News
Ponte's roller-coaster ride smooths out
 Story derived from www.joburg.org.za , www.mg.co.za and Media Man
In November 2007 notorious Joburg icon the Ponte was marketed everywhere in the media – there was a four-page spread in the SA Property Review, for instance – as a building which was to be revamped and reborn as an upmarket, chic place for the upper-middle class.
Unfortunately this vision never came to fruition, and it looked like Ponte, which has undergone several roller-coaster transitions since it was built, was once again a lost cause. But all is not lost; refurbishing is once again taking place, and flats are once more be for hire in one of Joburg’s most controversial buildings.
Photo: Flats at The Ponte, one of Africa's tallest buildings, are once again available for rent
Anstey's: back on the map
.jpg) “This view is my beach; it’s where I relax,” says architect Thomas Moldovanos. “Cape Town has the coast and mountain, but Joburg? Well, it’s got people ... and this view.”
He’s partners with Brian McKechnie in a venture called Space at Anstey’s, an exclusive penthouse 16 storeys up in the Joburg skyline. You really could run out of adjectives – Stunning? Fab? Mind-blowing? - to describe the 180-degree view which can be taken in from the flat’s two bay windows and balcony.
These two enthusiastic young architects have restored the one-bedroomed flat and put it out for hire for hip gatherings and shoots, and it’s in hot demand. It’s already been used by Visi Magazine and MTV Base, and part of the latest SA movie, Jozi Kings, was shot here.
Photo: Architects Brian McKechnie and Thomas Moldovanos check out the view from Space at Anstey's
Transport architecture
.jpg) This story was derived from Nicola Theunissen’s story for Archi-technology
“Transport facilities are some of the most ‘public’ of buildings within a cityscape,” says architect Gunther Wagner of Urban Solutions, “they are very much a portrayal of the identity of the city - and of the country.”
Tom Steer, senior associate on the Gautrain Architects Joint Venture, agrees. “When people arrive in cities with well-organised transport networks, they breathe a sigh of relief. The brand identity of the transport system forms an integral part of the city’s identity and the way it is perceived internationally.”
This view is also endorsed by architect Moken Makeka of Makeka Design Laboratory: The role of the transport facilities of a city is essential. It is often underplayed in this country.”
Photo: There is no reason why local public transport systems can’t match international counterparts
Soccer ball brightens tower
 Derived from Liezel Hill’s article in Engineering News
A 35-ton fibre glass soccer ball has been hoisted 96 metres above the ground on Telkom's Hillbrow Tower, in Johannesburg, as the city counts down to the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The hoisting began on November 28 last year, and was completed about two weeks later.
Photo: Did you ever wonder how that huge soccer ball got onto the Hillbrow Tower?
I am not afraid
 To celebrate the Market Photo Workshop’s 20th Anniversary, the Johannesburg Art Gallery and Camera Austria are hosting the exhibition I am Not Afraid at the Johannesburg Art Gallery.
The exhibition has been curated by Christine Frisinghelli and Walter Seidil to celebrate the 100th publication of Camera Austria. A panel discussion will be held at 2pm on Sunday 7 February; panellists include John Fleetwood, Khwezi Gule, Zanele Muholi and Jo Ratcliffe. The exhibition opens at 4pm that day.
For more information, phone Antoinette Murdoch on 011 725 3130 or e-mail her on antoinette@joburg.org.za. The gallery is on King George Street, between Wolmarans and Noord Streets, Jourbert Park, Central Joburg.
Photo: The exhibition celebrates the lengthy existence of the Market Photo Workshop. This image is by David Bieber.
World Cup in 3D?
 This story was derived from http://www.telegraph.co.uk ; the story was on www.filmcontact.com and was written by Harry Wallop.
This year's football World Cup will probably be broadcast in 3 dimensions, allowing viewers to watch the ball as if it were flying out of the screen.
ESPN, one of the world's biggest sports broadcasters, will film 25 of the World Cup matches in 3D at this year's tournament in South Africa. It’s the first time that a 3D broadcast will be seen in anyone's home, after years of technology experts predicting that 3D would take off.
Photo: Get ready to see the World Cup in 3-D
Tribute to Ngatane
 A retrospective exhibition of Ephraim Ngatane’s work will run at the Standard Bank Gallery from 9 February to 13 March 2010.
Cecil Skotnes said that Ngatane “put his thumbprint on the history of South African art”. In the course of his short-lived but illustrious career, Ngatane made a marked impression on the art of the 1950s and 1960s, creating artworks that captured the essence of township living and that conveyed emotion and depth.
Photo: Ephraim Ngatane's works will be on display soon at Standard Bank Galley
Preller depicts the old Joburg
.jpg) Karin Preller's images are carefully extracted from the haphazard pictorial archives left to her by time and circumstance: home movies, family albums, and especially photos. These inscribe her family's presence, remembered and forgotten, into the stream of consciousness of Johannesburg, the city in which she grew up and still lives, and which remains integral to her art. Her images uncover embedded layers of nostalgia, amnesia, desire, danger, trauma and loss.
City and Suburban, the title of this exhibition, is a phrase Preller remembers reading on buses in the streets near her childhood home. Only later did she connect it to the particular section of Johannesburg's inner city where her father used to work as a bureaucrat in the department of Native Affairs.
Photo: Preller’s images came from old home movies
The Start of the Female Century
 Taken from Dion Chang’s article in The Media Online
In February 2010, ten of the country's leading thinkers in a broad array of disciplines will gather to present their insights into trends beyond the economic meltdown at a one day conference in Johannesburg: the 2010 Flux Trends Review powered by BlackBerry.
Hosted by trends analyst Dion Chang, the 2010 Flux Trends Review will give a unique South African perspective to social, business, technology, political and marketing trends.
Photo: Dion Chang will talk about the new empathic, 'female' century
Sculpting the Land
 NIROX Foundation and Sylt Foundation present Strijdom van der Merwe: Sculpting the Land at NIROX Projects, Arts on Main.
The exhibition opens on 11 February and runs until 28 February. The opening speaker is Johan Myburg. Please come for a drink with the artist and writer, Charl Pierre Naude. For details, visit www.artsonmain.co.za
Photo: Life is a beach! If you haven’t visited Arts on Main yet, your life is the duller for it ... there is so much going on there, night and day ... music, art, fashion, books, events ...
Jozi Movie: laugh at oncoming trucks
.jpg) There’s a new local film due for release soon which reveals the beauty and uniqueness of Johannesburg.
Anant Singh's Videovision Entertainment has teamed up with TOM Pictures, the makers of the acclaimed Gums 'n Noses to produce the new comedy feature, Jozi. The film is directed by Craig Freimond and stars Carl Beukes, Lionel Newton, Lindiwe Matshikiza and Nick Borraine with Singh, Helena Spring and Robbie Thorpe producing.
Photo: This film is all about laughing in the face of adversity
Progress good on Inner City Charter objectives
 This was derived from Neil Fraser’s Citichat
The Inner City Charter process is a highly laudable effort led by the Executive Mayor, which followed an Inner City Summit held in 2007, to identify inner city issues which require attention, and to set targets for their completion.
Photo: Progress on the inner city is going pretty much according to the charter's schedule
Exhibition & Discussion at JAG in Feb 2010
In celebration of the Market Photo Workshop’s 20th anniversary, the acclaimed photography exhibition, I am not afraid, the Market Photo Workshop, Johannesburg, will be opening at the Johannesburg Art Gallery on Sunday 7 February 2010. The opening will be preceded by a panel discussion on the day at 2pm also to be hosted at the Johannesburg Art Gallery. The discussion will look at the role of documentary photography within the museum environment, and the impact of redefining documentary works as art objects.
The panel discussion will address the role of documentary photography in a museum context, and also discuss the impact of documentary works re-contextualised as art objects.For more information regarding the exhibition, or for press images, please contact either:
Antoinette Murdoch (Johannesburg Art Gallery) 011 725 3130, antoinettem@joburg.org.za or
Tim Zeelie (Market Photo Workshop) 011 834 1444, timz@marketphotoworkshop.co.za
The exhibition has been made possible by generous sponsorship from the Austrian Embassy, The Market Theatre Foundation and the National Arts Council. Read on about the panel discussion.
No room for criminals
 Five criminals were arrested for robbing Discom at corner Commissioner and Joubert Street, one of the big busiest shops in Central Improvement District (CID).
Public Safety Ambassadors (PSAs) on patrol on 6 January noticed the robbery at Discom at 3.30pm. The PSAs quickly responded and managed to arrest five robbers who tried to escape using a Nissan 1400 bakkie.
All the arrested criminals are behind bars and are being charged for robbery.
Photo: Public Safety Ambassadors are contributing to keeping crime down in Central Joburg
Ad-clad buildings: monster adverts!
 This was adapted from Adele Shevel’s Sunday Times story
There’s a 6 168 square meter Nedbank advert wrapped around the 78 meter Penmore Towers building in downtown Joburg. This is the biggest wrap-around building advert in South Africa, and possibly the southern hemisphere.
This is according to Caryn Cohen, chief executive of Wideopen Platform, a company which began focusing on using urban structures for advertising about five years ago. Their aim is to leave no permanent mark on the environment.
Photo: This advert can literally be seen from miles away!
Stories of hope
 This was adapted from Ufrieda Ho’s story in The Star
Keleketle, which means ‘I am here’ in Pedi is the name of a small but flourishing Joburg CBD library located at the Drill Hall, near Noord Street Taxi Rank in Joubert Park.
A group of young volunteers run the library and fledgling media and cultural resource centre, and have a created a safe space for kids where they can learn, read and take a break from the frenzied streets of Joburg.
Photo: Kids read in the sanctuary of Keleketle Library at the Drill Hall in town
Performance piece pushes the boundaries
 This write-up was taken from http://kaganof.com/kagablog
Performance artist Lerato Shadi’s proposal was one of the first eight projects selected earlier this year by an independent jury of arts professionals for the new space Goethe on Main in downtown Johannesburg.
The show is scheduled from 14 January to 6 February and comprises of three works: the video performances Mmitlwa and Selogilwe, and the opening night performance of Se sa Feleng, along with its remaining sculptural installation.
Photo: Lerato Shadi unwraps herself from yards of white masking tape in one of her performance pieces
Eating out improves in the Inner City
 This story was written by Barbara Ludman for www.joburg.org.za
The CBD has been littered with fast-food takeaways since the big chains set up shop for a captive audience. For some time, office workers and residents have had a narrow choice: should it be KFC for lunch, or Nando's, Steers or King Pie?
But, gentrification is afoot! It has taken hold at the west end of the CBD and is just beginning in the east. For those who know where to look, there are places in the inner city where one can eat well.
To read more, visit http://www.joburg.org.za/content/view/4473/188/#ixzz0cI8wONOg
Photo: You can find the Darkie Cafe inside the Ashanti Hotel
Living in the modern city
 The European Union of National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) in South Africa launched the EUNIC architecture studio in 2008. This left a blue-print for a combination of lectures, conferences and experimental workshops framed by multidisciplinary professionals such as architects and urban planners, geographers and contemporary artists, aimed at linking the public, students and young professionals to the crucial question of the living and housing conditions in modern South Africa.
After Joburg’s centre was largely abandoned towards the end of the 20th century, and after seeing new populations coming to live in extremely poor conditions in its “empty spaces”, Joburg today offers a vibrant face calling for reinvention, urban renewal and transformation.
Photo: A bus tour through the Joburg CBD was presented by the European Union of National Institutes for Culture in South Africa. See the 'read more' section for a larger image
Historic Rhino on Main Street
 This story was derived from City of Johannesburg website, www.joburg.org.za
You haven’t seen Joburg’s 800-year-old rhino? Where you been, man?
A metre-long golden fibre-glass rhinoceros has been placed on a plinth in the mining precinct in Main Street, Johannesburg, to serve as a reminder of the city's gold-mining history - and of Mapungubwe, South Africa's first "city of gold".
The rhino is a replica of the iconic gold rhino of Mapungubwe, South Africa's first kingdom, dating back 800 years. The original is housed in a museum on the University of Pretoria campus, while the Mapungubwe site - now a World Heritage site - is within the Mapungubwe National Park in Limpopo province.
Photo: The Mapungubwe Rhino replica on Main Street
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