.jpg)
Keyes Art Night at Keyes Art Mile continues to set the tone for Johannesburg’s creative calendar, offering an evening that seamlessly blends art, music, and conviviality. The precinct’s galleries, restaurants, and design studios open their doors for a night of exploration and cultural exchange, drawing art enthusiasts, collectors, and first-time visitors alike. The November 2025 edition promises a particularly rich programme, balancing reflection with playfulness and history with innovation.
And as always, Keyes delivers when it comes to food and drinks with a variety of restaurants offering delicious meals, such as The Prawnery, Momo Kuro, Kanpai, Marble, and BGR, while Pantry serves yummy soft serve. When all is seen and done, round the night off at MIX Cocktail Bar with beats and drinks.
Stroll, sketch and see anew
Begin your evening with the Walkabout Workshop, a self-guided and creative journey through the Keyes Art Mile precinct. On arrival, collect a complimentary pamphlet that invites you to participate in a series of short drawing prompts, observational exercises, and mindful activities designed to deepen your engagement with the art on display.
Whether you are an experienced artist, a casual doodler, or simply curious, this activity offers an accessible and enjoyable way to connect with the surrounding exhibitions. It encourages participants to look closely, interpret freely, and rediscover the pleasure of slow observation.
Art as defiance in the Atrium
The centrepiece of this month’s Keyes Art Night is Still We Rise, a landmark exhibition presented in the Atrium at Keyes Art Mile. The exhibition brings together works from the SABC Art Collection and the Ifa Lethu Foundation Collection, highlighting the creative resilience of South African artists during the Apartheid era. The SABC Collection is a prized public collection while Ifa Lethu has been central in repatriating South African artworks. The works have been hung in a way that creates an interesting series of dialogues about freedom and oppression.
The exhibition, supported by the Australian High Commission, has been created as a cultural statement in the run-up to South Africa hosting the G20 Summit in late November 2025. Still We Rise is testament to the power of cultural preservation and restitution. Together, the SABC and Ifa Lethu collections reveal how artists used creativity as both defiance and documentation during South Africa's struggle for democracy, offering an unflinching view of South Africa’s past while celebrating its enduring artistic spirit. Gerard Sekoto, Dumile Feni and George Pemba are just some of the artists whose works are on show – rare, and precious.
Beauty and the wound at Gallery 1
In Gallery 1, the exhibition Thorned explores the complex relationship between pain, beauty, and transcendence through the work of celebrated modernist artists including Wim Botha, Alexis Preller, Judith Mason, Cecil Skotnes, Cecily Sash, Helmut Starcke, Beezy Bailey, and Alexander Podlashuc.
Entering the space evokes a sense of reverence. Botha’s monumental sculpture Scapegoat, echoing the imagery of the Crucifixion, sets the tone for an exhibition suffused with quiet intensity. The artworks reflect how artists transform suffering into meaning, elevating human experience into acts of visual grace.
Faces of a nation
At Aspire Art, the 2025 Rust en Vrede Portraiture exhibition showcases the best in contemporary South African portraiture. From 635 submissions, 100 works were selected, with the top 40 travelling as part of a national exhibition.
This year’s winners are Malik Mani (Overall Winner, Northern Cape) followed by Ashley Ogilvy (Second, Western Cape) and Joseph Dolby (Third, Western Cape). The exhibition exemplifies technical mastery and emotional resonance, reaffirming the continuing vitality of portraiture in South African art.
Wearable worlds
Lizamore on Keyes presents Beyond Space and Time, an exhibition that brings together sculptural jewellery by Martina Dempf and Farieda Nazier, complemented by the upstairs showcase Cabinet of Curiosity, featuring works by Ruan Jooste, Marina Walsh, and Nick Walsh.
A special highlight are Kai–Anne Marie’s sculptural hats, which occupy a fascinating space between sculpture, fashion, and ritual object and will go on show at 18:00. Drawing upon mythology, memory, and natural form, each piece becomes a wearable landscape, inviting contemplation and delight in equal measure.
Pause for a drink and a meal
While art is front and centre at Keyes Art Night, you certainly won't be leaving hungry, given all that Keyes has to offer on the dining front. Enjoy beautifully crafted sushi at the Japanese-fusion restaurant Kanpai or giant tiger prawns on the hibachi grill at The Prawnery. Book via Dineplan. Freshly Ground is great for a casual bite – a favourite is the creamy chicken tikka masala pasta. Add appetising Asian street food to the lineup at Momo Kuro on the top floor of the Trumpet building, or try the ramen at Momo's street-level store. Burger and fries? Keep it easy at BGR. Unwind with sunset drinks at Marble (also in the swanky Trumpet building), and if soft serve is your thing, head down the parking lot stairs to Pantry.
Sip and spin at MIX Cocktail Bar
To conclude the evening, head to MIX Cocktail Bar, where a dynamic line-up of DJs – MassMaine, House Cat, Didi Lifestyle, Ozzy, and Hurbsmann –will provide the soundtrack to an evening of artful celebration. With its lively atmosphere, Mix Bar remains one of the city’s most popular post-gallery destinations
Comments