This year marks the 61st anniversary of the Women’s March to the Union Buildings on 9 August 1956.

Led by Lilian Ngoyi - a trade unionist and political activist, Helen Joseph, Albertina Sisulu, and Sophia Williams-De Bruyn, 20 000 women of all races, classes and religious persuasions protested against Pass Law legislation, bringing about a turning point in the struggle for freedom and South African society at large.

Often described as a as a conceptual formalist, De Wet was also known for his serial puns. His oeuvre straddles nearly forty years and encompasses a range of diverse media from traditional sculptural media, performance and video to craft skills, which included crochet and embroidery.  

Judith Mason, who passed away at the age of 78 on 29 December last year, was considered one of the foremost South African artists of her generation. She represented South Africa at the Venice Biennale (1966), the Sao Paulo Biennale (1971) and at international art fairs, like Art Basel (2009).

The Evidence of Things Not Seen, a reference in part to James Baldwin’s book of the same title, speaks to the intangible but pervasive nature of identity. Using works from the JAG collection exclusively by artists of colour, the exhibition explores various forms of identity and explores issues of feminism, queerness, revolution and culture in Black identity.

The Federated Union of Black Artists (FUBA) was established in 1978 to support black artists and a played pivotal role in training and advancing many careers, at a time when apartheid dispensation allowed for few other alternatives. In 1948 apartheid became the legal structure in South Africa.

This time of the year, Jozi art lovers can look forward to one of the highlights of the city’s arts calendar – the Turbine Art Fair (TAF) returns to the iconic Turbine Hall in Newtown from 14th – 17th July 2016.

We had a tough time pinning down JAG’s new Education Officer for a chat since his appointment earlier this year. Colin Groenewald hit the ground running and has already made great strides in reinvigorating JAG’s educational offering.

For over 35 years, Jack Ginsberg, well-known art collector, philanthropist and longstanding Friends of JAG treasurer, has assembled an extraordinary collection of more than 700 artworks, books and ephemera by esteemed South African artist Walter Battiss.

JAG kicks off the year with a not to be missed display of recently restored Gerard Sekoto (1913 – 1993) paintings. The 10 paintings from the JAG collection were restored in 2012 as part of a unique arts support programme by Merrill Lynch

‘Free From My Happiness’ is an exhibition showcasing the work of three young South African photographers, Sibusiso Bheka, Tshepiso Mazibuko and Lindokuhle Sobekwa.

BLEEK encompasses a number of photographic series and audio visual works that set out to interrogate the performance of white masculinity from different points of entry.

Following last year’s centenary celebrations of the Lutyens building, renovations at JAG are still continuing unabated. The City of Johannesburg (COJ) has allocated an amount of R24,000,000 for the restoration of the buildings, which is supposed to take place under heritage supervision until 2017.