Joburg gig guide – Fine arts, live music and a thrift market

(This article first appeared as a Johannesburg newsletter. Subscribe here.)

Kufunga naMavara (To Think in Colour)

Presented in collaboration with First Floor Gallery Harare, Kufunga naMavara brings together seven Zimbabwean artists with growing international reputations, each placing colour at the centre of their engagement with personal histories, society and place.

Artists: Shamilla Aasha, Simon Back, Gresham Tapiwa Nyaude, Miriro Mwandiambira, Tashinga Majiri, Amanda Mushate, Troy Makaza.

Dates: Until 23 January

Address: Gallery MOMO, Parktown North 52 7th Avenue

Newwork25

Newwork25 is a year-long collaborative project culminating in a group exhibition. The project is made up of 56 young artists from the Wits School of Arts in their final year of a BA in Fine Art. The work celebrates the right to exist, to name and to create from histories made tangible. The participating artists arrive having worked, persisted and grown, shaping their practices and communities along the way.

Dates: Until 7 February

Address: Wits Art Museum, Braamfontein Corner Jorissen & Bertha Street

A Year of Mark Making: Collaborations 2025

A Year of Mark Making celebrates the collaborations undertaken at David Krut Projects in 2025, highlighting works made in collaboration at the print workshop.

Artists included in the exhibition: Jesse Shepstone, Kim-Lee Loggenberg-Tim, Lungile Ngcobo, Sbongiseni Khulu, Roxy Kaczmarek, Olivia Pintér, Maja Maljević, Nditsheni Managa, Thando Salman, Nkhensani Mkhari, Lady Skollie, Mary Sibande, William Kentridge.

Dates: Until 7 February

Address: David Krut Projects, Parkwood, 151 Jan Smuts Avenue

Second Hand Saturdays

Featuring 15 highly curated thrift shops, ranging from a vintage sports blazer and jacket stand to the teeniest, tiniest, cutest corsets, alongside a second hand Dr Martens shop and vinyl.

Those wanting a stall for future events can contact Gabrielle on 063 655 2751.

Dates: 17 January

Address: Democracy Bar, Illovo, 198 Oxford Road

House of Shem: Listening Spaces

Shem, ne?! Reconnecting classical music to its transformative purpose. Where Beethoven VII gets real, a guided encounter with one of classical music’s most arresting works. An exploration of what makes this symphony so visceral — why it grips, why it questions, why it matters. With expert guidance and post-colonial critical engagement, you’ll discover what this work asks of you.

Dates: 17 January

Address: Bridge Books, Marshalltown, Barbican Building, 89 Helen Joseph Street

Johannesburg Musical Society International Series

The Johannesburg Musical Society returns with a series featuring prestigious artists from Spain, Bulgaria, Russia, Azerbaijan, the UK and South Africa. The season opens on January 18 with British pianist Alexander Ullman — twice winner of the Liszt International Piano Competition. He will present a programme of works by Liszt and Grieg.

Dates: 18 January

Tickets: From R375, Quicket

Address: Wits Education Campus, 27 St Andrews Road

Urbano Carioca

Christos, Vinny Da Vinci, Soulounge, Tha Muzic and The Musical Maestro on decks every Wednesday with Brazilian-tinged soulful house music.

Dates: Every Wednesday

Address: Saint, Sandton. The Marc, corner Rivonia & Maude Street

Femme Fever

Christos, Vinny Da Vinci, Soulounge, Tha Muzic and The Musical Maestro on decks every Wednesday with Brazilian-tinged soulful house music.

Dates: Every Thursday 20:00 - 02:00

Address: The Polished Flamingo, Rosebank 2 Bolton Road

No Manors – A Curated Moment

Expect high-energy house and techno, an intimate crowd, and a single focused dance floor where the music does not stop. No Manors is about escape, connection and being fully present in the moment.

DJs: Trifecta, Damon Freddy, Weiz the Curator, Shane-OHH.

Dates: 17 January

Tickets: R50, R100 at the door, Quicket

Address: Bad Manors, Newtown, Alleyway off Quinn Street, 39 Gwi Gwi Mrwebi Street, Newtown

Joburg ‘Person of the day’

Originally from Bilanyoni village in KZN, where he grew up under the care of his grandmother, artist Siphamandla Ex is now based in the heart of Jozi’s CBD at the Asisebenze Art Atelier in Plein Street. While he has never received any formal education in visual art, he began drawing as a child, and his passion and talent have led him to giddy heights in the art world. Siphamandla Ex’s work is a celebration of everyday life, steering away from stereotypical narratives focused on poverty and struggle, and showcasing instead, the complexity, vibrancy and resourcefulness of ordinary people. Celebrating culture, he says, doesn’t need grand gestures. He’s also a music producer and composer as well as a basketball player.

Friyay Guest Essay — Mark Heywood

I ride what I like — the mountain bike trails of Johannesburg and surrounds

Johannesburg, eGoli, is a city more famous for what lies under its surface than the mountains above it, like the one that has bestowed fame on South Africa’s second city, Cape Town. There, “the Mountain” is synonymous with the city. However, Joburg and its surrounds are anything but flat. The plain of a thousand koppies, you could call it.

In Gauteng, we have koppies big enough to qualify as mountains if you measure their height by how hard they require you to push on your pedals, which makes it something of a mini mecca for mountain bikers.

The ease and accessibility of a variety of mountain bike (MTB) trails is one of the reasons I can survive in and love Johannesburg. The trails must be as good as anything on offer in any city in the world. They give you a way to get down and dirty with what remains of nature in the city, to get intimate with its contours and find the paths less travelled.

In this article, I give you a flavour of some of what’s out there. It’s limited to the trails I have ridden, in alphabetical order. But, hopefully, my A to T will encourage you to get on your bike (or get a bike) and experience the trails for yourself.

And then explore more.

My go-to spot

Delta Cafe | 76 Marlborough Ave, Craighall Park

...Delta Cafè in Craighall Park on the Spruit — a Joburg delight.

Picture of the day

“Of course we love Jozi. Snap a pic at Hallmark House in downtown Jozi.”

54 Siemert Road, New Doornfontein