Arts on Main will foster experimentation and see artists and art institutions working closely, writes Mary Corrigall

New Art Axis for Johannesburg

Arts on Main will foster experimentation and see artists and art institutions working closely, writes Mary Corrigall

Baring traces of its former life in the cycle of industrial commerce its face brick facade does little to betray its new incarnation as a multi-use arts hub. So it’s a surprise when one enters the Arts on Main development in the east of Joburg’s inner city to find oneself in the centre of an über trendy centre boasting a grassy courtyard studded with lemon trees. But it is still early days in this much awaited centre’s existence. The Canteen, a fashionable eatery, which flanks one side of the courtyard, is only one of a handful of establishments that is already up-and-running. But with a host of studios and exhibitions spaces nearing completion one is able to get glimpse into the future of this pioneering art centre, which will see a range of established artists, gallerists and art institutions settled in one destination. It is a first for Joburg. With assortment of arts practitioners working cheek-by-jowl, Arts On Main will more than likely foster an intimate ambience – or at least deepen existing associations. For example, the Goodman Gallery’s new project space at the centre is a stone’s throw from the kingpin of their stable: William Kentridge, who has snapped up a humongous new studio. Other artists from the Goodman stable such as Rosenclaire (Claire Gavronsky and Rose Shakinovsky) and Mikhael Subtotsky will also be nearby in more modest workshops.

The centre’s edgy location seems to have encouraged residents towards embracing experimental art activities. Goethe on Main, a derivative of the Goethe Arts Institute, will be a venue for unconventional art initiatives such as its current exhibit, Trolleyworks, by social art activist, Ismail Farouk. The Goodman Gallery have envisioned that their new space will also facilitate alternative projects and installations and are, therefore, hoping that this new outlet will become a platform for up-and-coming artists from outside their existing stable.

“As a leading contemporary gallery we really wanted to establish a project space. Our schedule at the Goodman is so busy that we don’t have the flexibility to work with younger artists and give them a chance to show,” observes Liza Esser, owner of the Goodman Gallery franchise.

Arts on Main is the brainchild of twenty-seven-year-old Jonathan Liebmann, an ambitious and astute property developer with a penchant for the east side of Joburg’s inner city, which has not to date been the target of revitalisation projects. He obviously shares an affinity with the visual arts - no doubt fostered by his familial connections (he is the son of Benji Liebmann of the Nirox Foundation) – but his plan to gentrify this industrial part of town was also dependent on setting up an arts related development. He is well aware that the gentrification cycle of cities tends to begin with artists. London’s Shoreditch and New York’s Soho are cases in point.

“Artists want to be part of regenerating a city. I think they also see the value in areas more than others. The structure and volume of space particular to industrial properties also attracts them,” asserts Liebmann.

Consisting of five roomy industrial buildings, the centre boasts some formidable exhibition spaces. With its vaulted ceilings, the Seippel Gallery’s new space (they will be leaving August House) will be able to accommodate enormous hanging or sculptural artworks that smaller suburban galleries couldn’t dream of displaying. For Essers the generous dimensions of the studios was also a selling point.

“We really wanted a space that we could show big installations,” says Essers.

The first show planned for the Goodman Gallery will consist of a collection of Kentridge’s tapestries - some are as long as four metres.

Kentridge’s artistic output certainly won’t be limited in his new studio either – at 500 metres square its one of the biggest at the centre. But as the first artist to have committed to Arts On Main, Kentridge had his pick of the studios. In fact, Liebmann suggests that is was Kentridge’s enthusiasm for the project that got it off the ground.

“He was on board right from the beginning, which really helped the development gather steam.”

Other established artists such as Colleen Alborough and Kim Lieberman have all signed on the dotted line and Pierre Croquet is already ensconced in a studio he shares with his partner Robyn Symes, who will sell restored furniture. Under the auspices of the Austrian Embassy, Karin Reinprecht is operating out of a ground floor gallery in which an exhibition by Walter Stach is currently showing. Referring to the centre’s location on the edge of the inner city, it is aptly titled Right on the Rim. David Krut will open a new print workshop and gallery-cum-bookshop in an expansive ground floor studio adjacent to which Prospero Bailey will open a photographic gallery in the beginning of July.

Some have compared Arts on Main to recent developments in Cape Town’s Woodstock but Essers believes that this Joburg destination is not as geared for the public.

“It is not as public focussed. I think that it is really going to be for the artists. I think that the public will come and explore but it is not designed for them. It really is for the artists.”

Nevertheless art lovers may overlook the centre’s proximity to the thick of Joburg’s inner city. Liebmann has plans for art to be on display all over the centre; passageways connecting the buildings and a large atrium in the centre of one are all intended to serve as communal exhibition areas. Besides Kentridge’s posse of avid followers will no doubt be unable to resist getting a glimpse of the artist at work through the expansive glass walls of his studio.