Now in its third year running, Contra.Joburg (formerly OpenStudios.Joburg) is an arts festival unlike any other. A must for anyone interested in the inner workings of Joburg's art world, where instead of seeing a curated selection of finished works on gallery walls, you get to see directly where the magic and mayhem happen. It's a unique way to interact with the work of artists you're familiar with, and an exciting chance to discover new practitioners in their natural habitat – the studio space.
With a wonderfully packed two-day programme, Contra.Joburg celebrates Joburg as one of the world's art cities fuelled by a network of studio spaces throughout the City Centre. Each day of the fair focuses on a different route through the city, visiting a selection of the 13 participating studio spaces. Shuttle transportation included in the ticket price ensures you can navigate between artists' studios with ease.
For the 2024 edition, Contra.Joburg welcomes new spaces to its line-up including Oovookoo , WLM , and 11 Alexander Street . These newcomers join stalwarts August House and Bag Factory , two of Joburg's most prolific artists' studios with impressive alumni, as well as smaller-scale, but no less interesting spaces like Victoria Yards , Creative Uprising Hub , and more.
Art buildings, spaces, or projects across Joburg's City Centre take centre stage in this year's edition of Contra.Joburg. Visitors are invited to meet the artists, interact with the works, and enjoy a programme of walkabouts, performances, and demonstrations. There will be live music at select venues and a dedicated kids' area with activities, making this a family-friendly art fair.
Giving South Africans access to culture
Contra.Joburg was born to give South Africans real and substantive access to culture. Hallatt believes that artists are the backbone of the economy in the City Centre, saying, "Not only do they work in a plethora of buildings that otherwise might be neglected, but they also develop a business economy around themselves through the service providers they hire. They bring energy into the city and literally leave their mark in the form of public artworks. The creative economy contributes to our GDP and our souls. We must not forget how important the consumption of culture is to the psyche of human beings."
Reflecting on Contra.Joburg's trajectory, Hallatt says, "In 2022, we welcomed more than 2,100 people to 11 spaces across the city, and gave visitors access to more than 100 working artists. As this event comes into its own in its third year, we are excited about our new branding and direction. We have moved from OpenStudios.Joburg to Contra.Joburg. We see this as a different kind of art fair. We are contra. This event is a celebration of culture in the city, and an opportunity for visitors to foster connections with the creative heart of Joburg."
Art opposites attract
While Contra.Joburg is your chance to see works-in-progress with the paint still wet on the canvas in the gritty city, few art experiences in Joburg are quite as refined as the RMB Latitudes art fair, which takes place at the magnificent Shepstone Gardens. Each supports access to markets for artists, but from opposite ends of the spectrum, the two art fairs are continuing their partnership for 2024.
RMB Latitudes has made a name for itself as one of the city's premier art experiences. It's an artist-forward fair celebrating the creative spirit of Joburg’s art world and creating new opportunities by connecting artists and galleries to buyers and the public. In addition to traditional art fair booths and galleries, curators and artists are encouraged to create their own unique exhibition spaces in response to the unexpected and intimate venue.
The 2024 edition of RMB Latitudes takes place from Fri, May 24 – Sun, May 26, coinciding with Contra.Joburg. While tickets for each event are sold separately, a shuttle will run between RMB Latitudes at Shepstone Gardens and Contra.Joburg's different venues in the City Centre. Book your tickets for RMB Latitudes here.
Meet 170 artists across 13 studio spaces at Contra.Joburg
This wide-reaching art fair lets you travel around Joburg's historic City Centre, encompassing 13 artists' studio spaces in a two-day programme. Here's the full line-up for this year's event, along with a few of the many participating artists to look out for.
Sat, May 15 from 10:30 – 17:00
11 ALEXANDER
An independent artist community sharing building space in Ferreirasdorp. Established in 2019 by Dorothee Kreutzfeldt and Nolan Oswald Denis, 11 Alexander offers studio space at an affordable rate to emerging and established artists with a meaningful desire to foster a creative community.
Post-Covid, an organic merging of artists from various backgrounds have found one another thanks to their platform and a strong community of practice has been brewing ever since. The black and white building with the special rooftop currently houses emerging and established artists, each working to uplift Johannesburg’s creative economy.
Participating artists are Bev Butkow, Mankebe Seakgoe, Nikiwe Dlova, Phumlani Ntuli, and Tamara Osso.
BAG FACTORY
A Joburg institution, Bag Factory is a non-profit contemporary visual art organisation in Newtown. With a pioneering 33-year history of providing a supportive infrastructure for artists, Bag Factory is unique in combining art-making with cultural debate and art exhibitions. The work of Bag Factory creates a fertile global environment for experimentation, innovation, and cultural dialogue between creatives in South Africa and the world.
Bag Factory provides studio space to a cross-generational community of Johannesburg-based artists and hosts prestigious international artist and curator residency programmes. They also offer artist and curatorial skills development workshops through the annual Young Womxn Studio Bursary and the David Koloane Award. All programming is accompanied by a public programme encouraging greater understanding of contemporary visual art practice while stimulating interaction between artists and the local community.
Participating artists include Buqaqawuli Nobakada, Gail Behrmann, Joe Turpin, Kagiso Pat Mautloa, and Nadine Mathenjwa.
