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Discover our picks of Joburg's must-see exhibitions and art events for the week of Thu, Aug 29 – Thu, Sep 5, plus a few dates worth diarising.
From iconic public artworks (discover a few of our favourites) and interesting street art to established galleries and museums, trailblazing indie spaces, and the hard-working artists' studios in the City Centre, Johannesburg is a city for art lovers. We update this guide weekly to help you navigate the ever-changing array on offer, with a curated selection of solo and group shows, artist-led walkabouts, workshops, guided tours, and other art-related events worth your while.
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
Walkabout on Fri, Aug 30 at 10:00 – Using a combination of paintings, soft sculptures, video installation, and performance pieces, Teresa Kutala Firmino's exhibition at Everard Read, Olonvandi Viotenbo – The Keepers of Time, explores the knowledge that is passed down from one generation to the next. Specifically, her work is concerned with the herbal and therapeutic expertise she learnt from the women who came before her. She also explores the contradictions that women face as both the healers and the witches of society, as well as the effects of multi-generational trauma inherited as a result of events such as colonialism and civil war. For those who've not yet seen this show, join Firmino for an experiential walkabout through the solo.
Opening Sat, Aug 31 from 11:00 – ABSA L’Atelier award-winning artist Chelsea Selvan's work explores what she calls the "fugitive nature of memory", rendering intangible feelings and tangible objects alike through seemingly abstract means. With Feeling is her first solo exhibition, opening at Gallery 2 with an opening speech by Karel Nel.
Fluid colour fields characterise Selvan's prints; some of these are carefully graded while others are more painterly in appearance. Regardless, these form the backdrop for dynamic compositions featuring floating geometric forms and calligraphic mark-making. "These configurations are a tentative notion of her fleeting thoughts and an echo of architectural spaces that have imprinted themselves in her mental and emotional fabric," reads Selvan's artist statement.
Walkabout on Sat, Aug 31 from 11:00 – Following a residency with David Krut Workshop, we're looking forward to Stephen Langa's solo Inceptions of Black Serenity at David Krut's The Blue House gallery space. Langa has an atmospheric way of portraying the ordinary; drawing on notions from traditional and still-life portrait paintings, but with a distinctly South African feel. "My charcoal linework and oil paintings have become pictorial visions that have a mesmerising effect, inspired directly by my emotive feelings," says Langa. "One can immediately identify and engage with the characters portrayed, feeling a desire to know them better in person." Join Langa for a walkabout and conversation with collaborative printer Sbongiseni Khulu.
Panel discussion on Sun, Sep 1 from 11:30 – For the September edition of First Sunday at Victoria Yards, join a dynamic group of artists in conversation around A Feral Commons. Curated by Tairone Bastien, the project commissioned three site-specific installations across three continents. Joburg-based artist Io Makandal's work Ophidian's Promise is an urban wildlife eco-duct and a moss wall text at Vic Yards. To bring the multifaceted project to life in a new way, four art practitioners come together to discuss ideas around the "co-dependence and open-ended collaborations between human and non-human beings," namely curator Thuli Mlambo-James and artists Muhammad Dawjee, Refiloe Namise, and Camille Chedda.
Opening Sun, Sep 1 from 12:00 – Having last exhibited in South Africa six years ago, photographic artist Sabelo Mlangeni's homecoming solo NGIYABONA PHAMBILI opens at Umhlabathi Collective in Newtown. Mlangeni shares a series of landscape photographs taken between 2010 and 2020 that meditate on the unseen scars of emotional pain and trauma on the land. "With this work that has been archived for a decade, Mlangeni explores the volatility of identity and emphasises the unstable nature of the past/present," reads the curatorial statement.
Until Tue, Sep 17 – Guns & Rain hosts an all-woman exhibition, Soft Power, Too, marking the gallery’s 10th anniversary. Five artists employ unusual, tactile, and gendered materials that play between the conceptual spaces of 'soft' and 'hard' for this exhibition, featuring new work by Hedwig Barry, Bev Butkow, Aneesah Girie, Hannah Macfarlane, and Princia Matungulu. The artists give shape in beautifully varied ways to "women's work", broadly defined, and to concepts surrounding embodiment.
The gallery is open Mon – Fri, and on weekends by appointment only.
Until Wed, Sep 25 – Themes of memory, identity, and the human experience come to the fore in Yedidya Falkson's solo exhibition Reflect, Present, Future at his studio (Unit 7K) at Victoria Yards. The solo marks a departure from the Joburg-born artist's earlier style, which was more vibrant and playful, favouring a refined yet experimental approach with an increased emphasis on storytelling, and a growing focus on the emotional and psychological resonance of his work. "Through my art, I seek to inspire viewers to reflect on their own paths, challenge social norms and conventions, and celebrate the beauty of diversity and individuality," Falkson tells us.
Until Sat, Sep 28 (Circa) and Fri, Oct 18 (Stevenson) – The latest from South African artist Robin Rhode is an exhibition in two parts, held across Everard Read's Circa Gallery and the nearby Stevenson Gallery respectively. With the solo Joburg Hymn, Rhode positions the city in which he grew up as both the seat of reference and the place of execution. With works created over the last year, he takes performative and even absurdist action to pay homage to a city in constant renegotiation and renewal.
Rhode says, "The show is a celebration, but at the same time I am occupying spaces in Jozi that are in decay. The context that I’m operating in reflects a larger discourse on the decay and collapse of structures and systems within South Africa. The question I’m asking is, 'How do we confront these crumbling structures and at the same time inject life into them? How do we create new meanings for structures that are collapsing?'"
Until Sat, Sep 28 – For an artist raised in Arizona, whose early work captured the cactus-dotted terrain of his home state, it was a natural fit for Gary Stephens to spend three months working in the Kalahari. His solo Tswalu: Muses of the Kalahari at Fireblade Aviation is the result of this desert deep dive. "It’s certainly been a return to landscape painting", says Stephens from his base in Johannesburg. "When I was in my twenties, I would go camping in the desert for a week and paint and not talk to anybody. I have found it beautiful to return to the subject matter."
Viewings are by appointment only; email gallery@everard.co.za to book your spot. Fireblade Aviation is at Denel Precinct Astro Park, Atlas Road, Bonaero Park, Kempton Park.
Until Mon, Sep 30 – An evolving array of hand-carved wooden forms, botanical prints, folded paper creations, and other objects of exquisite beauty are on display in Touch Wood at Kim Sacks Gallery. Geoffrey Armstrong, whose incredible wooden carvings showed at RMB Latitudes this year, exhibits in the show alongside Leila Walter, Lameck Tayengwa, Paul Kristafor, and more.
The premise for the show is works created in the medium of wood or utilising wood as a core part of the process. The exhibit also features gifts handmade from local plant matter, as well as a curated selection of artefacts and objects from across the African continent. Though it occupies the small Makers Room gallery space, each work in Touch Wood is given ample breathing room. It's an exhibition to rouse all the senses.
Until Sun, Oct 6 – Celebrate Women's Month with Latitudes Centre for the Arts' (LCA) annual women's group exhibition, Steelwool and Other Paradoxes. Curated by Boitumelo Makousu and Denzo Nyathi, and featuring both established and emerging artists, this exhibition aims to put different artists in conversation with each other to explore "the honesty of contradiction and nuance as it relates to womanhood". Booking is essential.
Until Sat, Oct 26 – You've likely seen the larger-than-life Eland sculpture erected in Braamfontein, but do you know the artist behind it? Follow this four-legged creature down Bertha Street and you'll come to the corner of the Wits Art Museum (WAM) where Clive van den Berg, the artist behind this giant buck that acts as a gateway to the city, has a retrospective exhibition.
Porous is a survey of Van den Berg's work over more than 30 years, circling his two primary themes, land and love. "The surface of land and the surface of skin have occupied many artists, so much so that landscape and figurative painting are core terms in our lexicon," reads the exhibition text. "What makes Van den Berg's practice distinct is his interest in the porous – porous skin and porous land." The exhibition opens with an introductory talk by the artist.
Until Sat, Dec 7 – Joburg Contemporary Art Foundation's (JCAF) annual exhibition explores the natural world and our place in it. From Ernesto Neto’s deep sea-inspired installation to Ximena Garrido-Lecca's growing garden in the gallery, Ecospheres is a trip through the Global South that brings diverse cultures and ideas together. It's a useful accompaniment to thinking through our place in the world, particularly regarding stewardship and living together for the mutual benefit of all. What is refreshing is that no hard and fast answers are offered up – only ample space to explore. Read our reflections on Ecospheres here.
We loved our guided tour of this thoughtful curatorial project and can't recommend a viewing enough. By appointment only; make your booking here. In JCAF's series of one-on-one live conversations or Knowledge Talks around the exhibition, experts in everything from astrophysics to sustainable food practices, AI, and architecture explore how closer relationships between art and science can expand our worldview. Sign up for JCAF's newsletter to receive email invitations.
Until Mar 23, 2025 – Off the back of his 2023 FNB Art Prize win, photographic artist Lindokuhle Sobekwa opens a solo, Umkhondo: Going Deeper, at Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG). In this exhibition, two significant and interconnected bodies of work – namely I carry Her photo with Me and Ezilalini (The Country) – unite under the banner of introspection and discovery, as Sobekwa navigates profound personal loss and grapples with his sense of belonging.
"Photography is a powerful tool," says the artist. "It has enabled me to share the realities of smaller, more intimate narratives that project onto the larger map that is South African history." The storytelling potential of photography is central to the work of Sobekwa, who documents experiences as a form of excavation. He stitches together fragments of memory in a quest to unravel the mysteries of the past, and to find comfort and closure. Read our interview with Sobekwa here.
Closing soon
Until Fri, Aug 30 – Origin Art's group show for Women's Month, Voices of Strength spotlights six emerging South African artists. "This exhibition celebrates the resilience, empowerment, and beauty of women, presenting a tapestry of narratives that are both personal and universal," reads the curatorial statement. Photographer Busiswa Mazwana's dreamy, imaginative images capture the delicate beauty of life, Tarien Engelbrecht explores nostalgic memories through glitch painting techniques, and multimedia artist Buqaqawuli Nobakada deconstructs the historically sexualised connotations of lace.
Until Tue, Sep 3 – Relief at The Villa-Legodi Centre for Sculpture (located within Nirox Sculpture Park) explores the ancient art of woodcarving, foregrounding different approaches to relief work in wood as a narrative form. Both pre-existing and new works, created during a 10-day woodcarving workshop, are on display by Dada Khanyisa, Collen Maswanganyi, Simon Moshapo Jnr, Usen Obot, and Ben Tuge, among others.
The Villa-Legodi Centre for Sculpture is open Mon – Fri by appointment only, and Sat – Sun from 10:00 – 17:00. Contact sven@villa-legodi.com for more information.
Save the date
Opening Thu, Sep 5 – The 2023 Sasol New Signatures overall winner, Nosiviwe Matikinca's anticipated solo Ukungalingani Kwezemfundo (Educational Inequality) opens at the Pretoria Art Museum. Ceramic slip castings of hand-me-down school shoes again feature in Matikinca's new body of work, but take on a greater significance in the context of a solo exhibition.
Opening Thu, Sep 5 – Two new shows come to Goodman Gallery. The group exhibition alluvium, in collaboration with blank projects, explores the ways artists gather discarded materials or ephemeral notions into a composition. Meanwhile, the weight of unspoken words forms the focus for Banele Khoza's solo exhibition of watercolour paintings in the Viewing Room, What's left unsaid.
Fri, Sep 6 – Sun, Sep 8 – It's time to mark your calendar for the 2024 edition of FNB Art Joburg, Africa's longest-running contemporary art fair. It's one of Joburg's annual cultural highlights, drawing crowds of art lovers and the curious for an excellent line-up of art from Africa and the global diaspora. In addition to the three-day fair, Open City is FNB Art Joburg's initiative to spotlight independent and emerging cultural practitioners. This year, the Open City programme of free and ticketed events runs from Thu, Aug 29 – Thu, Sep 19. Buy your tickets for the art-filled weekend here and keep a tab open on FNB Art Joburg's Open City calendar for more events as they're announced.
Sat, Sep 7 from 15:00 – 20:00 – The largest art-for-charity exhibition in Joburg's City Centre, Night of 1000 Drawings is coming to Victoria Yards. This fundraising initiative sees hobbyists and renowned artists alike donating A5 sketches, doodles, watercolours, and drawings. Throughout the year, doodle sessions are held around the city where you can create and donate works. At the annual Night of 1000 Drawings exhibition, all the artworks are sold for just R200 each, with proceeds going to three Joburg-based charities. Purchase tickets for the 2024 exhibition here.
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