Free walking tours
One of the major highlights of the Newtown Now festival is the opportunity to join in one of many free walking tours of Newtown and its heritage sites taking place throughout the day. To book your place on one of the free walks send an email to newtownnowfestivals@gmail.com with the name of the tour in the subject line, time and number of people who will be joining (max. 6 people per booking).10:00-11:00 SAB World of Beer tour. Learn about the history of beer from ancient Egyptian times to the present day and enjoy a beer inside a faithfully recreated 19th Century Joburg pub on a free tour of this popular beer museum.
11:30-12:30 Workers Museum tour. Learn about the struggles and hardships faced by Joburg's migrant workers during the city's 130 year history on a tour of this important Newtown heritage site.
11:00-13:00 Newtown Skateboarding Tour. Join skateboarding fanatic and founder of City Skate Tours Ayanda Mnyandu for a tour of Newtown by skateboard looking at the important role that the neighbourhood has played in the development of the city. The tour begins with a short lesson on how to skateboard for beginners (limited to 10 participants).
12:00-13:00 Market Theatre tour. Go behind-the-scenes on a free walking tour of the historic Market Theatre. Discover what goes on back stage at the theatre and learn about the history of this remarkable institution and how it has shaped the city's cultural life.
14:30 - 15:15 Past Experiences heritage and graffiti tour. Joburg's original walking tour company lead two free walking tours through Newtown's history, heritage, public art and street art. In particular the tour looks at the story of the iconic Newtown Heads and the work of the Imbali Visual Literacy Project as well as the epic graffiti murals that are such a distinctive part of Newtown's streets.
14:00 - 16:00 Newtown Skateboarding Tour
14:30 - 15:30 Workers Museum tour
15:00 - 16:00 Market Theatre tour
15:00 - 16:00 SAB World of Beer tour
15:15 - 16:00 Past Experiences heritage and graffiti tour.
Free family events
Johannesburg Family Gathering. Perfect for families looking to learn new things and have fun together, the Johannesburg Family Gathering is hosting a free Kemetic Yoga class at 10:00 (bring your own mat) and an interactive Yoruba percussion and dance session with Ola Opa at 11:30 at Museum Africa. There's also opportunity to leave your mark on Newtown's streets with chalk drawing from 10:00–14:00.Play Africa. South African non-profit company and social enterprise Play Africa are hosting free interactive and educational creative play areas in the Newtown Park (opposite Sci-Bono Discovery Centre) aimed at young children. A wonderful opportunity for families to come together to create, build and discover new talents through play.
Art exhibitions
Market Photo Workshop: Other Worlds a photo essay by award winning Malian photographer Moussa John Kalapo.Stop Sign Gallery: In Thokoza, Place of Peace group photography exhibition by the Of Soul and Joy photography collective that offers a youthful perspective on daily life and identity in the Joburg township of Thokoza.
Sci-Bono Discovery Centre: Wonders of Rock Art, a blockbuster international exhibition of ancient French and African rock art. In addition to the exhibition the museum is also presenting a free ochre painting class.
City Lodge Hotel Newtown: An exhibition of works by fine arts graduates sponsored by Strauss & Co.
56 Pim: Social practice - methodologies and ideologies, an ongoing interrogation into how artist, architects, museologists and others in the creative fields address issues of inequality and social cohesion in their everyday practice.
Presentation of the newly restored Newtown Heads public art installation
At the heart of the first edition of the Newtown Now festival is a celebration of the newly restored Newtown Heads. Initially installed in 2001, a collection of more than five hundred carved wooden heads sitting atop bollards across the precinct have for many years been a defining feature of Newtown. This year the artist who created them, Americo Guambe, was invited by the city to restore and replace these iconic sculptures.At 13:00 on Sat July 14 during the Newtown Now festival the newly revamped Newtown Heads will be unveiled at a celebratory ceremony alongside a new public art installation by the Newtown-based Imbali Visual Literacy Project.
