Living in Pretoria we simply don’t visit Johannesburg enough, so we decided to spend New Years at the wonderful Four Seasons hotel and as a bonus tag my Husbands Christmas present on to the final day.
His present being a Street Art Tour around the Maboneng Street arts District.
Maboneng (Place of Light) is widely regarded as the creative district of Johannesburg and has long been on my Husband’s to do list. I finally took the plunge for him and booked him an Art Walk tour with One Day Africa.
One Day Africa is a South African owned guide company dedicated to showcasing the arts and experiences of two of South Africas biggest cities, Cape Town and Johannesburg.
In their own words: “One Day Africa is a black owned youth travel and tour guiding company, Established in 2017, that is dedicated to showcasing unique local experiences. Explore Cape Town, Johannesburg or Soweto with young South Africans who aim to build a better future by understanding the past!
My husband met with Tebogo, his tour guide, at the Home of the Bean Coffee shop at Art on Main. Usually the groups are larger but so close to New Year and so early in the morning it was just Tebogo and my husband.
Tebogo proceeded to showcase the street art and culture of the Maboneng District, explaining the history behind many of the pieces of art, the buildings and the history and vision behind the district.
Discussing the stories behind world famous street artists such as Dbongz, Nelson Makamo, Mars, Drake, Taps, Freddy Sam, Remed, Falko, international artists like Steve Espo and DAleast and Female Artists such as Nardstar and Zhi Zulu.
Some commissioned, some straight up your traditional burner but all colourful, beautiful and inspiring in equal amounts.
The tour took about two hours from start to finish, taking in Fox St, it’s wonderful independent cafe’s such as Bertrands and Soul Soulvaki, bars like Cosmopolitan (pictured below) jazz club and backpacking hostel Curiocity.
Then moving out and further afield taking in, Albrecht Street before moving across to Beacon Street and then looping back down Van Beek Street, taking in Jewel City before finishing back at Art on Main.
Two hours well spent.
