From iconic public artworks (discover a few of our favourites), intriguing street art, and established galleries and museums, to trailblazing indie spaces and the hardworking artists' studios in the city centre, Johannesburg is a city for art lovers. We update this guide weekly to help you navigate these ever-changing creative spaces, from a curated selection of solo and group shows, artist-led walkabouts and workshops to guided tours and other art-related events worth your while.
Johannesburg art picks of the week (Thu, May 28 – Thu, Jun 4, 2026)
Whew! One of Joburg's biggest art weekends has come to a close, and if you're like us, you're still thinking about the plethora of incredible work at RMB Latitudes Art Fair. Things are a bit calmer as the upcoming week in Johannesburg's art scene balances deep historical reflection with celebrations of institutional milestones. Wits Art Museum hosts a walkabout of their 50th anniversary retrospective of the 1976 Soweto Uprising, while Bag Factory stages a 35-year alumni gathering at Everard Read's Circa Gallery. Make sure to schedule some time for them, read our thoughts on two solos at Asisebenze Art Gallery and, of course, clear out Thu, Jun 4 so you're all set for a slew of First Thursday events.1. Break Even at MaNdebele Photo Gallery
Sat, May 30 from 12:00 – 18:00: This group photographic exhibition at MaNdebele Photo Gallery (9737 Cemetery Road, Braamfischerville) examines the promises and tensions of South Africa's 1994 democratic transition. Featuring documentarians like Greg Marinovich, Cedric Nunn and Andrew Tshabangu, the show gathers pivotal images from the late 1980s through the early democratic years to reflect on our shared visual memory.
2. 1976 at 50 walkabout at Wits Art Museum
Sat, May 30 at 12:00: Filmmaker Kevin Harris and Senior Curator Julia Charlton lead a walkabout at Wits Art Museum through this crucial archival exhibition, marking the 50th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising. The show pairs Harris’s documentary footage with Paul Laufer’s 1976 photographic essay, offering sharp, local perspectives on the student protests. Free parking is available in the garage beneath the museum.
3. Until Love Makes Sense at BKhz
Sat, May 30 from 13:00 – 16:00: BKhz presents Until Love Makes Sense, a solo presentation by Stephen Langa featuring soft pastel and oil paintings that treat intimacy and gesture like frozen, cinematic frames.
4. Keyes Art Night and First Thursdays at 223 Creative Hub and Melville Art Mile
Thu, Jun 4 from 17:00: The monthly after-hours gallery programme takes over the city’s major art districts. Begin your evening viewing the latest exhibitions across 223 Creative Hub and the galleries lining Keyes Art Mile in Rosebank, before catching the late-night programming along the Melville Art Mile. Expect open studios, pop-up bars and extended hours at all participating spaces.
5. When We Gather at Circa on Jellicoe
Thu, Jun 4 from 17:00: Bag Factory celebrates 35 years of driving the city's contemporary art production with a major fundraising group exhibition at Everard Read's Circa Gallery. The show draws together a strong line-up of alumni and current studio artists from across three and a half decades, mixing established South African names with emerging voices. Runs until Fri, Jul 3.
6. Kuomboka and Sepekere at Asisebenze Art Gallery
Photo: Asisebenze Art Gallery.
Until Sat, Jun 13: Asisebenze Art Gallery hosts two solo shows, Kuomboka: Trust the Water by Mncedi Madolo and Sepekere: The Nail that Refused to Break by Mmutla Mashishi. Where Kuomboka washes over the viewer with expansive histories that deliberately stay just beyond understanding, Sepekere pierces into the visceral reality of endurance. We visited the studios of Madolo and Mashishi to learn more about their process and what drives their work, and it's safe to say that we were left feeling creatively charged and inspired. You can read about it here for a taste, but make sure to go see the exhibitions for yourself at Asisebenze Art Gallery.
More Joburg art highlights
SEE BEFORE THE END OF JUNE
Until Fri, Jun 5: Jack Ginsberg Centre for Book Arts at Wits Art Museum presents Thoughtforms: The Page as a Liminal Field, tracing the book as a site of active thinking from 15th-century incunabula to contemporary experiments in redaction and annotation.
Until Sat, Jun 13 – Where Time Has Gathered is a special exhibition at Lizamore on Keyes. Drawn from gallerist and curator Teresa Lizamore's personal collection, the exhibition reflects on 35 years of relationships and moments in the art world.
SEE BEFORE THE END OF JULY
Until Fri, Jul 31 – A brand-new art space, A42 House opens its doors with Grounded, a co-created exhibition shaped by voices in Johannesburg reflecting on home, belonging and place. Keep an eye on A42 House's Instagram for talks, workshops and other pop-up events.
SEE BEFORE THE END OF OCTOBER
Until Sat, Oct 31: With the Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG) gearing up for its refurbishment, Homecoming brings significant pieces from its collection to Standard Bank Gallery. Curated by Khwezi Gule and Dr Same Mdluli, the show creates a fascinating friction between European classical masters and seminal African works. For more thoughts on Homecoming and Johannesburg Art Gallery, read our articles here and here.
Ongoing – NIROX Sculpture Park and the Villa-Legodi Centre for Sculpture place works by Edoardo Villa alongside other South African sculptors to explore the legacy of the artist with Villa+ the next generation.
Save the date
Sep 4 – Sep 6 – FNB Art Joburg, the longest-running art fair in Africa, transforms the Sandton Convention Centre with curated sections, large-scale installations and more.
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