Between an explosive CBD, proliferating potholes and a bunch of muppets running the show, it’s hard to feel upbeat about Joburg. But the good is there, and very much manifesting in the form of a bumper season of exceptional art and design, courtesy of a resilient and resourceful creative community. Here, the FM rounds up a handful of top-drawer events taking place across the City of Gold in the next few weeks — a silver lining to feel good about.
Turbine Art Fair 23
July 27-30
The Turbine Art Fair has come a long way, not least geographically, from its roots at Newtown’s Turbine Hall. Entering its 11th edition, it’s being held at Hyde Park Corner and is under the creative direction of fashion designer and former editor Tiaan Nagel. The fair gives exposure to emerging South African artists and small-scale and up-and-coming galleries. It’s also a place where new buyers start collecting art, and established ones spot the next big thing.
This year’s event includes an exhibition of top talent from graduating classes at local universities, as well as a show of work from the tragic Johannesburg Art Gallery that includes the Dumile Feni Crucifixion triptych. It serves as a reminder of this public institution’s staggering African art collection. For the fashion devotees, globally lauded South African designer Thebe Magugu’s Mother & Child collection of heritage dresses, which explores our 11 local cultures, will be on show.
There will be walkabouts and talks, and garden designer Patrick Watson (who landscaped both the Lost City and Steyn City) will create an unforgettable urban space with more than 100 trees on the Hyde Park corner rooftop. Oh, and take along the kids for some drawing, a children’s walkabout and story time too.
The Clubhouse at Stevenson
Until August 11
For winter, Parktown North’s Stevenson has become The Clubhouse. In 2019 the brand turned an old home into a traditional gallery. Now it has once again flipped the space, converting it into an immersive spot — complete with a study, lounge and dining room. Pop by and read a book, listen to a talk or just check out some art. The lineup of events is available on its website and social media.
Local design hotshot (and neighbour) Tonic Design has provided the furniture, greenery is from JFF Plant Shop and other items come from Arrange Studio, Joe Paine and The Ninevites to name just a few. Artists featured include Penny Siopis, Robin Rhode and Georgina Gratrix.
Bulumko Mbete at the Bag Factory
Until August 11
Bulumko Mbete is the winner of the 2023 Cassirer Welz Award, and her solo show is on at the Bag Factory Artists’ Studios in Newtown. The prize, sponsored by auction house Strauss & Co and Business and Arts South Africa, acknowledges excellence in emerging artists, with the winner receiving a 10-week residency culminating in a solo exhibition.
The title of the show, I’ve known rivers, is taken from a Langston Hughes poem, The Negro Speaks of Rivers.
Experimenting with textiles, she says: “My project endeavours to document and archive the anecdotes of ordinary people and their encounters with South Africa’s rich and poignant history. I am reflecting on the intersection of issues such as labour, migration, economy, sustainability, ethical forms of creation, gender and feminism, social origin and social use.”
Occupying the Gallery 1 at Keyes Art Mile
August 3 - September 1
This project was initiated by acclaimed artists Mary Sibande and Lawrence Lemaoana. It is hosted by printing studio Danger Gevaar Ingozi Studio, a black-owned, multimedium printmaking workshop.
Apart from Sibande and Lemaoana, artists Lusanda Ndita, Mosa Anita Kaiser, Nathaniel Sheppard III, Ngoma KaMphahlele, Bongani Ndlovu, Minenkulu Ngoyi and Hoek Swaratlhe have been working to bring new life to Gallery 1 at the Keyes Art Mile in Rosebank.
They have already transformed the space into a working studio, creating a rare opportunity to see the art-making process in action.
Decorex, Design Joburg and 100% Design Africa
August 3-6
This year, Decorex Joburg celebrates its 30th anniversary with a four-day décor and design bonanza at the Sandton Convention Centre. Multiple floors of design and more than 250 brands provide a good opportunity to learn more about trends and shop for your house.
Running alongside Decorex, Design Joburg and 100% Design Africa will display design, textiles, art, fashion and architecture. Entry grants access to all three shows, so you get the brightest young designers, fancy international furniture from the likes of Roche Bobois and other surprising elements, including textile artworks by the renowned Keiskamma Art Project, all in one go.
Nic Bladen at Everard Read
August 2 - September 16
The new exhibition of Nic Bladen, described as the “global rock star of botanical art”, is fittingly called Blooming Amazing. It showcases hyperrealistic, painstakingly produced bronzes which, if not for their metallic sheen, might be confused with real-life plants.
Over the decades, Bladen has produced an array of botanical sculptures based on biomes, reserves and plant families, but this new collection concentrates on garden plants acquired from nurseries, such as clivia and agapanthus. The show promises to be the flowery tonic you need to tide you over until spring.
Thonton Kabeya at the Wits Art Museum
August 15 - October 14
The Wits Art Museum will host Introspect, a solo exhibition by Joburg resident Thonton Kabeya. This large-scale show at one of the city’s most important museums will offer a peek into the artist’s world and the artistic process. As Kabeya emphasises, this is not a retrospective but rather “a highlights package, an introspection of a decade of living and working in the city”.
Kabeya’s artworks range from joyful pieces that celebrate daily life — children at play, lovers dancing and gentlemen having their hair cut — to layered, sculptural abstract works made with his trademark material, sepia-coloured walnut powder.
Kabeya, who was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, says: “I’ve lived all over — Paris and Spain included, and I think coming to Joburg marked a big shift in my career. Africa provides something that you possibly only notice when you’ve lived elsewhere. It’s a sort of push for creativity.”
The artist will also have a solo booth at FNB Art Joburg in September, so look out for that too.
Tavares Strachan at Goodman Gallery
August 26 - October 7
Tavares Strachan’s The Return is, without a doubt, one of the most exciting exhibitions on the local art calendar. It’s also the first time the Nassau-born, New York-based conceptual artist will have a solo show in Africa.
It will include new work that spans cultures, cosmic paintings, ceramic totems and South Africa-produced handwoven tapestries. The Bahamian is known for his intense research, including multiple North Pole expeditions and a stint training as a cosmonaut in Russia. Strachan’s practice taps into “art, science, history and cultural critique and investigates invisibility, displacement and power structures”.
FNB Art Joburg
September 8-10
Africa’s longest-running contemporary art fair is returning to the Sandton Convention Centre for its 16th edition. As always, the fair will be divided into sections, each with its own focus. There’s a central section that will represent the best in contemporary African art, an area that represents an incubation spot for emerging galleries, and a larger space that will house gigantic artworks.
A regular social event in the city, FNB Art Joburg gives visitors an opportunity to have some fun and engage with seminal art institutions from Joburg and the continent as well as take part in talks and screenings. In addition, Open City, a citywide art initiative that includes music, food and fashion, will take place from August 31 to September 19.
Blessing Ngobeni at the Standard Bank Gallery
August 3 - September 16
The Standard Bank Gallery will host Ntsumi Ya Vutomi, a solo exhibition by award-winning Blessing Ngobeni. Picking up where he left off with his 2020 Standard Bank Young Artist Award virtual show Chaotic Pleasure, this physical exhibition will include paintings, sculptures, instillation and video animations.
Ngobeni continues to explore postcolonial violence and its impact on black lives, while experimenting with varied compositional techniques and materials. “I’m working with the experiences that one goes through,” he says, “examining the circumstances that allow others to learn and grow, while others feel discouraged to do things. It is a way of reflecting while looking forward.”
sponsorships.standardbank.com/sbgs/sponsorship/arts-and-culture/gallery
Otherscapes at the Johannesburg Contemporary Art Foundation
Until November 4
Coming off its hit 2022 show Kahlo, Sher-Gil, Stern: Modernist Identities in the Global South, the Johannesburg Contemporary Art Foundation is exhibiting immersive installations by four contemporary South African artists: Siemon Allen, Wim Botha, Nicholas Hlobo and Sethembile Msezane.
Otherscapes suggests that we view the scene of contemporary South Africa through four large-scale artworks, or “scapes”. By doing this, we can explore different takes on the state of the country. Whether it’s walking through Hlobo’s maze made from countless colourful ribbons or Botha’s sculptures, the viewer can ponder the illusion of the rainbow nation — or the prospect of a failed state.
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