Subscribe in a reader
One Sunday in Maboneng.
What is Maboneng? I heard about this place but never been here before. They say it is a new buzzing area in a heart of Johannesburg. The meaning of the word “Maboneng” is from Sotho- “place of light”.
Maboneng precinct is not so big, just couple of streets. What I like here that you can park your car and walk around. Historically, not so long ago this area was decaying. One of property developers Jonathan Liebmann discovered it and thought of a possibility to regenerate one of the central areas of Johannesburg and create a place to promote arts and culture. He teamed up with an architect Enrico Daffonchio and they created Arts on Main in 1990’s.
Arts on Main is situated in 5 connected warehouses and combines some of the best SA galleries and artists: Goodman Gallery, Seippel Gallery and also studios of artists like William Kentridge, Michael Subotzky and Kim Lieberman. I was very surprised to know that Nirox Foundation is also found it’s home on Arts on Main. Nirox also has a big park in Kromdraai by the same name, which is promoting garden sculpture. Other notable tenants are Bailey’s African History Archives, Goethe Institute, Jozi Art Lab. All the above is combined with various shops selling fashion, décor, food, books, art supplies and café’s and restaurants. If you add to that Sunday’s Food Market, Main street Life with 12 Decades Johannesburg Art Hotel, Museum of African Design and Bioscope- now you have Maboneng.
When I parked my car on Fox street and started to walk around I was surprised to see so many people here, on streets and in restaurants. That was so different from Johannesburg CBD. From the beginning you are surrounded by a lots of street art, music on the streets. Evidently this area is attracting a lot of inner city dwellers and also inhabitants from stuffy, snobby North of Johannesburg, probably drawn by artsy atmosphere of Maboneng. Among cars on the market I saw all of a sudden a Hummer. Of course near this car was staying a security guard.
I wasn’t the only person with expensive camera in my hands. I saw at least three groups of people with professional cameras and microphones walking around. One of them was so kind to stop and allow me to photograph him for my blog.
Sunday Market is another interesting event in Maboneng. It has everything what African Market suppose to have. Food was delicious. You can try all kind of food on the market: African food, Asian cuisine and European as well.
Just around the corner was a street with graffiti on the walls. Street art was my initial reason why I wanted to come to this place. Street art is everywhere: on common walls, on the walls of a fishery, on big buildings and on the gates to somebody’s yard. It is quirky, it’s catchy, makes this area special.
Even the small street was transformed into a work of art by placing a lot of abstract figures in it. That was very unusual.
What to do in Maboneng? Except eating, shopping, sightseeing you can also learn how to dance Salsa and Argentine Tango. Recently I saw an invitation for Argentine Tango evening at CHE Argentine Grill on Fox 303 in Maboneng. That concludes my trip to Maboneng, one of my Sundays.
Comments