July in Johannesburg is still stubbornly committed to winter and so, weaning myself off the performance high that was the National Arts Festival in June, I spend most of the month seeking refuge in the city’s galleries, theatres, make-shift museums, and malls-turned-art-fairs. *** The city
Dave Mann is a monthly contributor for Creative Feel, an editor and an award-winning arts journalist. The world is steeped in absurdity. Most choose to ignore it, or accept it as a part of the structures of an average day. Others, like theatre-maker Roberto Pombo, choose to observe and reflect,
Drawing, electrical engineering, the making of The Lion King, and devotedly staring at the front of The Market Theatre are only a few of the unlikely threads running through the story of South African theatre-making outfit, Theatre Duo. As the name implies, Theatre Duo comprises
On a dry and windy afternoon in Johannesburg’s Maboneng, Lidudumalingani Mqombothi is seated in the corner of a small coffee shop, watching the day play out on Fox Street. Inside, it’s quiet and secluded – a bit of respite from the city, and a room
Dave Mann is an editor and award-winning arts journalist. Back in 2013, if you were to drive along Johannesburg’s M1 freeway you might have seen a custom-designed billboard that posed a single question to the city: Who is Anastasia Pather? A Durban-born Johannesburger who, as a
Creativity @ Work is a monthly column written by Dave Mann, an editor and award-winning arts journalist. Jake Singer is always busy with something. When the Johannesburg-based sculptor and multimedia artist’s not working with his hands, it’s his mind that’s busying itself through books or conversation, and
Creativity @ Work is a monthly column written by Dave Mann, an editor and award-winning arts journalist. ‘Arriving in the Netherlands was shocking. Because I realised immediately, something I oddly enough had never experienced before: that I am African,’ explains multi-disciplinary artist and educator Heidi Sincuba
Creativity can be a means of communicating ideas, cultures and heritage. It can help connect people from across the globe and, certainly, it can take you many places. For award-winning South African textile and knitwear designer Laduma Ngxokolo, creativity has taken him and his innovative,
The Art of Performance is a monthly column written by Dave Mann, an editor and award-winning arts journalist. On a busy Saturday morning, theatre-maker, writer, and visual artist Sue Pam-Grant is inside her studio, quietly working away as she does most mornings. Outside, cars and trucks struggle up
The Art of Performance is a monthly column written by Dave Mann, an editor and award-winning arts journalist. In South Africa, there is no shortage of performing artists. In Johannesburg, the city I live in and write from, this is particularly true. Joburg is home to countless dancers,
The Art of Performance is a monthly column written by Dave Mann, an editor and award-winning arts journalist. Towards the close of 2018, a commonly accepted time for reflection, I spent an afternoon digging through a collection of dusty boxes containing the various items I’d collected
The Art of Performance is a monthly column written by Dave Mann, an editor and award-winning arts journalist. The collage forms an important, but often overlooked role in the realms of visual art. It’s provided a longstanding metaphor for the advents of mass-production and consumption, as
The Art of Performance is a monthly column written by Dave Mann, an editor and award-winning arts journalist. From the outset, the Goodman Gallery’s On Common Ground seemed like an exhibition that you should be interested in. The joint photographic exhibition, which featured the work of
Towards the end of July in Johannesburg’s Maboneng Precinct, Hennessy presented to us urban art phenomenon, Alexandre Farto – aka ‘Vhils’, whom they collaborated with for the 2018 Very Special Limited Edition bottle design. As part of his worldwide tour with Hennessy to celebrate the
The Art of Performance is a monthly column written by Dave Mann, an editor and award-winning arts journalist. It’s that time of year again when a rather large amount of attention is driven towards that quiet Eastern Cape city dotted with a few churches, university students,
As the annual RMB Turbine Art Fair approaches, there’s much to be excited about. An exhibition of still lifes by Irma Stern, however, is already getting people talking. Dave Mann spoke to Strauss & Co’s Dr Alastair Meredith, Susie Goodman, and Wilhelm van Rensburg to
The Art of Performance is a monthly column written by Dave Mann, an editor and award-winning arts journalist. In an age of online-first, visually-driven content, what is the value of writing about art or performance? And is writing about art even necessary? For someone
Being at the helm of one of the country’s most important non-commercial galleries can be a daunting task, but it can also be an exhilarating experience. It’s been just over four months since Dr Same Mdluli took on the role of manager of Johannesburg’s Standard
The Art of Performance is a monthly column written by Dave Mann, an editor and award-winning arts journalist. ‘The longing had always been a place to call my own. Now my problems are with the council, dealing with things like water and electricity and all of
In the bustling residential-turned-arts-hub of Lorentzville, there stands an old blue building. It used to be a synagogue, although no one’s practised their faith there for some time now. Well, not in the conventional sense at least. For the past few years, the building has
Less than a year ago, if you looked up a list of Joburg’s must-see creative hubs, you wouldn’t have seen Lorentzville ranking very high. In fact, there’s a good chance that most Joburg residents didn’t even know where Lorentzville was. Thanks to a few dedicated
The Art of Performance is a monthly column written by Dave Mann, an editor and award-winning arts journalist. Why do we keep art in our homes? What does it mean to have a framed print, a painting, or a sculptural work in place of stock canvases
Throughout his legendary career, Steven Cohen has often presented works at Dance Umbrella. This year, as the festival turns 30, Cohen’s put your heart under your feet… and walk! serves as one of the festival’s highlights. Dave Mann spoke to Georgina Thomson, Director of Dance
The Art of Performance is a monthly column written by Dave Mann, an editor and award-winning arts journalist. It’s an early Saturday morning at a coffee shop in Cape Town’s Greenpoint and the place is packed. Cyclists, joggers, and other fit folk are moving in and
The Art of Performance is a monthly column written by Dave Mann, an editor and award-winning arts journalist. Taking the time to sit down and put your entire year into perspective is a strange practice, but it has its benefits. For the better part of this
The Art of Performance is a monthly column written by Dave Mann, an editor and award-winning arts journalist. As far as major South African cities go, Durban is easily one of the prettiest. Cape Town has its mountains and seasides, Joburg has its gritty charm and