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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 December 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, from The Prawnery, Momo Kuro, and Kanpai, to Marble, and BGR, while Pantry serves yummy soft serve. When all is seen and done, round the night off at MIX Cocktail Bar with cool beats and drinks.
Material encounters at BKhz
Curated around the idea of material as a site of discovery, BKhz’s group exhibition The Space Between Attempts features artists such as Abongile Sidzumo, Alka Dass, Mankebe Seakgoe, Yaya Mavundla, Cheriese Dilrajh, and Lawrence Lemaoana, among others, exploring repetition, trial, and transformation as artistic processes. As cultural practitioner Sinki Makubu writes, “Each work holds evidence of gestures revised, decisions overturned, and meaning slowly distilled.”
Start your collection with The Creative Block
Also coming to this month's Keyes Art Night is The Creative Block, a Spier Arts Trust programme representing over 350 artists across South Africa. Each work is created on a small, uniform block, and it's exciting to see the ways in which these get reinterpreted. And with original works on sale at accessible prices, these are perfect for new collectors looking to begin their journey, or seasoned collectors seeking to discover emerging voices.
Fashion takes to the Atrium
With Threads of Connection, Keyes and Austrian Cultural Forum provide a spectacular fashion showcase between South African and Austrian designers. The show brings together Siyababa Atelier (SA), Cult Moxie (SA), and Goran Bugaric (Austria) to share the runway. Accompanied by a live sonic performance from Strufskywater, the show will transform the Atrium into a space of movement, rhythm, and textile storytelling. The runway kicks off at 19:00 but arrive early to make sure you get a good viewing spot.
Wearable worlds at Lizamore
Lizamore on Keyes closes 2025 with a beautifully curated pair of exhibitions that celebrate imagination, memory, and the tactile pleasure of crafted objects. Beyond Space and Time features Martina Dempf and Dr Farieda Nazier, both of whom expand jewellery far beyond ornamentation, presenting it instead as sculptural storytelling. These works carry cultural histories, gestures of care and reverence, and the intimate weight of what we choose to hold close. Upstairs, Lizamore invites you into a world of delight and oddity with a contemporary reimagining of the curiosity cabinet by Ruan Jooste, Kai–Anne Marie, Marina Walsh and Nick Walsh. Expect miniature worlds, curious objects, playful interventions, and works that reward slow looking.
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. Read our review.
The best of portraiture at Aspire Art
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. Launched at last month's edition of Keyes Art Night, the Rust-en-Vrede Portrait Awards Top 40 Tour presents the country’s most compelling contemporary portraiture. The 2025 competition captures the breadth of identity, technique, and expression in today’s portraiture. This year, the winner is Malik Mani (Northern Cape) whose work Mask is the first drawing to win the award, with Ashley Ogilvy (Western Cape) in second place, and Joseph Dolby (Western Cape) in third, though all 40 portraits are well worth viewing in person.
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 more your style? 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 round off the evening, head to MIX Cocktail Bar, where a dynamic line-up of DJs 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.
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