Johannesburg Is an Art and Design Lover’s Delight

Walking through the grounds of Nirox Sculpture Park, it’s hard to imagine you’re a 45-minute drive from Johannesburg. South Africa’s sprawling metropolis is synonymous with towering buildings and giant highways that wrap around the city–not peaceful, plant-lined lawns. Set on 30 hectares of landscaped gardens, this art-filled park is filled with waterways, wetlands, and towering trees. But people don’t just come here for nature. The sculpture park has a collection of stunning permanent and long-term installations from major artists such as Nandipha Mntambo, Jane Alexander, and Mary Sibande. It also hosts workshops and residencies, which draws local and international artists, and has become a beacon in Johannesburg's thriving art scene—one which extends way beyond this impressive park.

It might sound surprising that a city, which has struggled with a reputation for crime and crumbling infrastructure, is booming in the arts, but Joburg—as it's affectionately known—has plenty of major cultural draws. Aside from Nirox, it’s also the base for some of the country's most influential independent brands, such as furniture makers Tonic, craft-driven design atelier Mash T. Design Studio, heritage fashion designer MaXhosa, and custom clothing showroom, Viviers Studio. It’s a scene that’s constantly evolving: New to the city’s creative world is No End Gallery, which just opened in a glass-fronted premises in hip Parkhurst, and The Manor, a concept and exhibition space at mixed-use hub 44 Stanley Avenue, from tastemaker and photographer Trevor Sturman. Adding even more clout to the city’s impressive creative roster is Thebe Magugu. The fashion designer, who garnered fame with his slinky printed dresses and heirloom shirts, opened Magugu House this year, his first brick and mortar in a heritage house in the city’s leafy Dunkeld neighborhood. Having one of the leading designers in the country—who was awarded the LVMH prize and has collaborated with Dior—invest in Johannesburg shows fresh confidence in a city that’s often deeply misunderstood.

There’s no sugar-coating the fact that the city is one filled with challenges, but like many places that have faced hardship, it’s also a place where creativity thrives. Once a booming mining town, Johannesburg established itself as a business and finance hub over the course of the 20th century. Having become the economic capital of the country, its entrepreneurial spirit continues to draw people from all over the continent. “Johannesburg thrives on integrated communities and multiculturalism,” says Zanele Kumalo, curator of Design Week South Africa, a new fair that launched this year in both Cape Town and Johannesburg. Many of those who landed here are creatives who have also chosen to put down roots. “Throughout my many encounters across Africa I’ve found that Johannesburg is an apt representation of the continent,” says Mandla Sibeko, founder and CEO of FNB Art Joburg. “[It’s] in the grit, relentlessness, tenacity, and the city’s irreverent energy,” he adds. “We have artists from across the continent and the diaspora living and practicing in the city. There is nothing like experiencing contemporary African art and its artists on African soil.”

The creative culture boom in Johannesburg makes it all the more enticing for visitors too. “Joburg has one of the coolest art scenes in the world,” says Sibeko. A host of annual art fairs such as Turbine Art Fair, RMB Latitudes Art Fair, and FNB Art Joburg, which Sibeko relaunched in 2019, attracts a host of international collectors and galleries. When rethinking the fair’s strategy, one of Sibeko's priorities was spotlighting some of Africa’s best artists under one roof. “We needed to focus on galleries on the African continent and its diaspora in order to ensure that the very best in contemporary African art would be seen, valued, and celebrated at home—before reaching international waters,” he says. Today, it's one of the continent’s leading contemporary art events.

A weekend well-spent in Jozi (another nickname for the city) also means hopping between prominent and emerging establishments scattered across the city. There’s the Joburg Contemporary Art Foundation, a relatively new exhibition venue and research institute set in a brick building (a former electrical tram shed and substation) in Forest Town, which is dedicated to furthering the appreciation of art from the global south. Also in Forest Town, in a striking windowless, almost brutalist space, is the Inside Out Centre for the Arts, founded by Roger Ballen in 2023. The celebrated American-born, Johannesburg-based photographer is known for his powerful portraits (you may remember his series with local band, Die Antwoord). Contemporary galleries are also in abundance: Stevenson, Everard Read (Africa’s oldest commercial gallery), and Goodman Gallery, which also have outposts in Cape Town. There are many smaller independent galleries, some of which are endemic to the city, too: Gallery Momo, set in an old family house in Parktown, and white-box-spaces Kalashnikovv and BKhZ, have been instrumental in creating space for emerging artists. “The Joburg art scene is driven by [these] galleries. The shows are always cutting edge,” says Banele Khoza, an Eswatini-born artist who founded BKhz gallery, one of the few Black-owned galleries in the country. When Khoza opened BKhz six years ago as a way to connect emerging artists with the local community, it began as a pop-up. In 2021, he moved to a larger space at the Keyes Art Mile and is now also showcasing creative heavyweights, such as multi-disciplinary artist Athi-Patra Ruga. “Joburg continues to be the land of opportunities,” he says, of his decision to open a gallery here. “The pulse is energetic–ever moving and afraid of rest. I think that’s the attraction.”

Kumalo is optimistic that Design Week South Africa will draw more attention to the country’s already-flourishing creative scene. “With international and local eyes on what creatives are producing in the two hubs [cities], it can only create more awareness and demand for our design perspectives and traditions,” she says, referencing the impact of Design Indaba, a major design convention which was founded in 1995 and commences annually in Cape Town. “When launched, [it] created a fundamental shift,” she says. The hope is this new design platform will create a launchpad for the ever-growing group of creatives in Joburg who are producing stellar locally-made products. For visitors, an art-filled weekend here doesn’t only mean they’ll probably take home some unique souvenirs, such as a hand-crafted ceramic mug or painting, but it’s an opportunity to really get under the country’s skin. “Johannesburg gives you everything all at once,” says Sibeko, adding that it’s here where you can witness the pains of the country’s past. But, he adds, it also brings great joy. When you see how people can produce world-class art and design in unique settings, such as Nirox and JCAF, despite all the challenges they face with fewer resources, “it gives you a sense of hope.”

HOW TO EXPERIENCE IT ALL

Where to go…

For iconic cultural centers, there’s the Apartheid Museum, the Joburg Contemporary Art Foundation, and Inside Out Centre for the Arts from photographer Roger Ballen. For cutting edge contemporary art, don’t miss Stevenson, Everard Read, Goodman Gallery, Kalashnikovv, Gallery Momo, and BKhZ. They all have rotating exhibitions featuring artists from South Africa and beyond, so be sure to check what’s on.

What to do…

Unmissable art fairs range from small boutique shows such as Turbine Art Show and RMB Latitudes to FNB Art Joburg, which is one of the biggest in the country. Design Week South Africa takes place in October. For a day trip, head out to Nirox Sculpture Park, have lunch at the restaurant, And Then There Was Fire, then check into the neighboring Farmhouse58 for the night.

Where to shop…

Always Welcome is a multi-brand retailer featuring impressive home-grown design labels such as Mash T. Design Studio, The Urbanative, and Dokter and Misses. At Anatomy Design, a studio founded by entrepreneurs Megan Hesse and Andrea Kleinloog (responsible for the interiors of many chic safari lodges across the continent), shoppers can pick up ceramics, cushions, or one of their famous desk lamps. Magugu House is the new store and studio space from acclaimed contemporary fashion designer, Thebe Magugu, set in a heritage house. MaXhosa stocks knitwear featuring heritage designs. For cutting edge women’s fashion, Viviers Studio is a beautiful showroom from Lezanne Viviers, where she produces custom, crafted showstoppers. At Uni Form in Parktown North, designer Luke Radloff creates muted gender-neutral pieces with sharp silhouettes.