Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 August 2025

An immersive 2 day

visual arts experience

Image Copyright: Ryan Enslin

Meet the Artists

〰️

See the Work

〰️

Start a conversation

〰️

Meet the Artists 〰️ See the Work 〰️ Start a conversation 〰️

Venues

Saturday 30 August

10:00 to 17:00

Bag Factory Artists’ Studios

Located at 10 Mahlathini Street, Newtown, this is one of the older studio spaces in the city, having been founded in 1991.

Asisebenze Art Gallery

Located at 34 Loveday St, Joburg CDB, this is a brand new art gallery located in the newly renovated Aegis Building. This gallery will be presenting the best contemporary artists the City has to offer.

Play Braamfontein

Play Braamfontein comprises of many different spaces in Braamfontein but for the sake of this event, there is a focus on a series of studio spaces.

Rand Club

The Rand Club is the city's most enduring social institution and finest heritage venue. Located in Loveday Street, Marshalltown, come and experience a “members-only” experience.

WLM Marshalltown

The Experimental Exhibition Space EXPRESS:ON is curated by Khaya Madungandaba and is located at WLM in Marshalltown. The space showcases both emerging and established artists as well as live music.

STEPHAN WELZ & CO

This year we have a very exciting partnership with Stephan Welz & Co. CONTRA.Joburg & the Welz Boutique proudly presents Vintage x Vanguard —a dual physical and digital exhibition that celebrates the timeless dialogue between the past and the future. SUGGESTION: Park at SWELCO, see the exhibition and shuttle into your next Contra venue.

Creative Uprising Hub @Transwerke

Check out this vibrant creative hub at Constitution Hill Precinct! Here, creative practitioners and professionals thrive, inviting visitors to dive into studios buzzing with innovation across all creative domains.

Venues

Sunday 31 August

10:00 to 17:00

Asisebenze Art Atelier

Asisebenze Art Atelier is a gallery space, artist studios and art dealership in the heart of the Johannesburg inner city, located at 28 Plein Street. Since 2021, AAA has holistically embraced its environment & the cosmopolitan identity which accompany it.

Oovookoo

This building has been tansformed into a hybrid studio-gallery space that provides affordable and accessible spaces for creatives. OOVOOKOO means Uprising, and we chose this name as we want to be a catalyst for Uprising within the industry.

August House - The artists playground

Located at 76 End Street, Doornfontein, this is the largest studio space in Johannesburg. Studio and residency artists will open their studios to the public.

Ellis House

Located at 23 Voorhout Street and nestled between the iconic landmarks of Ellis Park and Troyeville Hotel in the inner-city neighbourhood of New Doornfontein. Ellis House Art Studios houses an eclectic mix of emerging and established artists.

Living Artists Emporium

This organisation supports grassroots emerging artists while facilitating the sales of their work to corporate and private buyers. LAE as it is more fondly known is located at the Ellis Part Tennis Courts.

Victoria Yards

This uniquely integrated urban complex, located at 16 Viljoen Street, is as much about art and design as it is social development.

STEPHAN WELZ & CO

This year we have a very exciting partnership with Stephan Welz & Co. CONTRA.Joburg & the Welz Boutique proudly presents Vintage x Vanguard—a dual physical and digital exhibition that celebrates the timeless dialogue between the past and the future. SUGGESTION: Park at SWELCO, see the exhibition and shuttle into your next Contra venue.

How does this event work?

  • The event takes place over 2 days. Each day is different. Look below to see what venues are on what days.

  • Each day has a different ticket. For more information on tickets, check out this page.

  • When buying a ticket, select the venues you wish to visit.

  • You can start at any of the venues. There is no right or wrong order.

  • A hop-on-hop-off shuttle bus will come every 20 minutes OR you can use an e-hailing service to move directly to your next chosen venue.

  • Kids under 18 are free but no unaccompanied minors will be let into venues or on shuttles.

  • There will be additional paid for activities that you would need to book for separately if you wanted to attend. These tickets can not be bought on the day.

A big shout out!

It all begins with an idea, an idea that you speak to people about but without the support of those people who share our vision, none of this would be possible. We would like to gratefully thank our sponsors and partners for walking this journey with us.