Since its inception four years ago, CONTRA.Joburg has changed how we engage with and experience contemporary art in the city. With this year's theme of "Expect the Unexpected", the festival will no doubt be just as disruptive to our conceptions of what art can be and do.
Hidden amongst the imposing concrete of Joburg's City Centre are a plethora of artist studios with this creative energy permeating the rest of the city. CONTRA.Joburg opens the doors to these spaces, giving you a firsthand glimpse into the practices and processes of the city's artists, and the chance to meet and chat with them.
In addition to the studio visits, the two-day event also brings workshops with artists, walkabouts, talks, and other activations to make it a festival you can't miss. Transport between venues will be provided by shuttles, free to use when you book your ticket. There are different venues open on different days, and you must register for each venue you wish to attend.
For 2025, CONTRA.Joburg will host over 100 visual artists, designers, and makers, with founder Sara Hallatt saying, “Every artist, every location, and every moment is chosen for its ability to surprise you – to feel like it could only happen here and now. We want audiences to feel like they stumbled into something… maybe by accident, maybe by fate.”
Aside from collaborative interventions and installations from the artists at the studio, there is also a range of works on sale for every budget. A key aspect of CONTRA.Joburg is supporting local artists, and since their launch, they have facilitated almost R3-million in direct art sales. The effects of this are tremendous, enabling more artists to grow their practice and find a market for their work.
This year, in addition to the 12 participating studios, Stephan Welz & Co. will be hosting the exhibition Vintage Vanguard. You can find the programme for each day below.
Sat, Aug 30 from 10:00 – 17:00
Play Braam is the niche property development company behind Braamfontein's most playful district. Several spaces fall under their purview, including a set of artist studios at 7 De Beer Street.Bag Factory is one of South Africa's first collective artists' studios, operating since 1991 in an old factory in colourful Fordsburg on the edge of the City Centre. Over the years, Bag Factory's 18 studio spaces have fostered the talents of some of the country's most celebrated contemporary artists.
Asisebenze Art Atelier at 28 Plein Street is both a gallery and studio space, and hosts a wide range of artists who are as dynamic as the city in which they are based.
Rand Club at 33 Loveday Street, Marshalltown, is the city's most enduring social institution and one of its finest heritage venues. Access members-only areas of the club during CONTRA.Joburg, home to a portion of the First Rand Art Collection as well as David Tlale's studio.
Creative Uprising Hub at Transwerke is located within the Constitution Hill precinct at Sam Hancock Street, Braamfontein. Don't let its unassuming exterior fool you; it's home to emerging visual artists, makers, and artisans changing the creative landscape of Joburg.
WLM at 7 Loveday Street, Marshalltown partakes in CONTRA.Joburg with Express:On, an experimental exhibition curated by Khaya Madungandaba for emerging and established artists.
Photo: CONTRA.Joburg.
Sun, Aug 31 from 10:00 – 17:00
Asisebenze Art Gallery is a brand-new exhibition space in the building opposite Rand Club in Marshaltown, and a sister venue to Asisebenze Art Atelier.Living Artists' Emporium at the Ellis Park Tennis Club supports grassroots emerging artists while facilitating the sales of their work to corporate and private buyers.
August House at 76 End Street, Doornfontein, is the largest studio space in Johannesburg, established in 2006. In a warren of studios, small and large, spread over several floors, you'll find a community of emerging artists and more established names living and working together, sometimes merely as neighbours and friends, and often as established art collectives, too.
Oovookoo, which means 'uprising', is a hybrid studio-gallery space at 15 Hulbert Road, Village Deep, that provides affordable and accessible spaces in which creatives can work.
Ellis House is a five-storey building at 23 Voorhout Street, Bertrams, that houses an eclectic mix of emerging and established artists.
Victoria Yards is a uniquely integrated urban complex at 16 Viljoen Street in Lorentzville that's as much about art and design as it is about social development. The complex is home to several prominent local artists, including Stompie Selibe and James Delaney.
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.
