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If you’ve been around the Joburg art scene, you might remember OpenStudios.Joburg. Now, it’s CONTRA.Joburg – South Africa’s biggest artist open-studio event, connecting spaces that feed the city’s restless and dynamic art community.
For one weekend, these studios throw open their doors. Shuttle loops crisscross the inner city, drawing new lines on the map, linking rooftops and courtyards, warehouses and heritage buildings, the familiar and the almost-forgotten.
The name change wasn’t just a rebrand. It’s been a reframing – shifting from the idea of the artist’s studio as a room with four walls to seeing the city itself as the studio. This year’s theme is art as interruption –work that stands in your way, cuts across your route, and catches you off guard. It’s Joburg at its most avant-garde, unapologetic, and alive.
10 reasons CONTRA.Joburg should already be in your calendar
Photo: Ogorogile Nong and Siyabonga Vilakazi © CONTRA.Joburg.
1. It’s South Africa’s largest open-studio festival
Across 12 inner-city buildings, step directly into working studios, meet artists mid-process, and experience art being made – not just displayed. Stops include the brand-new Asisibenze Art Gallery at Aegis House in Marshalltown and Bag Factory in Newtown on Saturday, and August House and Ellis House on the east side of Joburg on Sunday.
2. More than 100+ artists, designers, and makers in action
From rooftops to courtyards, hidden basements, and streets – CONTRA.Joburg will be activating spaces you don’t expect – each a reminder that Joburg is a city of constant reinvention. Did you know Victoria Yards was once a laundry and Transwerke was a maternity hospital? From spoken word to contemporary dance, each venue will offer something unique.
3. Art that interrupts – and transforms
Forget white walls and polite silence. This is raw, immediate, and sometimes unpredictable. It may also get noisy, and there's no doubt it will be full of colour. Expect art that demands your attention – from sculpture to prints, large-scale installations to paintings and just about everything in between. This is the place to meet your artwork match.
4. Fuelling the creative economy
Since launch, CONTRA.Joburg has generated nearly R3-million in direct sales – money that has gone directly to artists, ensuring the city’s vital creative energy keeps flowing. These are the studio spaces where you'll find many levels of Joburg's artists, from raw and emerging to established and renowned.
5. Shuttle loops that connect the city
Free (as in part of your ticket price) and continuous, the shuttles operate on both days, stitching together the day’s journey, and linking venues safely and effortlessly.
Photo: Ogorogile Nong and Siyabonga Vilakazi © CONTRA.Joburg.
6. Accessible to all
Around R120 gets you a full day of exploration, or buy a weekend pass for R200. Under 18s? They usually get in free.
7. Family-friendly spaces
Many venues offer workshops, printing, and hands-on activities for kids, making it a shared city experience for all ages. Look out for painting, T-shirt printing and face-painting. At Transwerke at Constitution Hill you'll find the amazing PlayAfrica ready to occupy busy minds and hands.
8. Talks, tours, and pop-up moments
From panel discussions on collecting art to ballet, behind-the-scenes tours of heritage landmarks like the Rand Club, and a rendition of Shakespeare's Macbeth, it’s a weekend where you leave with more than you came for.
9. Challenges and prizes
Vote in the People’s Choice award or step up for the CONTRA.Fashion challenge – the most striking look on Instagram or TikTok could win you vouchers from local partners. Collect your CONTRA.Joburg booklet Art Interrupted: A Guide to the Unexpected at check-in at any venue. You choose where your journey starts. Show your colours by adding a sticker next to (not on) the artworks that speak loudest to you. "Mooi, man!", "Ayoba", "Haaibo". Find your absolute favourite artist, post a photo of the artwork or artist and tag the artist along with @contrajoburg and @jozi_my_jozi on Instagram to be in line to win R1,000 in Playbucks that you can spend with Play Braam.
10. A radical, unfiltered Joburg experience
Under the direction of Sara Hallatt and the META Foundation, CONTRA.Joburg isn’t just an art event – it’s an act of urban storytelling, using creativity to reimagine spaces, spark conversations, and invite people back into the beating heart of the city.
The bottom line
CONTRA.Joburg is a living, breathing experiment in culture as urban regeneration. It’s art you walk into, trip over, and carry home with you. We think you'll see Johannesburg differently after.Studios you'll visit
Participating artist studios for the 2025 edition of CONTRA.Joburg are: Asisibenze Art Atelier, Asisibenze Art Gallery, August House, Bag Factory, Ellis House Art Building, Living Artist Emporium, Oovookoo, Play Braam, Weed Lovers Market, Rand Club, Transwerke – The Creative Uprising Hub at Constitution Hill, and Victoria Yards.Book tickets for CONTRA.Joburg 2025
Showcasing creativity across the City Centre with its biggest edition to date, CONTRA.Joburg takes place on Sat, Aug 30 and Sun, Aug 31, 2024 from 10:30 – 17:00. You can start at any of the venues and work your way through. With shuttles running between the venues every 20 minutes, and a park-and-ride system at Stephan Welz & Co, CONTRA.Joburg makes exploring these artist spaces a breeze. Book your tickets here.
CONTRA.Joburg is sponsored by Jozi My Jozi, iTOO Artinsure, and Quorum Holdings. Partners are WeltzBoutique, Africa Collect, and Johannesburg In Your Pocket. This is our fourth year of working with CONTRA.Joburg to bring this to life, and it's work we are immensely proud of and that fulfils our mission to support Joburg's creative economy.
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