Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Inner City Adventures











I have had an absolutely insane couple of weeks- hence I haven't blogged in a while.

To make up for this I am going to try mention everything we have been doing lately even if it means just doing a couple of lines on each! hopefully this will give people some ideas on fun things things to do in the city!

Public Art Tour

We did a great public art tour a few weeks ago. I was a little worried as it was on the same day as the 94.7 Cycle Challenge which means that their were streets closed and I thought people might not be able to get to the event. I was totally wrong..we had over thirty people and it was a fantastic tour. We also had the SABC News Crew come along on the tour. One of the most awesome sights of the day actually had nothing to with art. The Cycle challenge was routed through the city which i think is a great indicator of how the city is on the up and up! The tour stood on the side of the road at Gandhi Square and cheered people on.

Radio Today

I had an absolutely awesome experience the other day. I was lucky enough to be on Gillian Godsell's radio program Jozi Today for an hour. The show focused on Women Entrepreneurs. I was slightly nervous but ended up absolutely loving it...maybe I have a future in Radio! It is a great show and focuses on people and events in JHB. The show is then followed by another program called Heritage Today. They are really interesting and can be found on AM 1485 or DSTV 169.

Book Launch at the Lister Building.

I went to a book launch at the Lister Building in the City. The book looks awesome and i cant wait to get a copy. Its called Positions and looks at Contemporary art is SA. It was a lovely little get together with wine and a stunning view.

Cartoons in Context- Museum Africa

Museum Africa has the most amazing exhibition on at the moment. Its all about political cartoons. Its really fantastic and explains what each cartoon is about so you understand what the context is. They have some really old ones to newish ones that have featured in the Soweton. I can recommend it enough and its free.

Past Experiences Gift Vouchers and Boxes

Why not give someone one of our experiences for Christmas. You can choose one of our budget tours which are presented on a lovely voucher (the date can be chosen by the person later) or our premier choice a beautiful gift box, chocolates, book and voucher for a private tour. Its a really unique and original gift they will never forget!

Imbali Visual literacy Project

When i was at museum Africa the other day I had a look in their shop. They have the most beautiful and unique products. Really stunning printed skirts with a map of Joburg, place mats, embroidered Joburg bags, lights and so much more. They are all part of the Imbali Visual Literacy Project which you can check out at http://www.imbali.org.za/. They are based in Newtown and have some studios at the Bus Factory.

Ernest Oppenheimer Park

I cant tell you in words how stunning this park is looking. The art, garden and public spaces are so colourful, stylish and bright! The JDA and City Parks have done an absolutely fantastic job on this rejuvenation project.

Main Street Christmas Decorations

A couple of weeks ago when we were walking down Main Street we were joking around and said that they should put a sleigh behind the Jumping Impala's and put a red nose on one of them. Well they have done something similar- all the Impala and the Leopard Public Art have beautiful bells around their neck and the trees have been wrapped in Shweshwe material.

Ansteys Building

I have written about this building quite a few times but I was able to go the roof of the building (19th floor) the other day and stand next to the spire (not sure if that's the right word). It was the most awesome experience. We are actually doing yoga their on the 12th December as part of our new "Yoga in the City" and "Fit in the City" initiative. It will take place on the 4th floor which has the most amazing view of the building. We are very excited!

Food Wine Design Fair

We went to the opening of the "Food Wine Design Fair" at Hyde Park. It was fun and had some nice stalls but the parking at Hyde Park was a complete mess. We didn't eat much of the food but had an awesome Beer Steph Weiss...so amazing and some fantastic jewelry from Geraldine Fenn who owns Tinsel in Melville...so beautiful! Their was some great decor items and art. We saw William Kentridge..which was great..I am a big fan particularly his public art- Firewalker.

Mounted Policeman in the City

I was starting my "I Love Joburg Tour" last weekend and we suddenly saw some horses and mounted policeman coming down Market Street. It was lovely to see and later on when we went to the Joburg Art Gallery they were in their horse box as that's where the metro cops are stationed.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Chinatown, New Public Art and Fit in the city






Just thought i would share a couple of things with you very briefly that i have seen in the city recently. The rejuvenation of the Joburg inner city is really happening in a big way at the moment and i am loving the amazing Public art being installed and events going on. My advice to anyone living in JHB who hasn't experienced the city recently is to come on one of our tours and/or just explore your city...you will love it!

Chinatown Dragons
These stunning dragons have recently been put into the old Chinatown in the Inner city. they are really stunning and add to the feel of this historic area! We are going to see them in my Public Art Tour this Sunday if anyone is interested. I love old Chinatown-my favourite part is the Chinese Supermarket..it has the most amazing tea caddies, tea pots, tea's and so much more!

The coolest graffiti ...ever
While exploring with one of my fav people Tania- we found this amazing Graffiti! It is totally District 9 themed and even features a prawn or in the words of Wikus van der Merwe "a fokking prawn". So AWESOME! I wonder what genius did it!

Miss Diagonal
Tania and I have started a small business called Miss Diagonal in our spare time. We are selling some great unique and super funky accessories, off the hook 1980's earrings and the occasional item of clothing..and all at a great price! We are selling our items via Facebook, private little get togethers and our new blog (http://missdiagonalinjhb.blogspot.com ). Its not totally up and running but it will be within the next few days.

Oppenheimer Park
I have written about it before but since a whole lot of new art has been added i thought i would mention it again. Harry Oppenheimer Park behind the old post office has had a total makeover in the last few months and it is so fantastic. In the last couple of weeks the JDA has put in a whole lot of new art including a wooden post office, some springboks (a tribute to the Impala statue that was once in the park but now in Main street) and a whole lot more. Check it out ASAP! We are also going to try and take a look at it this weekend in my public art tour if time allows!

Fit in the City
Yesterday was the first in I hope many of our "Fit in the City" events. We started with a 5km walk around the city. We had 16 people which was great. Our youngest members were a 10 week old miniature pug and a toddler in a pushchair. We are hoping to do a jog in the near future as well as Yoga in the City over December. We will also be doing another walk on Sunday 28th! The aim of this is to use the city in a different way..not just for tours..but make it an integral part of all our lives.