Keyes Art Night at Keyes Art Mile returns for 2026, offering an evening that seamlessly blends art, music, and conviviality. The precinct’s galleries, restaurants, and design studios open their doors for a night of exploration and cultural exchange, drawing art enthusiasts, collectors, and first-time visitors alike.
And as always, Keyes delivers when it comes to food and drinks with a variety of restaurants offering meals, from The Prawnery, Momo Kuro, and Kanpai, to Marble, and BGR, while Pantry serves yummy soft serve. When all is seen and done, round the night off at MIX Cocktail Bar with cool beats and drinks.
Material reflections in Gallery 1
Marking the breaking of ground for the Keyes Art Mile 2.0 expansion, Groundworks reflects on the materials that shape both art and the built environment. Featuring works that engage with stone, dust, carbon, clay, metal, and paper fibre, the exhibition draws attention to the geological matter and human labour underpinning architecture and city-making. Rather than illustrating the development itself, Groundworks offers a parallel meditation on how environments are formed materially, culturally, and imaginatively.
Dale Sargent Fine Art pop-up in Gallery 2
Dale Sargent Fine Art takes over Gallery 2 with a focused pop-up exhibition showcasing works by some of South Africa’s most respected artists. Bringing together names such as Sam Nhlengethwa, Robert Hodgins, and Nelson Makamo, the selection offers a concise yet rich glimpse into contemporary practices. Opening during Keyes Art Night and running until Sat, Feb 7, this is a chance to view landmark works in an intimate setting.
Maps of the city in The Atrium
In From Waterfall to Soweto, Titus Matiyane presents a sweeping panoramic map of Gauteng, tracing the urban continuum across highways, housing, railways, and infrastructure. Working from an aerial perspective, Matiyane’s dense, immersive compositions reveal the hidden systems that connect the city, shaped by movement, labour, and ambition. Inviting slow looking, the work situates viewers within a vast, interconnected urban landscape and asks them to consider their place within its unfolding geography.
Layers of visuals and sound at Lizamore on Keyes
Palimpsest brings together a new collaborative body of work by Michael Meyersfeld and Stompie Selibe, where layering, mark-making, and visual transformation unfold through a shared, dialogic process. The exhibition extends across the gallery with solo presentations by Lien Botha, Nellien Brewer, and Jacki McInnes, each occupying a distinct space and perspective. Referencing the idea of something reused yet still bearing traces of the past, Palimpsest explores how materials, sounds, and gestures overlap, unsettle, and reveal new ways of seeing and sensing.
Auction previews at Aspire Art
Aspire Art’s February Online Auction runs from Thu, Feb 19 – Tue, Mar 3, presenting a thoughtful selection of modern and contemporary fine art. Get a preview of the works at Keyes Art Night: the lots span established names to compelling new contemporary voices, and offer collectors the chance to acquire standout works across a range of practices and price points.
Pause for a drink and a meal
While art is front and centre at Keyes Art Night, you certainly won't be leaving hungry, given all that Keyes has to offer on the dining front. Enjoy beautifully crafted sushi at the Japanese-fusion restaurant Kanpai or giant tiger prawns on the hibachi grill at The Prawnery. Book via Dineplan. Freshly Ground is great for a casual bite – a favourite is the creamy chicken tikka masala pasta. Add appetising Asian street food to the line-up at Momo Kuro on the top floor of the Trumpet Building, or try the ramen at Momo's street-level store. Burger and fries more your style? Keep it easy at BGR. Unwind with sunset drinks at Marble (also in the swanky Trumpet Building), and if soft serve is your thing, head down the parking lot stairs to Pantry.
Sip and spin at MIX Cocktail Bar
To round off the evening, head to MIX Cocktail Bar, where a dynamic line-up of DJs will provide the soundtrack to an evening of artful celebration. With its lively atmosphere, Mix Bar remains one of the city’s most popular post-gallery destinations.
Comments