Keyes Art Night on First Thursday in Joburg

Once the First Thursday of every month, Keyes Art Night is open for all to enjoy and partake in the art, food, and entertainment programme. Make your way to one of Joburg’s most popular art precincts for a good spot to take in all on offer. On the cards are contemporary art, live music, DJ sets, poetry, performance art, pop-up bars and more. Here’s what you can look forward to:

A new exhibition at Madlozi Contemporary Art opens on Keyes Art Night

The Africa Salon exhibition explores the rich diversity of Africa created in our image by emerging and established artists in response to themes of identity and belonging, self-representation, tradition-versus-modernity, and a future-forward, digital Africa. A selection of artists from South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria and the DRC all features.

“Collectively participating artists in the exhibition contribute to the shared vision of a borderless and prosperous post-colonial, democratic Africa – a future-focussed continent in confluence with the world, where dreams are not deferred in favour of survival, and creative possibility is expressed in our own words and image,” says exhibition curator, Beathur Mgoza Baker. A series of art talks, music and events will run throughout November. See more details here.

Amex and Keyes Art Mile will announce the Jacaranda Art Challenge winning artwork

American Express, in collaboration with Keyes Art Mile, is celebrating Jobur’s urban flower season a little differently with the Jacaranda Art Challenge 2024. This design challenge offers a professional artist the opportunity to a win cash prize and have their work displayed on a large public mural at Keyes Art Mile.

The winning artist receives a grand prize of R20,000, and the winning work will be transformed into a large-scale vinyl mural on the facade of Keyes Art Mile’s Trumpet building. This mural will be unveiled at the Keyes Art Night.

See the last run of Athi-Patra Ruga’s art exhibition at BKhz gallery

“In this new body of luscious and layered paintings, I welcome you to a part-speculative, part-historical frontier in which complex notions of collaboration and conflict between settler and native, colonizer and colonized are reflected in the sartorial choices of my avatars,” reflects Athi Patra Ruga on Amadoda on the Verge… [1835-2025].

“The decay and ruin of the memorials and military forts in my native Eastern Cape has drawn my attention to a lapse in our collective memory. It has awakened my need to revisit the geography of the South African colonial frontier and explore the military fort as a microcosm of frontier encounters.

The Eastern Cape, which was a fiercely contested battleground, indicates a significant collective loss and has prompted me to offer up a counter-narrative to eulogize that which has been overlooked and omitted.”

Dine at one of the precinct’s restaurants and cafes

Keyes Art Mile is home to some of the top restaurants in Johannesburg. Marble is the standard for elevated and contemporary dining by famed Chef David Higgs and boasts a balcony area with amazing views. Head to Kanpai for a fusion of Asian-inspired flavours, sushi and tapas, while The Prawnery serves seafood in a range of creative ways.

After something a bit more casual? A burger and fries at Joburg’s top indie burger joint should do the trick, or grab a brew and bite at Freshly Ground.

A showing of youth art at The Atrium

There’s a group exhibition set up in The Atrium area at Keyes Art Mile. Pieces of Our Dream is a collection of collage-based works that bring collective optimism and real-world stories to the fore. This art initiative asks budding youth artists to visualise their dreams before they transform them into an empowering reality.

Conceived by Ojiji, and facilitated by the Little Artists School, this collaborative, youth-centric project gives young, disadvantaged artists a platform to showcase their skills at an established gallery. The exhibition runs until 14 November 2024.

Cocktail specials, small plates and DJ sets at MIX Bar

Guest DJs Black Chyld, Glandton SA and MassMaine are taking over the polished interior design, warm lighting and a balcony at Mix Bar for a vibey Keyes Art Night edition.

The bar offers a menu of small plates of fried prawns, Arancini balls, and tossed salads. Cocktails are designed with care and precision over time, with some components conceived months in advance. The mixology team is serving up special cocktails such as the Paloma and a custom new seasonal creation, the Jacaranda.

When: Thursday, 7 November from 8pm till late
Where: 2nd Floor, 21 Keyes Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg

Masters of Modernity is on at Origin Art

Masks of Modernity currently on show at Origin Art Gallery is an introspective exploration of contemporary African identity seen through the lens of Samurai Farai. This exhibition ventures into the complexities of cultural legacy and presents an intimate dialogue between the artist, his audience, and his dual heritage—both Zimbabwean and Afrikaans.

His sculptures, crafted from Zimbabwean stone in reverence to the Shona tribe’s masterful sculpting traditions, breathe life into his paintings’ characters, embodying them in three-dimensional form. Each piece stands as a testament to the belief that spirit resides within form, awaiting revelation—a belief echoed in the artist’s own journey toward self-identity.