Johannesburg

To see in Joburg – weekly exhibitions guide 2023

04 Dec 2023
With the year rushing towards a close, why not make it artful? Joburg galleries are opening their final exhibitions for 2023, quite a few of which will carry on into the new year. First up this week, an artist and writer considers the ripple effects of Nelson Mandela's death and what his loss means for our nation, one decade later. Stevenson brings together a group of artists exploring individual and collective memory in their work; a poignant reflection on how porous the stories we tell ourselves can be. A pioneer of South African graffiti gets his first solo show after 30 years of painting the city's streets, while a beautiful exhibition of paintings offers new ways of thinking about the meaning of home. There's another open studio day on Saturday too, this time at Bag Factory. And, young artists broadening the parameters of abstract art go on show at Berman Contemporary, just in time for the gallery's relocation to 223 Jan Smuts – a brilliant collective space that's just opened its doors along Rosebank's Art Mile.

In our comprehensive guide to art in Joburg, discover current exhibitions worth your while and dates to diarise, and bookmark this page to stay up to date. 

For a full guide to what’s on in Joburg, explore our events calendar. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter published every Thursday morning. For extra daily updates, follow our Instagram page.

Art highlights


From Thu, Nov 30 – Kneo Mokgopa reflects on 10 years since the loss of Madiba in Nelson Mandela Is Dead, opening at the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory from 16:00 – 18:00 with a tribute performance by the Nobuhle Ashanti Trio. RSVP here.
From Sat, Dec 2 – Stevenson's group exhibition I Miss Myself the Most engages with memory-making and imagination. Stick around after the opening on from 12:00 noon – 15:00 for an after-party in collaboration with P_ssy Party, which kicks off at 16:00.
From Sat, Dec 2 – It's About Time is the first solo exhibition of local graffiti legend Rasty Knayles, opening at Grayscale Store and Gallery.
Sat, Dec 2 – Join 10 of Bag Factory's resident artists including Usen Obot, Gail Behrmann and Nyakallo Maleke for an open studio day from 11:00 – 15:00.
Until Fri, Jan 12 – Following a sold-out debut at BKhz Gallery, Mashudu Nevhutalu's second solo exhibition of paintings, Hayani, is a personal exploration of home.
Until Feb 25, 2024 – Discover the next generation of South African abstract artists moving the genre forward in Berman Contemporary's group show, The 2020s: New Forms of Abstraction. The gallery's new home is at 223 Jan Smuts, an exciting destination in Rosebank.
 
Evocative ceramics by Mellaney Roberts and other abstractions on show at Berman Contemporary. Photo: Berman Contemporary.

Other top picks

Until Sat, 9 Dec – 13 artists known for their work in Italy's avant-garde Arte Povera movement are showing in Africa for the first time alongside 13 innovative South African practitioners for Arte Povera and South African Art: In Conversation at Wits Art Museum (WAM).
Until Sun, Dec 10 – Thando Makhosini Ngwenya's touching ode to three pillar women in his life is showing at Keyes Art Mile.
Until Thu, Dec 14 – Lady Skollie's solo exhibition Groot Gat transforms the Standard Bank Gallery. Her lively, imaginative work celebrates the creativity, resilience and spirit of indigenous South African people. Read our five reasons why this show is not to be missed
Until Sat, Dec 22 – Cape Town painter Caryn Scrimgeour breathes new life into an age-old genre with her intricate, delightfully quirky tablescapes in The Imprecision of Feeling at Everard Read Gallery.
Until Sun, Dec 26 – See solo presentations by four fantastic artists at Latitudes Centre for the Arts; make a booking here
Until Fri, Jan 12 – After more than a year of collecting all things blue, exceptional ceramics from South African potters and otherworldly textiles go on show at Kim Sacks Gallery's new group exhibition.
Until Thu, Jan 25, 2024 – The journeys of three contemporary African artists converge in Woven Sensibilities at Absa Gallery, a collaborative exhibition of the 2022 Absa L’Atelier Ambassadors.
Until Wed, Jan 31, 2024 – A celebration of screenprints with a wonderful host of participating artists, Summer Ease at 44 Stanley's The Gallery.
Until Wed Jan 31, 2024 – See Mintirho Ya Vulavula, a thoughtful solo show of photographs by Tshepiso Seleke at Umhlabathi Collective.
Until Wed, Jan 31, 2024 – Renowned landscape painter Walter Voigt documents the dramatic, semi-arid landscapes of the Northern Cape in his second solo exhibition, Tswalu, A Wilderness Revisited. Viewings are by appointment only at Fireblade Aviation; email gallery@everard.co.za
Until Sat Feb 3, 2024 – Sculptor Fathema Bemath and painter Buqaqawuli Nobakada weave narratives of lace, legacy and liberation in Interwoven Identities, a dual exhibition at Origin Art. 
Until Feb, 2024 – A stellar line-up of diverse artists respond to the words of William Wordsworth in The Garden of My Mind, now showing at Gallery 2. 

Local graffiti legend Rasty Knayles opens his first solo exhibition after over three decades of painting the city's streets. Photo: Grayscale Gallery.

Closing soon

Until Thu, Nov 30 – A dual exhibition at Keyes Art Mile's Gallery 1 weaves together work by Naledi Chai and Ditiro Mashigo.
Until Thu, Nov 30 – Usen Obot reimagines African spirituality in his solo show with Lizamore & Associates, Mkpese Karma – the present into the future.

Also on and worth your while

Until Thu, Dec 7 – If the role of the artist is to cultivate social awareness, Southern Soul at Artyli Gallery encapsulates that. See works by Bambo Sibiya, Treasure Mlima, Andrew Ntshabele and more.
Until Fri, Dec 15 – Masabelaneni, an archival show of the historic Caversham Press and Centre for Artists and Writers, is held at Wits Art Museum's Jack Ginsberg Centre for Book Arts.  
Until Fri, Jan 19, 2024 – In the spirit of collaboration, MTN SA Foundation and the University of Johannesburg present a unique selection from their extensive art collections in the group exhibition re/connect/ing.
Until Feb 2024 – An impressive line-up of contemporary South African artists come together to reflect on our nation's 30-year journey towards democracy in Great Expectations at The Javett Art Centre at the University of Pretoria (Javett-UP).
Until Feb 2024 – Interact with SENSES, a group exhibition at Goethe-Institut through touch, sound, movement and the metaphysical. 
Until Feb 2024 – See Cape Town, an exhibition by 2022 FNB Art Prize winner Dada Khanyisa at Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG).
Until Apr 2024 – Historical posters, banners, T-shirts and two specially commissioned films are on celebratory display in Time to Act at the Apartheid Museum, commemorating 40 years of the United Democratic Front (UDF).

Save the date

Thu, Dec 7 – Another instalment of Origin Art's Unlocking Your Collection event for budding art collectors comes to Keyes Art Mile for First Thursdays. 

Wondering what else to do this week? Read our weekly events guide here. For our latest updates, follow us on Instagram

Related Events

Dec 7 - Jan 7 2024
Solo exhibition: Kenny Nkosi with Mashumi Art Projects
Nov 30 - Mar 1 2024
Kneo Mokgopa: 'Nelson Mandela Is Dead' at the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory
Dec 1 - Mar 31 2024
Gallery Nights: 8 Rooms by Kalashnikovv Gallery at Pablo House
Nov 7 - Jan 20 2024
Group exhibition: 'We Love Mandela' at The Marc
Thursday Dec 7 17:00–20:00
Unlocking your Collection at Origin Art
Nov 25 - Feb 3 2024
Fathema Bemath and Buqaqawuli Nobakada: 'Interwoven Identities' at Origin Art
Nov 25 - Feb 25 2024
Group exhibition: 'The 2020s: New Forms of Abstraction' at Berman Contemporary
Dec 2 - Jan 20 2024
Rasty Knayles: 'It's About Time' at Grayscale Gallery
Nov 25 - Jan 12 2024
Mashudu Nevhutalu: 'Hayani' at BKhz Gallery
Dec 2 - Jan 26 2024
Group exhibition: 'I Miss Myself the Most' at Stevenson
Oct 31 - Dec 9 2023
Group exhibition: Arte Povera and South African Innovations at Wits Art Museum
Oct 7 - Dec 7 2023
Group exhibition: 'Southern Soul' at Artyli Gallery
Nov 25 - Jan 31 2024
Tshepiso Seleke: 'Mintirho Ya Vulavula' at Umhlabathi Collective
Nov 16 - Dec 22 2023
Caryn Scrimgeour: 'The Imprecision of Feeling' at Everard Read Gallery
Nov 11 - Feb 24 2024
Group exhibition: 'The Garden of My Mind' at Gallery 2
Nov 2 - Jan 25 2024
Group exhibition: 'Woven Sensibilities' at Absa L’Atelier
Nov 8 - Dec 26 2023
Four solo exhibitions at Latitudes Centre for the Arts
Nov 9 - Dec 10 2023
Thando Makhosini Ngwenya: 'Mother' at Keyes Art Mile
Nov 4 - Jan 31 2024
Group exhibition: 'Summer Ease' at The Gallery
Oct 7 - Jan 31 2024
Walter Voigt: 'Tswalu, A Wilderness Revisited'
Oct 6 - Dec 14 2023
Lady Skollie: 'Groot Gat' at the Standard Bank Gallery
Sep 23 - Feb 18 2024
Group Exhibition: 'Great Expectations' at Javett-UP
Sep 24 - Apr 30 2024
Time to Act: 40 years of the UDF at the Apartheid Museum
Thursday Dec 7
First Thursdays at Keyes Art Mile

Latitudes Centre for the Arts

0 Hope Road, Mountain View, Johannesburg
/johannesburg/latitudes-centre-for-the-arts_171385v
Latitudes Centre

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