It’s that time of year again: October in Joburg. Jacaranda trees all over Joburg (and Pretoria, too – more on that in a future post) are exploding with purple blossoms and everything wrong with the world feels right again (mostly). To make matters better, Joburg’s hospitality industry actively promotes jacaranda season and there are some really cool promotions on, like the jacaranda-themed “Bubbles & Sweets” menu at the Four Seasons Hotel in Westcliff.
The Spectacular Brixton Light Festival, Revisited
Last weekend I attended the Brixton Light Festival (hereafter referred to as the BLF) for the second consecutive year. I wrote a comprehensive post about the BLF last year, so in the days leading up to this year’s event I thought maybe I wouldn’t need to write another post. Ha! I was wrong.
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Joburg Map Books Come to Life Through John Phalane
About a year ago, as I wandered the halls of the Turbine Art Fair, an annual fair featuring the works of emerging South African artists, I stopped short in front of some poster-sized pictures by John Phalane. The pictures portrayed maps – mostly Joburg maps – drawn in riotous rainbow colored pencil.
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Art Blooms Inside Johannesburg's Drill Hall
A few days ago I walked into the Drill Hall, in the frenetic center of downtown Joburg, and went through a wormhole into an alternate universe.
I’ve spent the last three days pondering this one-hour visit and how to present it on the blog. I wasn’t at the Drill Hall long enough to take it all in – I would need to hang out there for at least a week to properly document this place and what’s happening there. But I’m impatient and I really want to share my pictures now, so here is a quick summary.