After a two-year hiatus, the much anticipated 28^th Johannesburg HOMEMAKERS Fair is back!

This year’s HOMEMAKERS Fair, taking place at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit and International Convention Centre from 24 to 26 March 2023, will centre around how our living spaces have changed and evolved over the last three years.

“What was, no longer is and how we live has changed. Home is no longer only where we live, but also where we celebrate, relax, rejuvenate, learn, teach, work, move and so much more. What we treasure are the experiences and memories we make with those in it,” says Hestelle Robinson, Chief Executive Officer of HOMEMAKERS.

The fair will offer a renewed focus on what makes a home. There will be different feature zones and spaces focusing on top local brands and craftsmanship covering everything from DIY and ‘smart living’ to decor and design. The zones will include:

• Artisan, Fashion & Beauty – A zone dedicated to showcasing South African designers and products. Here you can support local and unique handmade beauty products, clothing, jewellery, accessories, crockery and exclusive kitchenware.
• Outdoor Food Truck Dining Zone – Part of any South Africans’ make-up is most definitely great food and a “lekker kuier”. Here you can enjoy freshly made street food and delicious local favourites. 
• The Eatery – Stock up for the pantry, enjoy warm comfort food or satisfy your sweet tooth with the delicious treats that will be on offer.
• Travel, Leisure & Camping – Discover all the travel industry has to offer, from cosy leisure campers to classic tents and the latest gear. Professional advice will be on hand to help you plan a well-deserved holiday at your home away from home.

The HOMEMAKERS Fair will take place at Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit and International Convention Centre from 24 to 26 March 2023. Tickets cost R120 for adults, R60 for pensioners and R20 for children. For more information, visit homemakersonline.co.za/jhbfair.

Looking for more design inspiration? Sign up to our weekly newsletter, here.

The post The HOMEMAKERS Fair Returns To Joburg appeared first on Visi.

Join Cur8 for a “Pierneef, Painting and the Vineyards” experience – a scintillating adventure that celebrates fine art, wine and food, together.

The Cur8 ‘Experience’ is a bespoke service designed around the need to fully engage in the finer crafts of life, like fine wine and masterful painting… and the next Cur8 Experience is set for 13 November 2021.

The “Pierneef, Painting & the Vineyards” Experience starts with an exclusive walk-about at the newly refurbished Rupert Museum in Stellenbosch. You’ll be able to enjoy a coffee or tea and a light bite whilst you explore J.H.Pierneef’s legendary ‘Station Panels’ as well as the 60 celebrated portraits that formed part of the Top 100 National Portrait Award. You’ll then depart from the museum and arrive at the rich French and Cape Dutch heritage of La Motte Wine Estate. Guests are invited to experience their culture of excellence through an insightful tour of La Motte’s exquisite selection of artworks by South African artists, with dedicated attention to the art of Jacob Hendrik Pierneef.

From here you’ll head off into the vineyards with a glass of wine and paintbrush in hand. Lead by formally trained painters Jeanne Hugo and Elmarie van Straten, you will be guided on how to simply and effortlessly delight in nature’s majesty by painting what you see around you. Next your taste buds will be enticed with a sumptuous three-course lunch at La Motte’s fine dining restaurant, Pierneef’s, offering traditional Cape Winelands Cuisine with a modern interpretation.

You can wind down your tingled senses with a visit to the Farm Shop or a stroll through La Motte’s exquisite indigenous gardens before we depart.

Prepare to experience a heightened sense of wonderment, enjoying the finer things in life alongside new friends in the enchanting French Corner.

• What: Cur8 Experience: Painting, Pierneef and the Vineyards.
• Where: Rupert Museum & La Motte, Franschhoek.
• When: November 13th, 2021
• Price: R4 650

*All painting equipment, refreshments, lunch and transport to and from the meeting point is included.

To book your spot, register via cur8.art

The post Cur8 Experience: Painting, Pierneef and the Vineyards appeared first on Visi.

Design Joburg Collective’s debut in Kramerville this June was proof enough that this innovative new approach to satiating the appetites of decor and design devotees was a winning formula.

So, it was only natural that they wasted no time in announcing their next ambitious move – Design Joburg Collective: Summer Edition (#DJC21Summer), once again backed by headline sponsors Sanlam Private Wealth, and in association with SA Tourism. This new iteration, taking place from the 28^th to the 31^st of October 2021, has been extended, due to popular demand, to four days.

Whilst Kramerville remains the main pivot for this free-to-attend showcase, the showcase’s geographical footprint has also expanded, to include satellite sites at Victoria Yards and 44 Stanley. In addition, FNB Art Joburg Open City will be exhibiting concurrently across 26 complementary art galleries and institutions across Johannesburg. October promises to be a real ‘moment’ for South African design and art.

Taking place during the Highveld’s best weather month, organisers have taken full advantage of Kramerville’s indoor-outdoor layout, carefully planning their exhibits, installations, talks, pop-ups and activations to follow suit. Furthermore, the ever-popular Fourways Farmers Market will be offering scrumptious sit-down meals, a wide choice of liquid refreshment, live music and fresh takeaway arts and crafts from Kramerville Corner.

The two sister-districts, 44 Stanley and Victoria Yards, will also be hosting various talks and activations. Combine this with FNB Art Joburg Open City, and Design Joburg Collective: Summer Edition is sure to be a city-wide celebration of culture and creativity!

Visitors should keep an eye on Design Joburg’s social media and website for the down-low on the latest additions to the showcase’s schedule.

#DJC21Summer is poised to set the bar even higher: celebrating the local and global design industry over 4 days with an innovative, interactive and outdoorsy creative showcase… this is the summer edition that Joburg has called out for!

Taking place during the Highveld’s best weather month, organisers have taken full advantage of Kramerville’s indoor-outdoor layout, carefully planning their exhibits, installations, talks, pop-ups and activations to follow suit. Furthermore, the ever-popular Fourways Farmer’s Market will be present for scrumptious sit-down meals, a wide choice of liquid refreshment and fresh takeaway arts and crafts.

For more information, and to register for free attendance, visit designjoburgcollective.com

The post Design Joburg Collective: Summer Edition 2021 is HERE appeared first on Visi.

The Porterville Annual Art Weekend will be taking place from Friday 1st October to Sunday 3rd October 2021, bringing art lovers, foodies, families and friends together in a safe outdoor setting.

In its fourth incantation, the fair will bring opportunities to purchase and view a variety of works from emerging and established local artists. The art community welcomes visitors and will be offering ware ranging from jewellery and ceramics to paintings, woodwork, mosaic, crochet, tableware, quilting, beading and beyond.

The fair will have 15 active “stops” which visitors can explore, with workshops running for people who would like to learn skills and get their hands dirty. Live music performances are also on the cards, with headliner Francois van Coke kicking off the weekend on Friday evening.

Tickets are not required for the Proudly Porterville weekend as entry is free, but accommodation bookings, restaurant reservations and workshop bookings are recommended ahead of the time due to demand.  For more information visit the website, here. 

Looking for more on local art? Read our Q&A with local ceramic artist Gemma Orkin.

The post Porterville Annual Art Weekend appeared first on Visi.

Design Joburg – presented at the Sandton Convention Centre since 2017 – has fast become the African continent’s premium décor and design exhibition. When Covid-19 made traditional exhibitions impossible, the Design Joburg team took quick action to create a new way of satiating the appetites of décor and design devotees. The result is the Design Joburg Collective (DJC).

From the 3rd to the 5th of June, Johannesburg’s Kramerville Design District will be reinventing itself as an urban showcase. With Sanlam Private Wealth staying on as the headline sponsorship partner, DJC promises to be an exhibition that’s close in style and pace to fringe events like Déco Off in Paris and Fuorisalone in Milan.

The free-to-attend 3-day showcase will highlight all that is new and innovative from both international and local decor and design brands. It promises to be a festival experience with a considerable style quotient – and all within a one-kilometre radius of Kramerville. Organisers note their full adherence to Covid-19 protocols.

The experienced team behind DJC is keen to flex their talents in a new “space”. This will be a sharply curated combination of outdoor and indoor attractions – engaging visitors with new products and collections, as well as must-attend activations. Several showrooms will also be hosting talks featuring leaders in the creative community (visitors are encouraged to keep an eye on Design Joburg and DJC’s website and social media for details).

Whilst Kramerville’s participating tenants will, of course, be spotlighted, DJC has also created opportunities for designers, crafters and creative brands without representation in the precinct. Expect eclectic pop-ups in designated sites. The art scene will also be represented, with various exhibits by leading local and international artists including outdoor sculpture from James Delaney, various work by multidisciplinary artist Keneilwe Mokoena and an exhibition by French artist Catherine Timotei.

The neighbourhood’s existing dining offering will be complemented by a handpicked selection of open-air food trucks and bars – including a Hendrick’s gin bar.

A product of necessity – as well as design – DJC is set to shake up the traditional exhibition space this June. Don your takkies and take to the streets of Kramerville for an experiential feast within the epicentre of Joburg’s décor and design scene. There’s optimism in the air.

The post Design Joburg Collective appeared first on Visi.

Over 100 participating designers, studios and brands are set to bring the entire month to life with a stimulating array of launches, exhibitions, presentations, talks and displays. The new trail gives participants one-on-one access to incredible showrooms and private maker spaces while raising the bar for the industry and involving the city as a whole.

The trail is presented by the Decorex Africa portfolio and is the first of its kind for the city. The array of stimulating sights and sounds allows Cape Town to cement its reputation as a creative capital, and a former World Design Capital. Cape Town is also the first city in Africa to be named a UNESCO City of Design – and the accolade is rightly deserved when you look at the exceptional calibre of its creative citizens.

The trail has been divided into a series of curated routes, each with its own theme. Those interested in art, will be able to clearly follow the art route. Similarly, those interested in the process of renovating, will be able to follow the route that clusters together suppliers such as fittings, tiles, mirrors, frameless glass, etc. And so on…

Some of the routes you’ll be able to cover on foot, others will require motorised transport to reach all the designated stops. You can drive, take an Uber, or hop on a specially commissioned Cape Town Design Trail Red Bus. These public transport buses are usually dedicated to tourism, but have come on board for June to support the event, with tickets to ride at specially reduced trail rates. All the curated routes will be available online.

The event extends over four weekends to help visitors discover exhibitions and installations located at 200 participating sites.

Design Trail Attractions

Here’s a quick look at some of the brands and locations that form part of the Design Trail (find the full list here):

The post Cape Town Design Trail 2021 appeared first on Visi.

The RMB Turbine Art Fair, which will be held online from 27 August – 13 September 2020, promises to be a diverse showcase of emerging art in Africa.

The five-day Art Fair includes a walkabout programme as well as the highly-anticipated talks programme hosted by curators, artists like Mary Sibande, collectors, and other industry professionals. There will also be a segment for artists titled “Conversations With Artists and Visionaries”, featuring the likes of Thania Petersen, Sthenjwa Luthuli and Featured Artist Jake Singer. Participating galleries will have virtual booths where viewers will be able to browse and interact with artworks.

Jake Michael Singer – They Who Created Themselves

“We believe that investing in art starts with contextualising the talent behind the art, therefore, through this programme we hope to bring art to life for both our clients and virtual attendees, to provide them with an opportunity to support young and diverse African artists with a better perspective and understanding of their craft,” says Eric Enslin, CEO of RMB Private Bank, the main sponsor of the talks and walkabout programme.

This year, art lovers can virtually access the main exhibition for free by registering online – this is an important aspect of making art accessible and allowing supporters from everywhere and anywhere to join. For avid collectors, tickets can be purchased for the VIP Preview taking place the day before the official opening.

Thania Petersen – I Am Royal (Location 1)

Worth noting are the talks included as part of this year’s programme, all of which deal with different subjects within the art world to offer both visual beauty and insight.

Make sure not to miss Parallel Lives with Gladys Mgudlandlu and Maggie Laubser, presented by Strauss & Co’s Wilhelm van Rensburg, and Tactile Visions – Woven, moderated by curator, artist and Professor Sharlene Khan. This new addition to the talks programme features artists specialising in the mediums of performance, painting, dance and photography, responding to the notion of  “materiality” and “tactility”.

Gladys Mgudlandlu – Birds Over a Field

Visit turbineartfair.co.za to view the full programme. Missed our feature about the Fair’s COVID-19 photographic project, Stilled Life? Read about it here.

The post The RMB Turbine Art Fair 2020 Goes Online appeared first on Visi.

Over 50 artists from all around Africa will come together to showcase contemporary art at the inaugural Stellenbosch Triennale, running from 11 February to 30 April 2020.

Brainchild of the Stellenbosch Outdoor Sculpture Trust‘s Dr Mike Mavura, France Beyers, Michael van Wyk, Andi Norton and Elana Brundyn, the Stellenbosch Triennale is a non-commercial, multidisciplinary art platform set amidst the famed academia halls and historical vineyards of The Woodmill and its surrounding precinct that aims to make Stellenbosch a primary destination of multidisciplinary art in Africa.

“The Triennale turns Stellenbosch into a curated public laboratory for creative expressions and engagements in response to society’s questions now, then and there,” says says Dr Mike Mavura. “What kind of people do we want to be? What relations to nature do we cherish? What knowledge, and what technologies do we deem appropriate? What aesthetic values do we hold?”

The theme Tomorrow There Will Be More of Us informs seven multidisciplinary platforms to provide meeting points for engagement with the divided past, the collective present and imagined future.

Here’s what to expect:

The Curators’ Exhibition

Compiled by Chief Curator Khanyisile Mbongwa with Triennale co-curator Bernard Akoi-Jackson, this exhibition features works interpreting the theme by 20 artists from across Africa. Situated inside The Woodmill and on the surrounding precinct, this multidisciplinary art exhibition introduces visitors to the Triennale’s other exhibitions and installations.

The Curators’ Exhibition, Igshaan Adams, Threshold 2019.

On The Cusp

Curated by Dr Bernard Akoi-Jackson, On The Cusp is an exhibition of works by 10 young African artists. This exhibition focuses on young art practitioners that have proved themselves to be on the cusp of mastering their aesthetic, concepts and methods.

From The Vault

Forming part of the educational programme, From The Vault exhumes archives and historical acquisitions from Stellenbosch University and the University of Fort Hare to highlight buried museum collections’ functionality as integral resources for the contextualisation and mapping of contemporary society and culture. The curator’s statement asks, “What happens if we look at the vault through a speculative lens; if we suspend historical frameworks and adopt inter-subjective processes of meaning making? Can we speculate on Future history?”

Die Braak Pavilion

Gather at The Pavilion on Die Braak, a structure designed by award-winning architect Pieter Matthews, for informative talks, educational sessions and inspiring dialogue. The Pavilion itself will be an artwork, ephemeral in nature to highlight the ethos of the sponsor and curator while simultaneously speaking to social and environmental issues.

Concepts of Freedom Film Festival

Curated by Kenyan musician and filmmaker Silas Miami, Concepts of Freedom Film Festival will be shown throughout the town across indoor and outdoor venues. Divided into three parts: the visual art platform titled Concepts of Freedom — Film Meditation comprises retrospective work by two African contemporaries: Sunny Dolat and Athi-Patra Ruga; a feature films section consisting of six works; and a video art exhibition featuring the works of seven artists. Aspiring filmmakers, make sure not to miss workshops created specifically for you.

The Imaginarium

Accessed via the Triennale website, The Imaginarium is an online learning space that provides a supplementary, open-source (free) discovery/learning resource centre for learners of all ages.

Em-Bodied: Being & Becoming

Curated by Khanyisile Mbongwa, Bernard Akoi-Jackson and celebrated South African curator and choreographer Jay Pather, Em-Bodied: Being & Becoming uses location to create dialogue between history and architecture.

For more information, visit Stellenbosch Triennale’s website (stellenboschtriennale.com), or follow Stellenbosch Triennale on Twitter (@stbtriennale), Instagram (@stellenboschtriennale) and Facebook (@StellenboschTriennale).

The post The Stellenbosch Triennale: What To Expect appeared first on Visi.

Joburg-based design studio Dokter and Misses have launched a collection of collectible design pieces as part of the duo’s new solo show at Southern Guild in Cape Town.

The exhibition, entitled Practically Everywhere, sees designers Katy Taplin and Adriaan Hugo take inspiration from urban ecosystems.

The result is a collection of sculptural cabinets exploring the ideas of over-saturation and disruption. Katy and Adriaan describe this body of work as smooth surfaces “interrupted by jagged lines and unconscious gestural marks.”

“Function is encapsulated and overgrown by clumps of irregular forms,” explain the duo. “Traditional furniture structural configurations are turned inside out and decorated with dysfunctional clutter. Negative spaces become a nest for 3D visual noise.”

The exhibition will be on at Southern Guild, Silo 5, Silo District, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town until 8 May 2019. For more information, visit southernguild.co.za. To see more from Dokter and Misses and to shop online, visit dokterandmisses.com.

The post Dokter and Misses Solo Show: Practically Everywhere appeared first on Visi.

The Joburg Fringe independent art fair will be bringing a curated body of work to Cape Town after the success of its 11th edition held in October/November 2018 in Joburg.

Just ahead of the Cape Town Art Fair, this artist-run and artist-led initiative showcases the work of both established and up-and-coming artists. The concept is to exhibit a diverse and fresh body of work in places accessible to the public. The show will feature 39 artists from 13 countries in a range of media including photography, ceramics, video, sculpture, text, painting and performance art.

The show will run from 8 February – 12 February 2019 at the Ruth Prowse School of Art in Woodstock.

The list of 39 artists include:

Advik Beni (South Africa) / Alice S and Jennifer W-S (South Africa) / Almut Determeyer (Germany) / Amogelang Maepa (South Africa) / Andrew Lindsay (South Africa) / Ashley Ellis (South Africa) / Aurèle Ferrier (Switzerland) / Brett Seiler (South Africa) / Chiedza Nyebera Pfister (Zimbabwe/Switzerland) / Chloë Reid (South Africa) / Christel Liebenberg (South Africa) / Claudia Shneider (South Africa/Germany) / Errico Cassar (South Africa) / Jean-Michel Rolland (France) / Loryn Thomas (South Africa) / Kutlwano Monyai (South Africa) / Lizette Chirrime (Moçambique) / Lubanzadyo Mpemba (Angola) / Mauricio Sanhueza (Peru) / Marlene Carpenter (South Africa) / Mbali Tshabalala (South Africa) / Mcebisi Sidlai (South Africa) / Mireille Ribière (France/England) / Naledi Segale (South Africa) / Ngozi Chukura (Botswana) / Nicola Holgate (South Africa) / Phoka Nyokong (South Africa) / Phumelele Kunene (South Africa) / Sophie Joans (South Africa) / Stian Deetlefs (South Africa) / Rhona Mühlebach (Scotland/Switzerland) / Rose Mara Kielela (Brazil/Angola) / Ross Culverwell (South Africa) / Tetsuya Maruyama (Japan/Brazil) / Warrick Sony (South Africa) / Wonder (South Africa)

For more information, visit joburgfringe.com.

The post Joburg Fringe in Cape Town appeared first on Visi.