Maria McCloy gig guide and the art of surviving the Joburg water crisis

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

Itrotra – Map Dance Festival

Dates: 27 February 19:00, 28 February 15:00 and 19:00, 1 March 15:00

Address: Market Theatre, Newtown, 138 Lilian Ngoyi Street

Tickets: R100 on Webtickets

Under the theme “Safe Spaces, Safe Lives,” the festival creates powerful platforms for artistic expression, dialogue, and healing through dance. This year’s programme features a lineup of professional dance and circus companies from South Africa, Sweden, Mozambique, Madagascar, France and Germany.

Sanctuary

Dates: 27 February 19:00 - 2:00

Address: Smoking Kills Bar, 78a 4th Avenue, Melville

Tickets: R150 at the door, R120 on Quicket

Drum And Bass DJs Donny Basco, Miss Mares, Radkill, Toby One all night on the dance floor section of this awesome Jozi dive bar.

One and the Many Conversation Series

Dates: 28 February 10:00-16:00

Address: Javett Art Centre at the University of Pretoria, 23 Lynnwood Rd, Hatfield, Pretoria

Free, RSVP

Session 1: Towards Other Pedagogies: Museum Education and Higher Learning

This panel features University of Pretoria lecturers and practitioners Dr. Adéle Adendorff, Prof Johan Thom, Dr Delene Human, Dr Obakeng Kgongoane and Assoc Prof Rory du Plessis. Their teaching, research, and collaborative work has played a crucial role in activating One and the Many exhibition as a living pedagogical space. Moderated by Javett-UP’s curator for Education and Public Programmes Puleng Plessie.

Session 2: Monumental Gestures: Making Large-Scale Art and History

Javett-UP’s Interim Curatorial Director and exhibition curator Storm Janse van Rensburg leads a conversation with artists Ledelle Moe, Inga Somdyala and Goldendean, whose contributions to the exhibition take on monumental proportions.

Session 3: Vocal Sounds of the Coherent and the Non-coherent – Sounds Made in the Image of Violent Sonics by Gabi Motuba, jazz singer and composer, presenting a sonic reflection of the One and The Many.

Artistry Live presents Langa Mavuso

Dates: 27 February 18:00 – midnight

Address: The Artistry, 22 Fredman Drive, Sandton

Tickets: R700 Full Experience including meal, R300 Live Performance and Afterparty only

Tickets: Bookings

With a sound rooted in R&B and shaped by the pulse of contemporary Africa, Langa Mavuso invites listeners into moments that feel both deeply personal and universally shared.

Vintage Lounge

Dates: 28 February 12 noon - 23:00

Address: Radisson Red, 4 Parks Boulevard, Oxford Road, Rosebank

Tickets: R120 on Howler

Trev The Japanee, Soulscene, Vigilante, Skindeep and Killo on decks at this rooftop experience blending lounge, bossa nova, alternative deep and soulful house

Queertopia

Dates: 28 February, 1 March, 14:00 - 21:00

Address: Constitution Hill, 11 Kotze Street, Braamfontein

Tickets: R350 on Quicket

A festival that brings queer communities and allies together to celebrate and reimagine the world we live in through art, music, wellness and food. TheARTI$T (US) and wordsofAzia (France/Ivory Coast), alongside SA acts Zamajobe, Manana, Buhlebendalo, Giuliette Price, UmZulu Phaqa and Thando Nje will perform. DJs include AdillXH and Idahum.

The Muffinz – 14Year Birthday Celebration

Dates: 28 February 18:00

Address: Breezeblock, 29 Chiswick Street, Brixton

Tickets: R150 – R300 at Webtickets

Join The Muffinz as they celebrate 14 years as a fully independent South African live band rooted in community, storytelling, and the joy of collective music-making. Expect new music and old favourites from them, DJs and good food too.

The Kabomedi Talk

Dates: 28 February 17:00 – 23:00

Address: 2121 Lekhooa Street, Moroka, Soweto

R100 on Quicket

This month centres Black history and love. The Kabomedi Talk with Dorrah Hlatshwayo focuses on finding the right partners, in life, in art and in community. Poetry by Raphael d’Abdon, Thobile Phudi, and Nhlanha Rihlamfu, with live music by L8 Antique and sounds curated by Waya Waya. There will be local stalls and everyone attending is invited to bring a book donation for the Kabomedi library .

A42 House

Dates: Thursday – Sunday noon - 18:00 ( closed this Saturday)

Address: 6A 8th Avenue, Parktown North

Tickets: R100 on A42.art

A42 House is a Museum for Creative Repair. Part community museum, part member’s club, part micro heritage-resort, it’s a space for exhibitions, activities and overnight stays.

This Sunday they host a workshop from 10:00 - 17:00: Offcuts - A Fashion and Craft Archiving Workshop with Sewcial Studio. R650 for Non-Members, R500 for members. Includes admission to exhibition. Booking Essential.

Palimpsest, Lizamore at Keyes

Dates: Until 21 March, Monday - Friday 10:00 – 17:00, Saturday 10:00 - 15:00

Address: Keyes Art Mile, 29A Keyes Avenue, Rosebank

Free

An exhibition that brings together a collaborative installation by Michael Meyersfeld and Stompie Selibe, with solo presentations by Lien Botha, Nellien Brewer and Jacki McInnes.

HER, Live at the Basement

Dates: 5 March 20:00

Address: Untitled Basement, 7 Reserve Street, Braamfontein

Tickets: R350 on Quicket

The HER series will feature leading ladies live in March. Zamajobe, Sio, Siya Makhuzeni and Buhlebendalo are some of the treats in store. It kicks off on Thursday with Zoe Modiga who has a new single and new album out soon.

FRIYAY GUEST ESSAY — Reitumetse Pilane

Novelist Angela Makholwa on blackness, womanhood and Joburg’s relentless pulse

In a city that never stands still, Angela Makholwa (50) is a multi-talented professional who embodies the energy, hustle and complexity of Johannesburg.

As one of the first black women to break into South Africa’s crime fiction scene, she has carved out a space that reflects both the grit and vibrancy of the city, capturing its complexities on every page.

As a wife and mother of two, Makholwa has built her life in Joburg over decades, her personal and professional worlds unfolding alongside the city’s evolution.

Joburg ‘Person of the day’

Internationally recognised for her work in structured light, physicist Dr Angela Dudley heads up the new ASPI Photonics Chair at Wits University’s School of Physics.

Photonics – the science of generating and manipulating light – is used for things like improving medical diagnostics through advanced imaging and laser-based treatments to strengthening communication networks with ultra-fast fibre optics. The chair was established through donations from ASP Isotopes Inc, an advanced materials company focused on developing technologies and processes to produce isotopes for multiple industries.

“It is a tremendous honour to serve as the ASPI Photonics Chair at Wits,” says Dudley. “ASPI’s commitment to advancing science provides the resources and partnerships needed to translate advanced photonics concepts into technologies that can benefit South Africa and the world.”

My go-to spot

Sin+Tax Bar | Corner of Bolton & Jan Smuts Ave, Roads, Johannesburg

…Yep, it’s officially one of the World’s Top 100 Bars

Picture of the day

Nirox Sculpture Park

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