September 21, 2007
By George Matlala
THE Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG) has been enclosed in light; a fence made with light fittings has been installed around it, lighting up the area in the dark.
Constructed by the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA), the project forms part of Joburg's Inner City Regeneration Charter. The charter is aimed at delivering infrastructural programmes to rejuvenate the area.
The Artistic Fence at Johannesburg Art Gallery illuminates the building and provides light for pedestrians.
According to Rooksana Moola, the acting chief executive of the agency, the erection of the Artistic Fence was a commitment to enhance public spaces and art; that promise is enshrined in the charter.
Speaking at the fence's official launch on Thursday, 20 September, Moola said, "The JDA's intervention was to ensure that the park is secured and easily accessible to the public."
The JAG is located in Joubert Park, in Hillbrow and Berea.
Designed by Ikemeleng Architects, the fence is made up of podiums, vertical steel poles and an illuminated steel tower at the entrance. Its striking design created a dynamic entrance to the gallery, she added.
It lit up the gallery for pedestrians and secured it from the vagrants who roamed around the area. "We hope it will encourage the community in the area to use the gallery."
Her words were echoed by Clive Kellner, the head of the JAG. "The fence has increased visibility, allowing for access and providing additional parking to accommodate more visitors."
It had improved the precinct's image and increased the number of visitors, he noted. "Museums play a significant role in galvanising communities … defining identity, collecting society's heritage and cultural heritage and offering a space for open exchange."
Situated in the heart of Johannesburg, the JAG was established in 1910 by Lady Florence Phillips, the wife of mining magnate Sir Lionel Phillips. She wanted to use it to identify and promote talented young artists, while offering a cultural centre for Johannesburg society.
Phillips collected paintings, sculptures and other works for the gallery, which was first known as the Municipal Gallery of Modern Art. Today, it is a national monument housed in a three-storey building boasting 15 exhibition halls and some sculptures on the grounds of Joubert Park.
This year, the JAG was voted the best gallery in Johannesburg by readers of
The Star newspaper in its Choice Awards and by readers of Caxton newspapers in its Leisure Options Readers' Choice Awards, Kellner said.
Exhibitions such as Dungamanzi and Africa Remix had profiled Joburg as a world-class city, he added.
The Johannesburg Art Gallery is in Joubert Park, on the corner of Klein and King George streets. It can be contacted on 011 725 3130.
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