Just in! A Wits Cultural Precinct Fostering Cultural Connection in Joburg is in Development

Wits University is proud to announce the development of a R341 million Wits Cultural Precinct, a major investment in the arts that will change the University’s south-eastern edge in Braamfontein into an accessible lifestyle hub for arts, culture, performance, heritage and creative innovation, while contributing to the regeneration of Johannesburg.

Firmly embedded within the academic programme, the five-year development will expand, integrate and link Wits’ existing arts, performance and heritage facilities to create a vibrant cultural gateway between Wits and Joburg.

It will bring together new and upgraded academic facilities, theatres, exhibition and performance spaces and enhanced lifestyle areas, opening more of Wits’ creative life to Joburgers.

Wits Cultural Precinct Artists Impression | What's on in Joburg

About the Wits Cultural Precinct

Embedded in the Faculty of Humanities and the Wits School of Arts, the Precinct will include the world-class Wits Art Museum, the Jack Ginsberg Centre for Book Arts, the Chris Seabrooke Music Hall, a state-of-the-art Digital Arts building and an additional floor for the Wits School of Arts.

The next phase will consolidate Wits’ Music facilities – which could provide a future home for a Symphony Orchestra, new exhibition and foyer spaces, Fine Arts facilities, the Wits Theatre Amphitheatre and a new building and rooftop extension that will open up the Wits Theatre Complex.

Restaurants, coffee shops, book shops and other lifestyle spaces will be incorporated within the Precinct.

Wits Cultural Precinct Prof. Zeblon Vilakazi and Chris Seabrooke | What's on in Joburg — Chris Seabrooke (left) and Prof. Zeblon Vilakazi (right)

The Seabrooke family offer generous donations to the project

A major catalyst for the development is a ‘groundbreaking’ transformational donation of shares from the Seabrooke Family Trust to the Wits Foundation.

By arrangement with the Trust, the Wits Foundation will have the right to sell the donated shares through block trades or in the market over the estimated five-year term of the project to provide the necessary liquidity for the project.

This major donation by Wits alumnus Chris Seabrooke (MBA 1985) will fund the majority of the estimated capital cost of R341 million needed to build the Wits Cultural Precinct, with Wits co-investing the balance, which will create a lasting public precinct to benefit the people of Johannesburg.

Chris Seabrooke (MBA 1985) is the CEO of Sabvest, who has served as the director of 27 listed companies over the years. He has also served as the former Chairman of the State Theatre of South Africa and as Deputy Chairman of the inaugural National Arts Council of South Africa.

“The arts have an extraordinary ability to bring people together and to change the character of a place,” says Seabrooke. “Our hope is that this investment will enable Wits to create a precinct that belongs not only to its students, staff and academics, but to Johannesburg. We want to help build a place that attracts people to Braamfontein, supports creativity and leaves a cultural legacy for generations to come.”

Wits Cultural Precinct Chris Seabrooke | What's on in Joburg

Building the bridge between academics and the greater Joburg public

At the heart of the Wits Cultural Precinct, will be the Wits School of Arts, bringing its academic disciplines and creative work into closer conversation with the public. Digital Arts, Film and Television, Fine Arts, Music, Theatre and Performance, Drama for Life, cultural policy and visual cultures will form part of an interconnected creative ecosystem.

Prof. Mucha Musemwa, the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities explains: “The Faculty of Humanities and the Wits School of Arts eagerly welcome the Wits Cultural Precinct. This visionary project will enliven Braamfontein, embody our public ethos and extend bridges to new and historically marginalised communities. It represents the aspirational ‘public futures’ of arts and humanities, revitalising our teaching and reshaping Wits University’s mission.”

The Wits Cultural Precinct is set to expand Joburg’s Cultural Arc

The Wits Cultural Precinct is located within a wider Johannesburg cultural and innovation ecosystem that includes the Joburg Theatre, the Market Theatre, SciBono, the Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct and the Constitutional Court, amongst others.

“The ambition is to create a destination that draws people into the area, increases interaction between Wits and the public, and positions the University as a cultural anchor for Johannesburg, South Africa and the continent,” adds Prof. Zeblon Vilakazi.

The Wits Cultural Precinct forms part of a broader programme through which Wits, with the support of its partners, is investing in Jozi and opening its knowledge, heritage, science, sport and cultural assets to wider society. It follows major recent investments in the Wits Anglo American Digital Dome and the Brian and Dorothy Zylstra Sports Complex.