Johannesburg has always been associated with a vibrancy, hustle and creative spirit that is kinetic. A city that moves in ways that pay homage to its past lives, while simultaneously rebuilding and redefining its own foundations. A large majority of this can be attributed to the young creatives who follow their raw ambitions. There is…
Design brand, The Urbanative, explores how cultural patterns and motifs can be reinterpreted in modern design while still making sure that they are recognized as graphic cultural signifiers from a specific context. Through this application or reinterpretation of these patterns and motifs The Urbanative aims to celebrate culture and extend its communication across generations, and…
Allana Clarke is a conceptual artist born in 1987 originally from Trinidad and Tobago. Her practice is expressed through sculpture, video, performance and installation work. The residencies that can be marked off on her list at present are The Vermont Studio Center, the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture, and the Lighthouse Works. In 2014,…
Many Joburgers, like myself, know the exodus that the city experiences over the December holidays, with most people coming back just in time to unpack their bags before going back to work. For those who go on holiday, the coast is usually the first option. However, over the last holiday Johannesburg saw a slight shift…
UK based artist Holly Hendry creates a sculptural realm in which the visitors of her rather dystopian world can see a symbiotic union of the micro and macroscopic world. Up and close, a visual presentation of what lies below. Her work digs below the surface and exhibits that which is buried, hidden, out of thought….
The project BORN::FREE Next Steps was conceptualized as a poetry exchange involving artists based in South Africa and the UK. This three-part series of events and workshops explores themes including gender, race and spirituality, among others. The most powerful impact of the project has been the forging of relationships between South African and British live literature…
A prawn shell ripped apart with the soft, tender innards swept clean. Suspended from a hook fastened to a ceiling. This serves as a description of Kasia Fudakowski’s ‘Are you eating well?’. A piece that best encapsulates the satirical tone of the artist that flows throughout her work. Born in London in 1985 she is…
Zimbabwean-born mixed media artist Wycliffe Mundopa uses his connection to painting as a way to document the lives of women and children in Harare’s underprivileged neighbourhoods. His compassion towards those he portrays is coupled with his anger about how the circumstances of these women and children have been pushed aside. Mundopa’s paintings delicately combine the…
I am certain that it is impossible to shake off visual artist, Gabrielle Goliath’s, ELEGY performance. It has been weeks since I was part of the audience and I am still haunted by the memory. The chatty room fell dead quiet as the seven operatic female singers dressed in all black walked in single file…
Popping up on numerous creative radars, Dada Khanyisa aka The Mighty Whale is propelling herself forward in the South African creative industry. A recent graduate from Michaelis School of Fine Art, the multi-faceted artist has already begun showing her sculptural paintings on big stages such as the FNB Art Fair in 2017 with Stevenson Gallery. The…
In the heart of the historically rich and culturally diverse inner-city suburb of Yeoville lies a culinary gem that is the Yeoville Dinner Club. Where owner Sanza Sandile curates a multisensory experience known as the Pan-Afrikan Plate, which showcases freshly sourced ingredients from a nearby market, stories and fluent conversations ranging from coming of age…
The inner city of Johannesburg has had an interesting history over the last 25 years. In the changes that took place around 1994, many whites and white owned businesses moved out of the city centre, fleeing to suburbs and business districts such as Sandton which seemed to promise “safety and security.” Whilst the government implemented…
