New dawn has arrived for independent artists as they occupy Sandton

CITYLIFE/ARTS getsan inside view of the newly launched The Art Quarter at the Michelangelo Towers’,where several artists have set up galleries they control and studios from which to work as they take art right into the heart Africa’s richest square mile.

By Edward Tsumele, Winner of NHC Heritage Journalism Award, 2026

As I arrived. The first person I saw is artist Mbongeni Buthelezi, as he was entering his spacious gallery and raised his hand to greet me. I went straight to him, and was met by colourful plastic material sprawling on the floor, ready to be turned into beautiful art objects through a process of heating he has developed over the years. Once complete, the material is transformed into beautiful art objects, and if you did not know, you would think that they have been painted and not objects made from heated plastic material. In his art practice, materiality is everything, and so is the technic of art making that he has perfected over the years.

On the walls in this beautiful gallery that also has a mini studio, I noticed colourful works hung, inviting a viewer into their world. It is clear that these works have a story to pass on to the viewer. His works in the medium of plastic always carry powerful stories.

I last interviewed Buthelezi more than 20 years ago when he had a solo exhibition at a gallery co-owned by curator and artist Bongi Dhlomo, and was struck by his innovative use of plastic material to tell complex South African stories. Today, he still uses the same material to tell stories, but has now added new layers to how he uses the material.

“These days, I am fascinated by gates,” he said, drawing my attention toward a half completed work balancing on the walls. He said that he has reached a stage in his career whereby he does not fear to experiment in his art making.

Buthelezi is one of several artists, who have found a new home in the heart of Sandton, having taken the whole floor at The Michelangelo Towers, transforming vacant retail spaces into a working hub for contemporary South African art. The proposition is simple: No Rent. Just art. Participating artists receive space to exhibit, create, sell their work and meet the public without the barrier of commercial rent.

Most art asks you to come to it. This doesn’t. Shoppers, hotel guests and business travellers can walk into an exhibition, meet the artist and purchase. This fomer retail space has been radically turned into an oasis of art studios and galleries. The complexion of this floor has been radically transformed from a retail space that once had clothing boutiques into a vibrant art hub, in which independent artists from around Johannesburg, have set up their studios and galleries, where visitors can tour, talk to the artists and of course negotiate art prices directly with the creators instead of through an intermediary, such as a gallery or curator.

Soon after talking to Buthelezi, I found myself in another studio, where I found another group of artists with their work on the walls. Here, another well-known Johannesburg based artist, photographer Solomon and other artists have taken occupation of this space to set up their gallery. Their works are hung neatly on the walls.

Vusi Beauchamp, a well-known artist in Johannesburg and Pretoria art circles, was busy completing a work. He was a visitor there, but immediately did what artists do when they are in an environment that stimulates their creativity.

Then I proceeded further and met Bafana Zembe, who is known for his superior skills in installing art works, readying them for an exhibition. He in fact, is one of the few people in the country with this very-much in demand skill of installing art works.

Before ushering me into a spacious gallery in front of us, he explained how he ended up being here. 

“When this space was made available, a number of artists who are exhibiting here asked me to install works for them. In the process of doing that, I was inspired myself to take ownership of one of the spaces and transformed it into this spacious gallery you see, in which, I invited other artists to exhibit.

“I am exhibiting my work alongside them. This body of work, I create when I am not busy with installing. As I hang around my studio, I get myself busy by painting. I experiment, and this body of work is the result of that,” he said.

Everywhere, I went around this floor, the whole place has been turned into a mini art fair, hosting mainly independent artists, who have been given this opportunity to take their work to where buyers are, right in the heart of Sandton, thanks to the vision of the property owner, who saw an opportunity to rope in artists for the space, to give it some new energy, purpose and use. 

On my short but engaging exploration of the place, I also spoke to Hendrick Kgosana, whom I found in one of the galleries where there was a group exhibition on. He has created a series of churchwoman dressed in their church uniform looking elegant. In the same gallery I also had an interaction with young artist Thembisile Masemula, whose prints of self-portraits are stunning.

Thembisile told CITYLIFE/ARTS that she is from Daveyton, a township east of Johannesburg.

“These are self-portraits. They represent me as I grew up and left home to be independent as I travelled daily to Artist Proof Studio in Johannesburg, to study printmaking. I was younger and trying to find myself,” she explained.

Artist Zolile Petshane, who I found in high spirits in his gallery, expressed the view that he was happy to be part of the artists who have been selected to take occupation of this space and exhibiting their works in this space.

And so was Thabo who connects tourists with art, taking them to Mofolo, where he is busy establishing an art mile, focussing on Mofolo Art Centre. His gallery featured the works of a number of artists, and taking prominent space in his gallery, are the giant sculptures of veteran artist Kenny Nkosi, who is based at Mofolo Art Centre.

“People who book a tour with us, will have an opportunity to visit artists working in their studios in Soweto. Such as Kenny Nkosi, who is based at Mofolo Art Centre in Soweto. This is an important art centre because the same space produced prominent artists in South Africa, such as Pat Mautloa, Sam Nhlengethwa and Ezrom Legae, among other names,” he said.

Welcome to Art Quarter, the latest art hub right in the city of Johannesburg, which is poised to change how art collectors used to struggle to connect with artists, most of whom have studios in Johannesburg CBD. Driving into the CBD, these days comes with it own challenges, such as traffic congestion, lack of safe public parking space, as well as the perception that every street corner lurks a criminal.

However with the official launch of this new art hub, art collectors no longer have to grapple with the idea of driving to Johannesburg CBD as art is now in their door steps. In fact during one’s lunch town, or during shopping, would-be art collectors are encouraged to pass by the Art Quarter to feast their eyes on the art on display, or simply chat to the artists in their studios and galleries.

“What happened is that during Covid-19, retail shops that had taken occupation here closed down one by one. And therefore this space till now was empty. The property owner then decided as an experiment, to invite artists to take occupation. We first tried it during the FNB Art Fair weekend, as a pop up art space. It became a vibrant place visited by many people.  It was so busy that the property owner then decided that the artists could continue occupation till end of September.

“Because this experiment was a success, the property owner has now decided that the artists can use this space till end of September,” said project manager Nicky Wessels, at the official lunch of The Art Quarter on Thursday, October 1, 2026. That announcement was met with an applause from the artists that had gathered for the official launch.

Nicky invited artists to give her and her team honest feedback as to what they would like the to feel and look like so that it becomes a success.

She encouraged the artists to feel free to come up with ideas of how they would like the space to be utilised beyond being a gallery and studio space in order to be profitable.

Nicky however revealed that hosting events alongside galleries and studios is part of the plans for the space soi that it becomes self-sustainable, implying that if it succeeded, the possibility of The Art Mile continuing beyond the December deadline, is not far-fetched.