Rosebank gets an arts lift
Rosebank’s Keyes Avenue in Johannesburg has quietly been undergoing a facelift.
The road just outside Circa and Everard Read, on the corner of Jan Smuts and Jellicoe, even has new mini speed humps to slow motorists down so they can look left and turn into the Keyes Art Mile, a new art precinct quarter set to launch this month.
Developed by T o mo r r o w C o , t h e street-wide development will include galleries and exhibition s p a c e s s h o wc a s i n g local and international art and design, restaurants and shops.
Naturally, no 21st -century art hub is worth its hip without a coffee joint and the KAM (we’re just gonna go with that acronym) has more than one option including a place called the Milk Bar.
BGR, a much loved burger joint, will get a location upgrade as it moves from the Caltex garage to its new spot.
Design lovers will enjoy the existence of stand-alone stores such as Anatomy Design, Missibaba, Kartel and Cassina as well as FLOS lighting and sneaker brand Shelflife. Notable galleries on the strip include Cape Town’s SMAC, WHATIFTHEWORLD and Southern Guild. A triple-volume atrium will lead visitors to the second floor where the MESH club “promises to create common ground for uncommon people” — in other words, a curated workspace for entrepreneurs, artists and business people to connect. Shabaka Hutchings, a serial collaborator and party to several projects such as The Comet Is Coming and Sons of Kemet, is fond of the lightning-quick intensity of South Africa’s crop of young jazz cats.
The tenor saxophonist’s timely catching on to this musical renaissance speaks to his intellectual instincts and his commitment to learning from every place he has ever set foot in.
Wisdom of Elders, recorded with South African musicians, will be launching with a show today and tomorrow at The Orbit. Tickets are R180 and doors open at 8.30pm.