemporary implications.
• Iziko Museums of South AfricanotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for exhibitions and archival initiatives including hosting 'In Slavery's Wake' workshop and collaboration on the Bouba Touré collections.
• Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art (MOCAA)notableStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on exhibitions, public lectures, and curatorial initiatives in Cape Town's arts ecosystem.
• Consortium of Humanities Centres and Institutes (CHCI)notableStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational consortium membership providing access to global humanities research networks and collaborative opportunities.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Institute for Humanities in Africa (HUMA), University of Cape Town: A continental humanities research grouping at UCT with comparable postcolonial scholarship, archival work, and Mellon/Andrew W. Mellon-style grant funding; operates as a near-substitute humanities center within the same South African university ecosystem.
• Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS): A South African institute for advanced study hosting international fellows and scholars for humanities and interdisciplinary research; directly comparable to CHR's fellowship model and Winter School intensive programming.
• Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (WiSER): A South African university-based humanities and social-science research institute at the University of the Witwatersrand; the closest direct peer given its shared focus on critical humanities scholarship, postgrad training, and public-facing programming funded through research grants.

Emerging players

• South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR): A DSI-NRF Flagship-era institution focused on digital humanities infrastructure; an emerging player addressing overlapping digital-archival and humanities-tech themes relevant to CHR's Iyatsiba Lab work.
• African Centre for Cities (ACC), University of Cape Town: A UCT-based research center combining urban scholarship with public-facing programming; comparable in scale and South African humanities-research footprint, with adjacent rather than direct thematic overlap.

Broad incumbents

• Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA): Pan-African organization supporting social science and humanities research across the continent; a broader incumbent whose remit overlaps with CHR's continental humanities and postcolonial research agenda.

Others

• Mahindra Humanities Center, Harvard University: A major university-affiliated humanities center funding fellows, seminars, and digital humanities projects; relevant as a benchmark operating model and international consortium peer (via CHCI) rather than a direct competitor.
• National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS): A South African funding/catalytic body that supports CHR's flagship activities and awards; an adjacent funder and ecosystem participant rather than a competing center.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/199244683593190
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centre-for-humanities-research

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Centre for Humanities Research