Joburg – unfinished business

The Museum of African Design is thrilled to be part of the 130-year-old design experiment, simply called Johannesburg.

One of Johannesburg’s projects is the latest exhibition, Unfinished City, which unearths the city’s history and uncharted potential from Maboneng Precinct, a growing destination within the city.

Regarding attendance at the museum, owners and curators regularly hear people say, ‘I haven’t been downtown since I was a kid’, ‘My mom and dad used to work down the street’, ‘I had no idea any of this was here’.

There are millions of people in the Joburg metro area, yet many of them have never spent time in the city centre. They see no reason to visit or have been warned of its dangers and are afraid of the unknown. While a handful of developers are making parts of the city attractive to tourists, young professionals, and artists, a large number of immigrants from around Africa still inhabit the art deco, marble-clad buildings from the city’s heydey.

It is believed that Joburg was never meant to exist. Gold was to be mined and the land left behind. Instead, what remains is the potential for one of the world’s great urban centres. Unfinished City draws on the notion that, with its influx of African immigrants and tourists from across the world, Johannesburg’s suburban sprawl and downtown redevelopment are today incomplete.

It is no coincidence that Museum of African Design has decided to explore this exhibit. The opening of the museum three years ago was part of a concept conceived by Propertuity, the re-developers of the neighbourhood on the eastern edge of the city. There is a natural fit between what it means to re-purpose part of Johannesburg’s struggling downtown and broad design thinking.

Urban planning, architecture, art, industrial and graphic design have all played a role in building the precinct. At 130 years old, the owners of Maboneng believe that the birth of this city is still in full swing; it’s evolving and about to tip in a permanent, positive direction. Don’t miss out on this exhibition which closes on 31 July.

Details: www.moadjhb.com

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