Boekehuis has been an institution in Jozi in terms of providing a public space allowing for informed, engaged and intelligent public debate. It is a sad inditement that the holding company, the large profitable corporate Media 24, seemed to look only at the bottom of  line of profit,  rather than seeing Boekehuis and what it offered in [...]

Delta Park, 104 hectares of open park land, is just 5 blocks from Liz at Lancaster. The area now known as Delta Park was part of the  farm Klipfontein in the 19th Century. In 1902 it became a grazing area for cows as part of William Rattray’s estate.   Delta Park as we now know it, [...]

Gerald Garner who wrote Spaces and Places Johannesburg as well as Johannesburg 10Ahead, has recently started walking tour of Jozi’s inner city.  On 28th Jan a tour will leave from Mary Fitzgerald Square at 9 am. Billed to see the public art in Newtown, Turbine Hall, Chancellor House, the Anglo American campus, the Ashanti Hotel and [...]

The Parktown Westcliff Heritage Trust runs tours to interesting places which are very varied on their offerings.  Many of these tours provide access to places that one cannot always get to independently.  Sadly however,  the guiding  style and information provided can be a little superficial and descriptive, with in-depth information often tantalizingly lacking. But enjoy the outings.  [...]

Ghandi’s philosphy of Satyagraha (non-violent non-cooperation) was born in South Africa and more specifically in what was then the Transvaal, in the first decade of the 20th Century.  Ghandi arrived in Johannebsurg in 1893 and stayed at various places during the 12 years he was in Johannesburg. For more on this see Eric Itzkin’s excellent book [...]

There are going to be a series of interesting tours of Joburg run by the Parktwon Westcliff Heritage Trust over the week-end of 17th and 18th Sept. At least 15 different tours. Unfortunately the page is not active on thie site www.parktownheritage.co.za Maybe will be up and running soon. Contact me for more info if [...]

9th August 1956 : see  http://joburg.org.za/culture/latest-news/193-strike-a-woman-strike-a-rock

Scottish painter George Devlin will be exhibiting his European Summer works at the Everard Read Gallery (6 Jellicoe Ave) during February. Also at the Everard is Thea Soggot’s ‘Earth and Ink’ from 10 February – 9 March.  Dylan Lewis is showing his recent body of mythological figures sculpted from clay and cast in bronze at CIRCA [...]

Since November 2010 the coffee shop at the Apartheid Museum has been re-opened.  Even better news is that it is run by Mrs D’Angeli, who together with her son Dario ran Yum in Greenside for a number of years.  With an interesting and varied menu, the coffee shop is accessible even to those who are not [...]

Songs of Migration, a musical tribute to the great songs of migrants across the African continent, has been created by trumpeter, composer and lyricist Hugh Masekela and written and directed by award-winning director James Ngcobo. It features the multi-talented and soulful Sibongile Khumalo. D uring the late 19th century, indigenous people started to migrate to [...]