“Look forward to one of my favourite events in this city – the Joburg Art Fair. Now in its third year the Fair has done for Joburg what the Design Indaba has done for Cape Town – made the city the capital of edgy contemporary hip-ness for a few glorious days. Last week I got a chance to talk to its founder, Ross Douglas of ArtLogic at his office/home — a real urban fashion statement in Milpark overlooking the huge circular tower of Egoli Gas”.
The third annual Joburg Art Fair, presented by FNB, will once again bring the best African art, photography and design to the city. 23 art galleries from SA and Africa will present the best of each of their artist portfolios. If you’re looking to invest in big names make sure to pay attention to galleries like the Goodman Gallery, Everard Read and Gallery MOMO for example. If you’re more interested in up-and-coming young artists, photographer and photographers then look out for whatftheworld and The Rooke amongst others. Or just browse the aisles for a round up of the very best SA and the continent have to offer.
Check out the list of Art Fair galleries below:
26th to the 28th of March 2010 at the Sandton Convention Centre.
R100 for a one-day pass and R200 for a three-day pass.
Every September Johannesburg hosts a most amazing international arts and cultural festival. Here at Jobusy, we’re proud to put it in our calendar as one of the most prominent annual events in the city. Expect anything from spoken word theatre in small intimate venues to international DJs playing in the city’s biggest nightclubs. Come September, the best thing to do is check out their official site and read what’s coming. Their programming is usually good and well placed throughout the month as well as being diverse enough to appeal to most scenes.
Highlights include the 969 festival hosted by The Wits Theatre.
2009 saw the return of the massively successful Joburg Burning festival. Pictured above is my crumpled program for the night, as I went galavanting around the city, watching some of my favourite bands perform.
The concept is simple, get all the best underground and headlining bands to play in the city on one night, and have a free shuttle to take you to and from all the venues. For the price of a single ticket get 30 odd bands take to their respective stages at various intimate melville bars and clubs. Its like a miniature Live 8, but obviously without Bob Geldof and any kind of satellite link. The concept was first attempted for an Arts Alive festival a few years back, and the first Joburg Burning was launched in 2008 to much success.
It is 969 km from Johannesburg to Grahamstown. So for those that can’t make the trip to the annual Grahamstown Arts festival, The 969 Festival offers to bring a selection up to Johannesburg for you. The festival takes place at the Wits Theatre Complex during the month of September every year. It forms part of the Arts Alive Festival.
The new South Africa welcomed in many new public holidays. Many of which might seem unnecessary taking that we now hold the record of having the most public holidays in the world! Any business knows the month of April is a complete write off in this regard.
The month of September welcomes the isolated little Heritage Day. Although the purpose of understanding one’s heritage is important, the date is somewhat vauge. And this leads me to the next big point. As a result of an overwhelming amout of days to celebrate, and the fact that they’re all just over a decade old, it makes sense that we’re currently so ambivalent to what they represent. Thanksgiving has had years to develop into one of America’s most important traditions. And slowly ours will too. All they need is traditions, and practices that will make them more memorable.
So, to wrap it up nice and sweet….we all braai. Africans, Afrikaans, and English, all put their boerewors over an open fire, and stand around looking at it while drinking beer. So why not celebrate this? This day has the potential to mean something now. The tradition was coined in 2007, and our aim is to help make it even bigger in 2009. Lets start asking where the braai should be. Will the tradition become a friends thing? Or will it be a trip home to the family like Thanksgiving? Either way, we have to light the braai up in September now that its warmer to hang out outside, and celebrate the approaching summer the best way we know how!
As you approach the main street in Chinatown, it feels like you about to enter a war zone. There are people everywhere, crackers all around you, dragons walking the streets, and noodles for everyone!!! They literally light up fireworks in the street in amongst the walking pedestrians. The events happen in february every year, at a time in the month I have never been able to accurately work out or remember. please comment below on when it actually is.
The idea is simple. In order to truly love something, you first have to understand it. Johannesburg is no different in this regard.
Connect with the real city through those who live and play here. The result? A catalogue of Johannesburg like no other.
